Author: Ivan Oransky

JAMA journal quietly replaces diabetes drug commentary after learning co-author is working for drugmaker

jama int medJAMA Internal Medicine has replaced a commentary they published last week on the risks of two diabetes drugs, but you wouldn’t know the new version was a replacement.

One change is a correction about whether Byetta and Januvia carry so-called “black box” warnings from the FDA. The original sentence:

Because both drugs already carry US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warnings for the risk of pancreatitis, why is this study important?

It now reads: Continue reading JAMA journal quietly replaces diabetes drug commentary after learning co-author is working for drugmaker

Scientist whose work is “not fully supported by the available laboratory records” to retract 8 more papers

SK Manna
SK Manna

Yesterday, we reported that Sunil Kumar Manna, the head of immunology at India’s Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, had retracted two papers for image problems.

Turns out Manna will be retracting eight more, he told us today. Here they are: Continue reading Scientist whose work is “not fully supported by the available laboratory records” to retract 8 more papers

Retraction count for gynecologic cancer researcher Takai grows to seven

cancerlettersNoriyuki Takai, a gynecologic cancer researcher at Oita University in Japan who retracted three papers last October, has four more retractions, these in Cancer Letters.

All but one of the notices reads as follows: Continue reading Retraction count for gynecologic cancer researcher Takai grows to seven

And then there were eight: Three more retractions for Alirio Melendez, all in the Journal of Immunology

alirio_melendezAlirio Melendez, who has already retracted five papers and was found by one of his former universities to have committed misconduct on more than 20, has three more retractions.

Here’s the notice for “Antisense Knockdown of Sphingosine Kinase 1 in Human Macrophages Inhibits C5a Receptor-Dependent Signal Transduction, Ca2+ Signals, Enzyme Release, Cytokine Production, and Chemotaxis,” cited 68 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge: Continue reading And then there were eight: Three more retractions for Alirio Melendez, all in the Journal of Immunology

Two retractions for scientist whose work is “not fully supported by the available laboratory records”

SK Manna
SK Manna

The head of immunology at India’s Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Sunil Kumar Manna, has retracted two papers for image problems.

Here’s the notice from Cell Death and Differentiation for “Inhibition of RelA phosphorylation sensitizes apoptosis in constitutive NF-kappaB-expressing and chemoresistant cells:” Continue reading Two retractions for scientist whose work is “not fully supported by the available laboratory records”

Need more material for your paper under review? Just take it from someone else’s conference presentation

ijmsLet’s say you’re a researcher who’s just gotten reviews back from your latest manuscript, asking for some revisions. Luckily, you find yourself at a conference and spot a presentation that’s related to your work. So you use a bunch of that presentation material in your paper.

Unfortunately for you, the guy who gave that conference presentation sees your paper when it’s published — and he’s justifiably unhappy enough to contact the editors. Continue reading Need more material for your paper under review? Just take it from someone else’s conference presentation

After three retractions, five expressions of concern, cardiologist Matsubara resigns post

matsubaraHiroaki Matsubara, a leading Japanese cardiology researcher who has had three papers retracted and another five subject to expressions of concern, has resigned from Kyoto Prefectural University, according to local media.

Mainichi Shimbun reports — according to our roughest of (Google) translations — that Kyoto Prefectural University accepted Matsubara’s resignation following an investigation. That investigation — which the university had told us about last year — revealed serious problems with 27 studies.

As we noted last March: Continue reading After three retractions, five expressions of concern, cardiologist Matsubara resigns post

Another correction for Rui Curi, whose legal threats helped force shutdown of Science Fraud site

joeThe Journal of Endocrinology has run a correction for a paper by Rui Curi, the Brazilian scientist whose lawyers threatened Science-Fraud.org after the site ran a number of posts critical of Curi’s work.

Here’s the notice for “Non-esterified fatty acids and human lymphocyte death: a mechanism that involves calcium release and oxidative stress”: Continue reading Another correction for Rui Curi, whose legal threats helped force shutdown of Science Fraud site

“Highly unethical practices” force four retractions for nanotech researcher

acta biomaterialiaSanjeeb K. Sahoo, of the Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar, India, has had four papers retracted from Acta Biomaterialia for what the journal is calling “highly unethical practices.”

All four notices say the same thing: Continue reading “Highly unethical practices” force four retractions for nanotech researcher

Paper by fake cardiologist retracted

j patient safetyRetraction Watch readers may recall the case of William Hamman, the United Airlines pilot who claimed to be a cardiologist until the Associated Press uncovered him in late 2010. Hamman had published at least six papers, and since the revelations has had one retraction and one erratum, by our count.

Now comes another retraction, in the Journal of Patient Safety. Here’s the (paywalled) notice, signed by journal editor Charles Denham: Continue reading Paper by fake cardiologist retracted