Category: italy retractions

Do you see what I see? Heart imaging journal yanks cardiac study for plagiarism

intjcardimagThe International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging has retracted a 2013 paper by a group of researchers from Italy. The reason: plagiarism.

The paper was titled “Diagnostic accuracy of 320-row computed tomography as compared with invasive coronary angiography in unselected, consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease,” and it came from scientists in Rome led by Francesco Pelliccia of the Department of Heart and Great Vessels at Sapienza University.

Continue reading Do you see what I see? Heart imaging journal yanks cardiac study for plagiarism

Bogus Western blots lead to retraction of cancer paper

ejpharmA group of Italian researchers has retracted their 2013 paper on colorectal cancer because one of the authors, they, say, was tinkering with the data.

The article, “PBOX-15 induces apoptosis and improves the efficacy of oxaliplatin in human colorectal cancer cell lines,” appeared in the European Journal of Pharmacology in August. The first author was Giuseppina Gangemi, of the University of Salerno.

The paper purported to find that:

Continue reading Bogus Western blots lead to retraction of cancer paper

Sexism charge hits proteomics journal — and you’ll see why

j proteomicsWe guess that if you are the fox in charge of the chicken coop, you might be tempted to try to get away with the kind of thing we describe in this post. But here’s an example of why such a  cozy relationship can lead to, well, nutty developments.

Coconuts, that is.

The Journal of Proteomics will be taking down two blatantly sexist images illustrating papers by Italian researcher, Pier Giorgio Righetti – who also happens to be the one of several executive editors of the journal in question. Lab and Field and Tree of Life have the story, which, for obvious reasons, has the Twittersphere twitillated.

Righetti’s article, “Harry Belafonte and the secret proteome of coconut milk,” used the following picture as a “graphical abstract:” Continue reading Sexism charge hits proteomics journal — and you’ll see why

Author blames “young coworker” for duplication as paper is retracted

doveDoes anyone know how to say “thrown under the bus” in Italian?

A group of researchers in Italy has retracted a paper after it became clear that they had duplicated some of their previous work. Or, as one of the senior authors put it, as a “young coworker” had reused their material.

Here’s the notice from Biologics: Targets and Therapy: Continue reading Author blames “young coworker” for duplication as paper is retracted

Out of the running: Dodgy blots prompt retraction of paper on marathoning and cell death

bmc physiologyA group of exercise researchers at the University of Rome Tor Vergata has lost their May 2010 paper in BMC Physiology on the effects of marathon running on blood cells, because of figure irregularities.

The article, “The effect of marathon on mRNA expression of anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic proteins and sirtuins family in male recreational long-distance runners,” purported to find that marathoning arrested apoptosis, or programmed cell death. It has been cited 13 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge.

According to this press release: Continue reading Out of the running: Dodgy blots prompt retraction of paper on marathoning and cell death

“He certainly has some chutzpah!” More plagiarism retractions for sex researcher Ramello

jagingstudWe’ve been alerted to a third retracted paper, and a retracted book chapter, for Stefano Ramello, a self-styled “independent researcher” into sexual identity.

Turns out there wasn’t so much independence after all.

The article, “Same sex acts involving older men. An ethnographic study,” had appeared in the  April 2013 issue of the Journal of Aging Studies. According to the retraction notice: Continue reading “He certainly has some chutzpah!” More plagiarism retractions for sex researcher Ramello

Herbicide-ovarian cancer study to be retracted

ehpThe authors of a 2008 study purporting to explain how the herbicide atrazine acts on cancer cells have asked the journal that published it to retract it for “inadvertent errors,” Retraction Watch has learned.

The notice for “G-Protein-Coupled Receptor 30 and Estrogen Receptor-a are Involved in the Proliferative Effects Induced by Atrazine in Ovarian Cancer Cells,” published in Environmental Health Perspectives, will read: Continue reading Herbicide-ovarian cancer study to be retracted

Should scientific misconduct be handled by the police? It’s fraud week at Nature and Nature Medicine

naturemed1213It’s really hard to get papers retracted, police might be best-equipped to handle scientific misconduct investigations, and there’s finally software that will identify likely image manipulation.

Those are three highlights from a number of pieces that have appeared in Nature and Nature Medicine in the past few weeks. Not surprisingly, there are common threads, so join us as we follow the bouncing ball. Continue reading Should scientific misconduct be handled by the police? It’s fraud week at Nature and Nature Medicine

Cancer-anorexia paper retracted for “unacceptable” duplication

doveDrug Design, Development and Therapy has retracted a 2013 paper by a group from Italy for duplication.

The retraction notice for the paper, “Drugs in development for treatment of patients with cancer-related anorexia and cachexia syndrome,” fairly bristles with indignation: Continue reading Cancer-anorexia paper retracted for “unacceptable” duplication

Retraction appears for Italian cancer specialist facing criminal investigation

jci nov 13The first retraction has appeared for Alfred Fusco, a leading cancer researcher in Italy under criminal investigation for fraud.

Here’s the notice from the Journal of Clinical Investigation: Continue reading Retraction appears for Italian cancer specialist facing criminal investigation