Search Results for: western blots

Bulfone-Paus saga continues: Her supporters and home institution exchange sharp letters

Retraction Watch readers may have been following the case of Silvia Bulfone-Paus, whose lab has been forced to retract 12 papers amid allegations of scientific misconduct. As is often true in such cases, the story doesn’t end with those retractions. We’ve just become aware of a fascinating exchange in March and April between Bulfone-Paus’s supporters … Continue reading Bulfone-Paus saga continues: Her supporters and home institution exchange sharp letters

Cracking the Mori case: A reviewer describes how manipulated images came to light

We’ve had two questions since learning of the fraud case involving Naoki Mori: Who discovered the manipulations? And how? We now have answers. We recently received an e-mail from a researcher who specializes in Mori’s field — cancer viruses — and who claims to have been a reviewer of a paper he submitted early last year … Continue reading Cracking the Mori case: A reviewer describes how manipulated images came to light

Fourth retraction for Italian scientist comes 11 years after sleuths flagged paper

PLOS One has retracted a 2011 paper first flagged for image issues 11 years ago. The retraction marks the fourth for the paper’s lead author, Gabriella Marfè of the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,” in Caserta, Italy.  “Involvement of FOXO Transcription Factors, TRAIL-FasL/Fas, and Sirtuin Proteins Family in Canine Coronavirus Type II-Induced Apoptosis,” has been cited … Continue reading Fourth retraction for Italian scientist comes 11 years after sleuths flagged paper

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 

Kidney researcher debarred from federal U.S. funding for image manipulation

A former Baylor College of Medicine researcher has been debarred from federal funding for two years after a review by the Office of Research Integrity found evidence of misconduct. Liping Zhang, a former assistant professor in the school’s nephrology section, “engaged in research misconduct in research supported by U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) funds,” according … Continue reading Kidney researcher debarred from federal U.S. funding for image manipulation

Undisclosed conflicts, lightning-fast peer review: One Alzheimer’s journal’s role in a failed drug

Retraction Watch readers are likely familiar with the work of Charles Piller, an award-winning investigative reporter who has been covering problematic research in neuroscience and other fields for Science. We’re pleased to offer an excerpt of his new book, Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s, which publishes today. The Journal … Continue reading Undisclosed conflicts, lightning-fast peer review: One Alzheimer’s journal’s role in a failed drug

Wiley corrects retraction notices for ‘inaccurate’ description of why articles were pulled

The Journal of Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology, a Wiley title, has corrected a pair of retraction notices in which “the reasons for the retraction were described inaccurately,” according to the corrections. The original notices also did not include “the authors’ disapproval of the retraction.”  The retracted articles, “The cardioprotective effects of a combination of quercetin … Continue reading Wiley corrects retraction notices for ‘inaccurate’ description of why articles were pulled

University vice president for research contests retraction for image issues

A university vice president has received his first retraction – and disagrees with it, according to the journal.  The retraction for Jaydutt Vadgama, the Vice President for Research and Health Affairs at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, comes after a commenter on PubPeer noted similarities between data in two papers from … Continue reading University vice president for research contests retraction for image issues

Former Stanford president retracts 1999 Cell paper

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the former president of Stanford University who resigned following scrutiny of his published papers and an institutional research misconduct investigation, has retracted a third paper, this one from Cell.  Last week, Tessier-Lavigne retracted two articles from Science that had been published in 2001.  The Cell paper, A Ligand-Gated Association between Cytoplasmic Domains of … Continue reading Former Stanford president retracts 1999 Cell paper

Paper co-authored by controversial Australian journalist earns expression of concern

One more paper co-authored by Australian health journalist Maryanne Demasi has earned an expression of concern for image duplication. The move comes seven years after the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) was first made aware of potential problems with a figure in Demasi’s paper that showed Western blots. It marks the third time one … Continue reading Paper co-authored by controversial Australian journalist earns expression of concern