ORI: Ohio State researcher manipulated two dozen figures in NIH grants, papers

Terry S. Elton, a researcher at Ohio State University in Columbus who studies genetic expression in various heart conditions and Down syndrome, has been sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity for fabricating and/or falsifying data in a number of NIH grants and resulting papers. According to an OSU statement sent to Retraction Watch … Continue reading ORI: Ohio State researcher manipulated two dozen figures in NIH grants, papers

Journal of Neuroscience retraction, typically opaque, from author with history of errors

The Journal of Neuroscience has retracted a 2011 paper by an international group of scientists, including the prominent Maryland researcher Ronald Dubner, but readers won’t know why. As the notice “explains“:

Two patch-clamping retractions in PNAS and the JCI after first author admits image manipulation

A group of cardiology researchers formerly of the University of Cologne has retracted two papers, after investigations into allegations of misconduct led to an admission of guilt by one of the lab’s junior members. Here’s the first retraction, for “Connexin 43 acts as a cytoprotective mediator of signal transduction by stimulating mitochondrial KATP channels in … Continue reading Two patch-clamping retractions in PNAS and the JCI after first author admits image manipulation

ORI sanctions former University of Kentucky nutrition researcher for faking dozens of images in 10 papers

The U.S. Office of Research Integrity has come down hard on a Eric J. Smart, an NIH-funded former University of Kentucky nutrition researcher who faked data in ten published papers and seven grant applications over the past decade. Smart studies cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. According to the notice in the Federal … Continue reading ORI sanctions former University of Kentucky nutrition researcher for faking dozens of images in 10 papers

Resveratrol researcher Das in video: Yes, I manipulated images, but only because the journals asked me to

Dipak Das, who until earlier this year ran a high-profile cardiovascular research center at the University of Connecticut, has recorded a slick looking video defense against allegations that he cooked data and manipulated images in scores of published studies, 12 of which have been retracted to date. Das, who was hit with a 60,000 pages … Continue reading Resveratrol researcher Das in video: Yes, I manipulated images, but only because the journals asked me to

Neurochemistry journal retracts paper after earlier mega-correction for an author who’s no stranger to errata

The Journal of Neurochemistry has retracted a 2008 paper, “Toll-like receptor 3 contributes to spinal glial activation and tactile allodynia after nerve injury,” it had initially corrected — and how. The correction, which appeared online in August 2010, was extensive:

Cell runs a lengthy correction, rather than retraction, for image problems

The journal Cell has an interesting — and somewhat puzzling — correction this month that we’ll add to our “mega-correction” file. At issue is a paper, published in October, from the lab of Harvard’s Stephen Elledge, a noted genetics researcher, whose first author is a post-doc there named Michael Emanuele. According to the notice, Emanuele (singled … Continue reading Cell runs a lengthy correction, rather than retraction, for image problems

ORI roundup: Former SUNY grad student, two Kansas U researchers hit with sanctions

In two unrelated cases, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has sanctioned a grad student and a pair of colleagues, one of whom plagiarized and the other allowed the intellectual theft to go unchecked. We think the handling of these cases — both first noted briefly by The Chronicle of Higher Education — is worth noting.

Three more withdrawals for Naoki Mori, and a hint of the mother of retractions

Lest readers of Retraction Watch had forgotten about Naoki Mori, the cancer researcher who liked his Western blots so much he decided to reuse them — and reuse them some more — he’s back. The British Journal of Haematology (BJH) has retracted two papers Mori published in that journal, and BMC Microbiology has retracted another, … Continue reading Three more withdrawals for Naoki Mori, and a hint of the mother of retractions

On second thought: PNAS retracts two papers after results fail replication

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) ran two retractions this week. One of those papers was “Properdin homeostasis requires turnover of the alternative complement pathway,” which first appeared online in October of last year. The researchers were looking at the interaction between complement — a sort of primitive immune system — and … Continue reading On second thought: PNAS retracts two papers after results fail replication