Search Results for: medical

Karolinska orders new investigation of trachea surgeon Macchiarini

The Karolinska Institutet University Board announced today it was issuing a new external investigation of trachea surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, looking into questions about his recruitment and the handling of previous allegations of misconduct. According to a press release: The University Board deems such an inquiry to be an important part of restoring the confidence of the … Continue reading Karolinska orders new investigation of trachea surgeon Macchiarini

Letter calls for retraction of yoga weight loss paper

A paper concluding that a specific series of yoga poses is effective at promoting weight loss in obese women has a call for retraction in a letter to the editor of the International Journal of Yoga.  The study followed 87 women for 8 weeks as they completed a regular routine of  yoga, circuit training, or walking on a treadmill. “Suryanamaskar: An equivalent approach towards management … Continue reading Letter calls for retraction of yoga weight loss paper

Wikipedia page reincarnated as paper: Authors plagiarized paper on reincarnation

When an entry on Wikipedia dies, can it come back as a paper in a peer-reviewed journal? Apparently not, according to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, which has retracted a 2013 article about reincarnation after discovering the authors lifted text from a “old revision” of a Wikipedia entry on the subject. The article, “The mystery of … Continue reading Wikipedia page reincarnated as paper: Authors plagiarized paper on reincarnation

Weekend reads: Go ahead, plagiarize and sabotage your colleagues; star surgeon’s days at Karolinska numbered

The week at Retraction Watch featured a case of a disappearing journal, lots of bad news for Olivier Voinnet, and advice on what to do when you make a mistake. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

“Innocent mistake” leads to bioethics article retraction

A July article that incorrectly called out nine leading bioethics journals for their lack of availability to researchers in low- and middle-income countries is being pulled after editors of the indicted journals refuted the allegations. The last author on the article, published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, told us an “innocent mistake” and difficulty navigating … Continue reading “Innocent mistake” leads to bioethics article retraction

Sharing data is a good thing. But we need to consider the costs.

Last week, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors proposed requiring authors to share deidentified patient data underlying the published results of clinical trials within six months of publication. The proposal has earned much support but also some concerns – for example that other scientists might poach the findings, acting as the New England Journal of … Continue reading Sharing data is a good thing. But we need to consider the costs.

What to do when you make a mistake? Advice from authors who’ve been there

After a group of researchers noticed an error that affected the analysis of a survey of psychologists working with medical teams to help pediatric patients, they didn’t just issue a retraction — they published a commentary explaining what exactly went wrong. The error was discovered by a research assistant who was assembling a scientific poster, and noticed … Continue reading What to do when you make a mistake? Advice from authors who’ve been there

Ontario court quashes part of misconduct finding for prominent pair

An Ontario court has quashed part of a misconduct finding against a prominent husband and wife team by the University Health Network in Toronto. Last year, we reported that Sylvia Asa had stepped down from her position as Program Medical Director of the Laboratory Medicine Program at the UHN — the largest hospital diagnostic laboratory in Canada — after an investigation uncovered evidence of … Continue reading Ontario court quashes part of misconduct finding for prominent pair

Weekend reads: “Research parasites;” CRISPR controversy; access to PACE data denied

The week at Retraction Watch featured a brewing case over GMO research, a 10-reason retraction. and a retraction and apology from the CBC. Before we get to this week’s reads from elsewhere, we’re happy to announce that we’re launching a daily email newsletter that will include posts from the last 24 hours, as well as links to … Continue reading Weekend reads: “Research parasites;” CRISPR controversy; access to PACE data denied

So, pot may not be as harmless as a recent study suggested

Researchers are correcting a widely covered study that suggested chronic use of pot might not put users at risk of problems later in life. It turns out that initial, unexpected finding — covered by Newsweek, The Washington Post, Quartz, and (of course) The Stoner’s Cookbook (now known as HERB) — wasn’t quite right, and a reanalysis found users had a small uptick … Continue reading So, pot may not be as harmless as a recent study suggested