Category: by publisher

University of Utah investigation fingers chem engineering grad student for misconduct

acs nanoA second retraction has been issued in a case of research misconduct at the chemistry department of chemical engineering at the University of Utah.

The first retraction, in August of 2013, got a lot of attention for how poorly faked the figures were. At the time, an expression of concern was issued on the paper that has just been retracted.

Today, we exchanged emails with Jeffery Botkin, the research integrity officer at the University of Utah, who ran the investigation into the misconduct. He summarized the report for us below. Continue reading University of Utah investigation fingers chem engineering grad student for misconduct

Heart journal pulls paper for image manipulation

cardresCardiovascular Research has retracted a 2010 paper by a group of prominent cardiology researchers in Brazil.

The reason: Image manipulation — which the authors say didn’t materially affect the conclusions of the paper.

The article, “FAK mediates the activation of cardiac fibroblasts induced by mechanical stress through regulation of the mTOR complex,” came from a group led by Ana Paula Dalla Costa, from the State University of Campinas.

Here’s the abstract of the study, which has been cited 19 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge: Continue reading Heart journal pulls paper for image manipulation

Lyme disease researchers call for retraction of paper on deer ticks in Texas

Image via Wikimedia Commons
Image via Wikimedia Commons

A paper suggesting that 45% of deer ticks in Texas have Lyme disease was raked over the coals in a letter to the editor in a recent issue of Parasites and Vectors, though it doesn’t seem like a retraction is forthcoming. Continue reading Lyme disease researchers call for retraction of paper on deer ticks in Texas

Kidney journal to retract stem cell paper for duplicated and doctored images

kidney intKidney International is in the process of retracting a stem cell paper containing plagiarized images, Retraction Watch has learned.

Here’s the notice that will appear for “Human renal stem/progenitor cells repair tubular epithelial cell injury through TLR2-driven inhibin-A and microvesicle-shuttled decorin“: Continue reading Kidney journal to retract stem cell paper for duplicated and doctored images

Shigeaki Kato up to 28 retractions, with three papers cited nearly 700 times

Shigeaki Kato
Shigeaki Kato

Former University of Tokyo researcher Shigeaki Kato has notched his 26th, 27th, and 28th retractions, all in Nature Cell Biology. The three papers have been cited a total of 677 times.

Here’s the notice for “DEAD-box RNA helicase subunits of the Drosha complex are required for processing of rRNA and a subset of microRNAs:” Continue reading Shigeaki Kato up to 28 retractions, with three papers cited nearly 700 times

Asking for a retraction was “an overbearing response, though I agree that the student screwed up big time”

celluloseJust two months after a PhD student at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia published a paper in August without the knowledge of his co-author, a professor at the university, the paper was retracted by Cellulose.

Here’s the notice for “Corrosion protection of steel sheets by chitosan from shrimp shells at acid pH,” by graduate student Ubong M. Eduok and professor Mazen M. Khaled (well, not really by Khaled): Continue reading Asking for a retraction was “an overbearing response, though I agree that the student screwed up big time”

What was behind an oddly-worded dental retraction? The authors stole someone’s thesis

Image via Tambako
Image via Tambako

A dentistry journal has retracted a paper after discovering the research was lifted from dissertation work by two people unrelated to the paper authors.

Here’s the notice for “Treatment of mandibular angle fracture with a 2 mm, 3-dimensional rectangular grid compression miniplates: A prospective clinical study“: Continue reading What was behind an oddly-worded dental retraction? The authors stole someone’s thesis

Will journal finally retract fraudulent paper 10 months after an official request?

ChemosphereElsevier journal Chemosphere may finally retract a paper it learned contained fabricated data in January when a member of the author’s institution requested the paper be retracted.

The paper has been cited at least once since the lies came to light, as we reported earlier this month.

The journal contacted the relevant parties on October 29 with the following email about “Degradation of 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) by metabolic cooperative activity of Pseudomonas sp. strain FK357andRhodococcus imtechensis strain RKJ300,” although no notice has been posted: Continue reading Will journal finally retract fraudulent paper 10 months after an official request?

Structure error sinks NIH-MIT-SNU peptide paper

CHBIOL_21_9.c1.inddA mistake in structure identification has sunk a paper by researchers at the NIH, MIT, and Seoul National University in the Cell Press journal Chemistry and Biology.

Here’s the notice for “Peptide-Based Inhibitors of Plk1 Polo-box Domain Containing Mono-anionic Phosphothreonine Esters and Their Pivaloyloxymethyl Prodrugs”: Continue reading Structure error sinks NIH-MIT-SNU peptide paper

Authors retract two spectroscopy papers when follow-up results don’t match

analytical methodsThe authors of two spectroscopy papers in Royal Society of Chemistry journals have retracted them.

Here’s the notice for “Determination of silk fibroin secondary structure by terahertz time domain spectroscopy” (free, but requires sign-in) in Analytical Methods, which is almost identical to this notice in Analyst: Continue reading Authors retract two spectroscopy papers when follow-up results don’t match