Search Results for: pubpeer

Former cancer researcher who sued university for discrimination hits 35 retractions

A cancer researcher who was once the subject of a misconduct investigation at an Illinois university more than 10 years ago has made his debut on the Retraction Watch Leaderboard with 35 retractions.  Last month Oncogene, a Springer Nature title, retracted 15 articles by Jasti Rao, formerly of the University of Illinois College of Medicine … Continue reading Former cancer researcher who sued university for discrimination hits 35 retractions

Weekend reads: Retractions as censorship; the carbon footprint when science doesn’t self-correct; NEJM vs. the feds

Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up past 500. There are more than 58,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains more than 300 titles. And have you seen our leaderboard of authors with the most retractions lately … Continue reading Weekend reads: Retractions as censorship; the carbon footprint when science doesn’t self-correct; NEJM vs. the feds

‘Squared blunder’: Google engineer withdraws preprint after getting called out for using AI

An expert in AI at Google has admitted he used the technology to help write a preprint manuscript that commenters on PubPeer found to contain a slew of AI-generated phrases like “squared blunder” and “info picture.”  The paper, “Leveraging GANs For Active Appearance Models Optimized Model Fitting,” appeared on arXiv.org in January but was withdrawn … Continue reading ‘Squared blunder’: Google engineer withdraws preprint after getting called out for using AI

Sodom comet paper to be retracted two years after editor’s note acknowledging concerns

Scientific Reports has retracted a controversial paper claiming to present evidence an ancient city in the Middle East was destroyed by an exploding celestial body – an event the authors suggested could have inspired the Biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah.  The decision comes two years after Scientific Reports, a Springer Nature title, published an … Continue reading Sodom comet paper to be retracted two years after editor’s note acknowledging concerns

UC Davis research director loses three papers for image manipulation

A lead researcher at UC Davis has lost three decades-old papers from the same journal for image duplication, and the journal says it is investigating more.  Allen Gao, director of research for the Department of Urologic Surgery at the institution is first last and corresponding author on the papers, published in The Prostate.  The journal … Continue reading UC Davis research director loses three papers for image manipulation

A new journal record: Sage title retracts 678 more papers, tally over 1,500

The retraction of “a final batch” of 678 articles concludes Sage’s investigation into questionable peer review, citation manipulation, and other signs of paper mill activity at one of its journals, according to the publisher.  Sage has been investigating the Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems (JIFS) since early 2024 for “indicators that raised concerns about … Continue reading A new journal record: Sage title retracts 678 more papers, tally over 1,500

Biochemist with previous image duplication retractions loses another paper 

A researcher who retracted two papers last year following a years-long investigation has lost another, this one two decades old. The same journal also corrected two papers for image duplication within days of the retraction. The moves followed comments about image similarities on PubPeer. The retraction marks the third for biochemist Dario Alessi, a professor … Continue reading Biochemist with previous image duplication retractions loses another paper 

Former Italian university head faces retractions and criminal investigations

A prominent Italian pharmacologist under investigation for embezzlement and rigging university contracts has garnered a dozen and a half retractions in the last year for image alterations and duplications. But Salvatore Cuzzocrea, the former rector of the University of Messina, told us he did not agree with the retractions because they were decided “without clear … Continue reading Former Italian university head faces retractions and criminal investigations

COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis paper raises questions about what earns post-publication peer review

On March 7, a Sage journal published an expression of concern for an article on cases of myocarditis in people who had received a COVID-19 vaccine.  “The Editor and the publisher were alerted to potential issues with the research methodology and conclusions and author conflicts of interest” and had undertaken an investigation of the article, … Continue reading COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis paper raises questions about what earns post-publication peer review

Former VA physician admitted to altering images and deleting data, documents show

A former cancer specialist sanctioned for “recklessly falsifying data” admitted during an investigation interview that he periodically altered images, documents obtained by Retraction Watch show. He also stated “he may have inadequately or improperly labeled and organized” image files, increasing the chances the images were confused or misidentified. Alan Lichtenstein, previously a staff physician at … Continue reading Former VA physician admitted to altering images and deleting data, documents show