Search Results for: sting

Have 1 in 5 UK academics fabricated data?

A small survey of UK academics suggests misconduct such as faking data and plagiarism is occurring surprisingly often. The survey — of 215 UK academics — estimated that 1 in 7 had plagiarized from someone else’s work, and nearly 1 in 5 had fabricated data. Here’s how Joanna Williams and David Roberts at the University of Kent … Continue reading Have 1 in 5 UK academics fabricated data?

Unwitting co-author requests retraction of melatonin paper

Nine years ago, a well-known pharmacologist hosted a researcher from another university in his lab. On a Saturday night last September, he learned while surfing Google Scholar that they had published a paper together. Marco Cosentino, who works at the University of Insubria in Italy, know that Seema Rai, a zoologist at Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in India, … Continue reading Unwitting co-author requests retraction of melatonin paper

Here’s why this lawyer defends scientists accused of misconduct

More scientists are trying to settle accusations of misconduct in court, a trend very familiar to Washington, DC-based lawyer Paul Thaler. Regular readers may recall the name of one of Thaler’s clients — Rakesh Kumar, a scientist at George Washington University who filed an $8 million lawsuit for how the school handled an investigation into his work. … Continue reading Here’s why this lawyer defends scientists accused of misconduct

HIV paper pulled for lack of consent, errors

A researcher failed to obtain proper consent from HIV patients included in his study about risky sexual behavior, according to the journal that retracted his paper. The study, based on interviews with 154 men and women living with HIV, concluded that experiencing negative life events correlated with risky sexual behavior. But although the author claimed to have complied with … Continue reading HIV paper pulled for lack of consent, errors

Do publishers add value? Maybe little, suggests preprint study of preprints

Academic publishers argue they add value to manuscripts by coordinating the peer-review process and editing manuscripts — but a new preliminary study suggests otherwise. The study — which is yet to be peer reviewed — found that papers published in traditional journals don’t change much from their preprint versions, suggesting publishers aren’t having as much of an influence … Continue reading Do publishers add value? Maybe little, suggests preprint study of preprints

Engineering journal pulls two papers for “compromised” peer review

An engineering journal has retracted two papers for faked or rigged peer review, but authors of one of the papers are objecting to the retraction.  The first author of that paper told us he and his co-authors “absolutely disagree” with the retraction, and are prepared to use “legal means” to safeguard their “rights and interests.” He … Continue reading Engineering journal pulls two papers for “compromised” peer review

Authors pull Nature paper about DEET and flies

Authors have retracted a Nature paper which identified neurons that render flies sensitive to a potent insect repellent, after losing confidence in the findings. The first author, however, said she does not agree with the retraction, noting that she continues to believe the data are correct. According to the notice, the remaining authors say they no longer support the … Continue reading Authors pull Nature paper about DEET and flies

Highly cited cancer researcher logs 8th, 9th retractions

Bharat Aggarwal, a highly cited cancer researcher who retired last year from MD Anderson, has logged two retractions following an investigation into his work, bringing his total to nine. Aggarwal has threatened to sue us in the past, and told us that MD Anderson has been investigating his work. Earlier this year, Biochemical Pharmacology retracted seven studies of … Continue reading Highly cited cancer researcher logs 8th, 9th retractions

Coptic cop-out? Religion journal won’t pull paper based on bogus ‘gospel’

What the Harvard Theological Review giveth, it evidently will not taketh away. The venerable publication about religious matters is refusing to retract a 2014 article by a noted scholar of early Christianity despite evidence that the article — about Jesus’s wife — was based on a forgery. The paper, by Harvard theologian Karen King, described … Continue reading Coptic cop-out? Religion journal won’t pull paper based on bogus ‘gospel’