Search Results for: medical

BMJ won’t retract controversial dietary guidelines article, says author

The BMJ is not going to retract a 2015 article criticizing the expert report underlying the U.S. dietary guidelines, despite heavy backlash from readers, according to the author of the article. As Politico reported today, the publication told journalist Nina Teicholz it wouldn’t retract the article, first published one year ago today. Teicholz confirmed to us the journal emailed … Continue reading BMJ won’t retract controversial dietary guidelines article, says author

Authors retract two papers on shock therapy, citing language barriers

An electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) journal has retracted two 2016 papers after uncovering problems in the data analyses, which the author says were due to language barriers. Interestingly, two authors of the newly retracted papers — Yu-Tao Xiang from the University of Macau in China and Gabor Ungvari from the University of Western Australia — also … Continue reading Authors retract two papers on shock therapy, citing language barriers

Finnish institute finds no evidence to support misconduct in diabetes paper

An investigation at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has found no evidence of misconduct by one of its former researchers in a diabetes paper. We previously reported on the case after the VTT was accused of cutting corners in a previous investigation into Matej Orešič (now based at the Steno Diabetes Center in … Continue reading Finnish institute finds no evidence to support misconduct in diabetes paper

Doctor who participated in fake chocolate study fined for violating code of conduct

A German district attorney has fined a doctor who participated in a bogus study showing chocolate helps weight loss, designed to illustrate how shady science can make the news, arguing it was unethical to ask people to participate unknowingly in such a scam. As soon as the study was published, critics raised questions over whether … Continue reading Doctor who participated in fake chocolate study fined for violating code of conduct

Amid controversial Sarepta approval decision, FDA head calls for key study retraction

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called for the retraction of a study about a drug that the agency itself approved earlier this week, despite senior staff opposing the approval. On September 19, the FDA okayed eteplirsen to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that results in muscle degeneration and … Continue reading Amid controversial Sarepta approval decision, FDA head calls for key study retraction

Is it dangerous to set quotas for research output?

Yes, argues Roosy Aulakh, an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh, India. In last week’s BMJ, she argues that recent measures to force researchers in India to produce a minimum number of publications to obtain promotions could set the stage for many problems, including fraud. … Continue reading Is it dangerous to set quotas for research output?

Weekend reads: How to create tabloid science headlines; sugar industry buys research; the citation black market

The week at Retraction Watch featured a look at whether we have an epidemic of flawed meta-analyses, and the story of a strange case involving climate research and pseudonyms. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

When does “overlap” become plagiarism? Here’s what PLOS ONE decided

Consider this: Fragments of a PLOS ONE paper overlap with pieces of other publications. The authors used them without credit and without quotation marks. This sounds an awful lot like plagiarism — using PLOS‘s own standards, even. But the journal isn’t calling it plagiarism. They’ve labeled this an instance of “text overlap,” a spokesperson told us, based … Continue reading When does “overlap” become plagiarism? Here’s what PLOS ONE decided

Social networking site privacy breach complaint prompts retraction

A journal has removed a paper after realizing it contained a verbatim quote from a patient that could reveal the patient’s identity. The journal learned of the slip-up after receiving a complaint from a social networking site for patients called PatientsLikeMe, which enables people with similar conditions to connect with each other. The retracted paper … Continue reading Social networking site privacy breach complaint prompts retraction

Meet the filmmakers who cracked open the case against star surgeon Macchiarini

Paolo Macchiarini — once a world-renowned surgeon for creating tracheas from cadavers and patients’ own stem cells – has been dogged for years by accusations of misconduct. Officials at his institution, Karolinska Institute, initially cleared him of many charges, but that all changed earlier this year, when Swedish Television (SVT) aired a series of documentaries about Macchiarini … Continue reading Meet the filmmakers who cracked open the case against star surgeon Macchiarini