Search Results for: clare francis

Lawsuit involving PubPeer unmasks commenter as pseudonymous whistleblower Clare Francis

An attorney for Fazlul Sarkar, the Wayne State University researcher who claims he lost a job offer because of comments about his research on PubPeer, has asked a judge to reconsider last month’s decision not to release information about the site’s anonymous commenters. As a consequence, the brief in support of that motion identifies a … Continue reading Lawsuit involving PubPeer unmasks commenter as pseudonymous whistleblower Clare Francis

Clare Francis scores a bullseye: Journal of Cell Biology paper retracted for image manipulation

If you’re a journal editor or publisher, there’s a good chance your email inbox has seen its share of emails from “Clare Francis,” who has been crusading against text and image duplication in papers for some years now. Some editors have grown quite weary of those emails, sometimes because they don’t want to deal with … Continue reading Clare Francis scores a bullseye: Journal of Cell Biology paper retracted for image manipulation

What’s in a picture? Two decades of image manipulation awareness and action

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of “What’s in a picture?  The temptation of image manipulation,” in which I described the problem of image manipulation in biomedical research.  Two decades later, much has changed.  I am reassured by the heightened awareness of this issue and the numerous efforts to address it by … Continue reading What’s in a picture? Two decades of image manipulation awareness and action

Harvard surgeon has five papers pulled following internal investigation

Citing an investigation by Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, two journals last week retracted five articles by Edward Whang, an associate professor of surgery at the school.  The journals, Oncogene and Surgery, both refer to problems with images of Western blots that could not be resolved because “no underlying research data” were … Continue reading Harvard surgeon has five papers pulled following internal investigation

University of Glasgow ‘in discussions to retract’ seven papers, confirming Retraction Watch reporting

The University of Glasgow is “in discussions to retract” seven papers by a pharmacology researcher who worked there for more than 25 years, after it learned of allegations on PubPeer by pseudonymous whistleblower Clare Francis. The development confirms reporting by Retraction Watch earlier this month. In that post, we wrote: 

Exclusive: University of Glasgow seeking retraction of multiple papers after findings of image manipulation

The University of Glasgow is requesting the retraction of multiple papers by a pharmacology researcher who held various positions there for more than a quarter century. The story begins in December 2016, when biostatistician Steven McKinney posted on PubPeer about a paper by the researcher, Miles Houslay, in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. That paper … Continue reading Exclusive: University of Glasgow seeking retraction of multiple papers after findings of image manipulation

Two years: That’s how long it took a PLOS journal to flag a paper after a sleuth raised concerns

Two years after being alerted to a questionable figure in a 2016 paper by a group with a questionable publication history, a PLOS journal has issued an expression of concern about the article. The paper, “Deprivation of L-Arginine Induces Oxidative Stress Mediated Apoptosis in Leishmania donovani Promastigotes: Contribution of the Polyamine Pathway,” was published in  … Continue reading Two years: That’s how long it took a PLOS journal to flag a paper after a sleuth raised concerns

A scientist critic was sued, and won — but did not emerge unscathed. This is his story.

Retraction Watch readers may be familiar with the name David Sanders. Sanders, a biologist at Purdue University, has become a scientific sleuth, ferreting out problems in numerous papers. In one of those cases, that of Ohio State University professor Carlo Croce, Sanders ended up being sued — before an article in which he was quoted … Continue reading A scientist critic was sued, and won — but did not emerge unscathed. This is his story.

Former Harvard cancer researcher faked a dozen images, say Feds

A cancer researcher faked a dozen images in three papers and a conference presentation while employed at Harvard teaching hospitals, according to a new report by a federal U.S. watchdog. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) found that David Panka

PLOS ONE retracts a paper first flagged in 2015 — and breaks the 100 retraction barrier for 2019

A team of researchers in Saudi Arabia, led by an ex-pat from Johns Hopkins University, has lost three papers for problems with the images in their articles.  The three retractions pushed the journal — which has become a “major retraction engine” for reasons we explain here and here — over 100 for 2019. In December, … Continue reading PLOS ONE retracts a paper first flagged in 2015 — and breaks the 100 retraction barrier for 2019