Author, author? Dispute over authorship leads to two retraction notices, and confusion

An endocrinology journal has pulled a 2017 paper by a group from Russia and Romania because, well, maybe it’s just better if you read for yourself. The article, “Testosterone promotes anxiolytic-like behavior in gonadectomized male rats via blockade of the 5-HT1A receptors,” appeared in General and Comparative Endocrinology, an Elsevier publication. The paper in fact … Continue reading Author, author? Dispute over authorship leads to two retraction notices, and confusion

Cancer biologist stops research as his retraction count rises to 13

A cancer biologist based at the University of Maryland is transitioning out of research, as a journal has retracted three more of his papers. Anil Jaiswal has now lost 13 papers, including, as we reported on February 6, six retractions issued earlier this month. The Baltimore Sun reported this week that Jaiswal would no longer … Continue reading Cancer biologist stops research as his retraction count rises to 13

Surprise! Paper retracted after author tells journal it’s a “pile of dung”

This summer, Ottawa Citizen reporter Tom Spears was sitting by a lake on vacation when he opened a spam email from a publisher. Amused to see the sender was a journal focused on bioethics, he got an idea. I thought, what if I just throw something outrageous at them? The situation should sound familiar to readers who … Continue reading Surprise! Paper retracted after author tells journal it’s a “pile of dung”

Three expressions of concern added to cancer researcher’s notice list

Questions about data and conclusions in papers by a cancer researcher at the University of Maryland have led to three expressions of concern in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The notices follow four retractions — two for image duplications and two for unknown reasons — for Anil K. Jaiswal. The three papers under notice are all on mechanisms … Continue reading Three expressions of concern added to cancer researcher’s notice list

University of Maryland duo notches third retraction

A pair of researchers at the University of Maryland have retracted a third paper. Here’s the unhelpful Journal of Biological Chemistry notice for “Inhibitor of Nrf2 (INrf2 or Keap1) protein degrades Bcl-xL via phosphoglycerate mutase 5 and controls cellular apoptosis,” by Suryakant Niture and Anil Jaiswal:

Expression of Concern tarnishes copper oxide paper

Articles, like lawn furniture, aren’t supposed to rust after just two months. But the Journal of Materials Chemistry A has issued an Expression of Concern for a February 2014 paper by a group of chemists from India over possible problems with several figures in the article. The paper, “Hierarchically macro/mesostructured porous copper oxide: Facile synthesis, … Continue reading Expression of Concern tarnishes copper oxide paper

Figure duplication kills cell death paper

A pair of researchers at the University of Maryland have retracted a paper in Cell Death & Differentiation after it became clear that one of the figures had been duplicated from an earlier paper. Here’s the notice, dated December 13, 2013, for “INrf2 (Keap1) targets Bcl-2 degradation and controls cellular apoptosis,” by Suryakant Niture and … Continue reading Figure duplication kills cell death paper

Trial irregularities earn Lancet study of potential weight loss drug tesofensine Expression of Concern

A potential weight loss drug has been dealt what could be a serious setback after regulators found problems at two trial sites. While awaiting a final report, The Lancet, which published a study of the drug, tesofensine, has issued an Expression of Concern: