Exclusive: Ohio State researcher kept six-figure job for more than a year after a misconduct finding

In 2016, Mingjun Zhang, a biomedical engineering researcher at The Ohio State University, along with collaborators, published a paper that explored the mechanism behind ivy’s impressive adhesive strength. In it, the authors claimed to report the genetic sequences of the proteins making up the adhesive. The paper, entitled “Nanospherical arabinogalactan proteins are a key component … Continue reading Exclusive: Ohio State researcher kept six-figure job for more than a year after a misconduct finding

Crossfit wins $4 million sanction in lawsuit stemming from now-retracted paper

A Federal court in California has ruled in favor of the popular training program CrossFit in its lawsuit against a nonprofit group — a competitor in fitness training — awarding the workout company nearly $4 million in sanctions.  Why are you reading about this case on Retraction Watch, you might ask? Well, at the heart … Continue reading Crossfit wins $4 million sanction in lawsuit stemming from now-retracted paper

Reports of misconduct investigations can tell us a lot. Here are more than a dozen of them.

Fakery. Ignored whistleblowers. Sabotage. Subterfuge. Reading reports of institutional investigations into allegations of misconduct can sometimes feel like reading a spy novel about science. And we’ve read a lot of them. In a recent post that drew from one such report, we wrote: Whenever we learn about misconduct cases at public universities, we file such … Continue reading Reports of misconduct investigations can tell us a lot. Here are more than a dozen of them.

CrossFit asks court to unmask peer reviewers of retracted study

Another front has opened up in the legal battle between the CrossFit exercise brand and a competitor, spurred by a now-retracted paper about the risk of injury from the workout program. Soon, a judge will decide whether CrossFit is entitled to learn the names of the study’s peer reviewers. CrossFit has tried and failed to … Continue reading CrossFit asks court to unmask peer reviewers of retracted study

Researcher who tangled with CrossFit loses two more papers

An exercise scientist who ran a study of the CrossFit exercise program without an approved human subjects protocol has lost two more papers to retraction. Both papers were retracted on June 26 by the editors of the International Journal of Exercise Science (IJES) with the agreement of last author Steven Devor, a former professor at … Continue reading Researcher who tangled with CrossFit loses two more papers

Ohio State exercise researcher resigns after retraction of CrossFit study

The senior author of a lawsuit-spawning study of the CrossFit exercise program has resigned from his post at The Ohio State University. On June 2, we reported that the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research retracted the problematic study because it lacked approval from the institutional review board. The journal had previously corrected the study, … Continue reading Ohio State exercise researcher resigns after retraction of CrossFit study

Journal retracts Ohio State CrossFit study at center of lawsuits

The fallout continues for a study conducted at a local CrossFit gym by researchers at The Ohio State University. First it was corrected, now it’s been retracted, and it continues to be the basis of litigation against both the authors and the publisher. Editors at the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research have decided to … Continue reading Journal retracts Ohio State CrossFit study at center of lawsuits

CrossFit can sue over error in paper it claims cost the brand millions

A California court ruled that fitness empire CrossFit can proceed to trial with its lawsuit against a competitor, alleging it published falsified data that hurt the company’s reputation, according to recently released court documents. The case pits the popular for-profit CrossFit brand against the non-profit National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), which published the 2013 … Continue reading CrossFit can sue over error in paper it claims cost the brand millions

Judges toss lawsuits by CrossFit gym claiming fraud in $273 million in grants

Federal judges in Ohio have dismissed two lawsuits claiming that university researchers used false results to secure more than $250 million in federal grants. Both lawsuits, which objected to a study examining the effects of CrossFit-based training, were filed by Mitchell Potterf, the owner of a gym affiliated with CrossFit in Columbus, Ohio. Potterf took issue … Continue reading Judges toss lawsuits by CrossFit gym claiming fraud in $273 million in grants

Journal corrects CrossFit injury data in paper at center of lawsuit

A study on the trendy and grueling workout regimen known as CrossFit has a correction concerning the number of participants hurt during 10 weeks of training. The paper has been the center of multiple lawsuits  — one by CrossFit, and one by a CrossFit gym owner — for allegedly over-inflating the risks associated with the regimen. The original paper claimed that 9 … Continue reading Journal corrects CrossFit injury data in paper at center of lawsuit