Author: Ivan Oransky

“That was a really bad Friday for us:” WIRED warns four stories were plagiarized

501px-Wired_logo.svgLast Friday, WIRED editor Adam Rogers got a direct message on Twitter that no journalist wants to see. Christina Larson, a freelance writer in China, told him she had seen overlap with her own work in a few WIRED stories, and included links to the relevant pieces.

“She was gracious, just asking for a link back in the future, said she loved WIRED,” Rogers told Retraction Watch by phone this afternoon. It was early morning in San Francisco, so Rogers thanked her for bringing the issue to his attention, and said he’d look at it more closely when he arrived at his desk some 45 minutes later.

It was the start of an episode that would lead to the dismissal of a WIRED reporter, and the addition of warning notes to four of the publication’s stories.
Continue reading “That was a really bad Friday for us:” WIRED warns four stories were plagiarized

Journal retracts 7 papers by MD Anderson cancer researcher long under investigation

aggarwal
Bharat Aggarwal

An MD Anderson Cancer Center researcher who has been under investigation by the institution for at least several years has had seven papers retracted from a single journal.

Bharat Aggarwal told us in 2012 that MD Anderson was investigating his work, but in 2013 threatened to sue us for reporting on the case. Aggarwal is no longer listed in the MD Anderson directory, and an email to him there bounced.

This week, Biochemical Pharmacology retracted seven studies of which he is the only common author, noting the “data integrity has become questionable.” The papers have been cited a total of more than 500 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge; one has been designated as “highly cited.” Here are the seven retractions: Continue reading Journal retracts 7 papers by MD Anderson cancer researcher long under investigation

Weekend reads: Publish and perish in Texas; clinical trial reporting poor but improving; forget peer review

booksThe week at Retraction Watch featured a peer review nightmare come true, and a look at why publishing negative findings is hard. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Continue reading Weekend reads: Publish and perish in Texas; clinical trial reporting poor but improving; forget peer review

Weekend reads: Does publishing take too long?; Zika data complaints; a Valentine’s Day special

booksThe week at Retraction Watch featured two high-profile resignations linked to the Paolo Macchiarini case, as well as a Q&A with a long-frustrated — and now vindicated — whistleblower. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Continue reading Weekend reads: Does publishing take too long?; Zika data complaints; a Valentine’s Day special

Nobel Prize official resigns in wake of Macchiarini case

Urban Lendhal
Urban Lendhal

The secretary general of the Nobel Assembly, the body responsible for choosing the Nobel Prizes, has resigned from his post because “he may be involved” in the Karolinska Institutet investigation of trachea surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.

Urban Lendahl, professor of genetics at the Karolinska, has also resigned as secretary general of the Nobel Committee in Physiology or Medicine. Here’s a statement released yesterday by the Nobel Assembly: Continue reading Nobel Prize official resigns in wake of Macchiarini case

Weekend reads: Scientist slams bloggers; men love their own work; public science broken?

booksThe week at Retraction Watch featured a paper on reincarnation being retracted because it was plagiarized from Wikipedia, the swift retraction of a paper claiming that women’s makeup use was tied to testosterone levels, and a lot of news about trachea surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.  Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Continue reading Weekend reads: Scientist slams bloggers; men love their own work; public science broken?

Weekend reads: Go ahead, plagiarize and sabotage your colleagues; star surgeon’s days at Karolinska numbered

booksThe week at Retraction Watch featured a case of a disappearing journal, lots of bad news for Olivier Voinnet, and advice on what to do when you make a mistake. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Continue reading Weekend reads: Go ahead, plagiarize and sabotage your colleagues; star surgeon’s days at Karolinska numbered

Weekend reads: “Research parasites;” CRISPR controversy; access to PACE data denied

booksThe week at Retraction Watch featured a brewing case over GMO research, a 10-reason retraction. and a retraction and apology from the CBC.

Before we get to this week’s reads from elsewhere, we’re happy to announce that we’re launching a daily email newsletter that will include posts from the last 24 hours, as well as links to readings at other sites, much like those you’ll find on Weekend Reads. We know that some readers find an email for every post – which can be as many as four per day – too much, so we hope this will solve that. Here’s a sample. Sign up here!

And now to Weekend Reads: Continue reading Weekend reads: “Research parasites;” CRISPR controversy; access to PACE data denied

Weekend reads: Science press releases under fire; a new plagiarism excuse; win $1,000

booksThe week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of an entire issue of a journal and a renewable energy researcher agree to retract ten papers for recycling, and saw The Australian put us on its list of “30 Most Influential” in higher education for 2016. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: Continue reading Weekend reads: Science press releases under fire; a new plagiarism excuse; win $1,000

Court denies appeal of HIV fraudster’s 57-month prison sentence

court caseAn appeals court has affirmed the stiff prison sentence for Dong-Pyou Han, the former Iowa State University researcher who faked the results of an HIV vaccine experiment in rabbits. Continue reading Court denies appeal of HIV fraudster’s 57-month prison sentence