The week at Retraction Watch featured developments in the retraction of a paper claiming the dangers of GMOs, and claims of censorship by a Nature journal. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
We get email glitches from time to time, and some alerts don’t go out to readers. In cased you missed them, here are two posts from this week that didn’t make it into your inbox: Paper by troubled surgeon Macchiarini is flagged by a Nature journal over data concerns Cardiovascular researcher in Taiwan logs four … Continue reading Posts you may have missed: Macchiarini logs EoC, 4 retractions for cardiovascular researcher
A high-profile plant scientist who has been racking up corrections and retractions at a steady clip has had another paper — this one from Science — retracted. The retraction, of a paper that had been previously corrected, is the eighth for Olivier Voinnet. According to the notice, the correction did not address all the figure problems … Continue reading Eighth Voinnet paper retracted — this one from Science
A second paper about a major randomized trial in Japanese patients with heart disease is being retracted, after an investigation reportedly found multiple problems with the paper. As predicted by Pharma Japan, Hypertension Research is retracting a 2011 paper, already the subject of two errata. Although a spokesperson said she couldn’t say why the paper was being retracted, as … Continue reading Second paper about major blood pressure drug trial in Japan to be retracted
The week at Retraction Watch featured doubts about the effects of oxytocin, aka the “love hormone,” and a report on how common reference errors are. Here’s what was happening elsewhere, with apologies for the later-than-usual posting:
California State University, Northridge has settled a lawsuit with a former employee, who sued the university after claiming it fired him over his creationist beliefs. In 2013, Mark Armitage was fired from his position as manager of the biology department’s electron and confocal microscopy suite at California State University Northridge (CSUN), after publishing a paper in in Acta … Continue reading University makes six-figure lawsuit settlement with creationist
The Texas institute that participated in the groundbreaking gravitational waves discovery had to repay nearly $5 million in funding after misusing and misreporting benefits, according to audits obtained by The Monitor. The infractions occurred at The University of Texas Brownsville, which has since become part of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Once the issues were … Continue reading Texas participant in physics breakthrough repaid $5M in misspent funds
We spoke with Matt Hodgkinson about how he turned his “spidey sense” for what’s wrong with papers into a new position at Hindawi, one of the largest publishers of open-access journals. Retraction Watch: As the new Head of Research Integrity at Hindawi, what does your position entail? What does your typical day look like?
The week at Retraction Watch featured a look at where retractions for fake peer review come from, and an eyebrow-raising plan that has a journal charging would-be whistleblowers a fee. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
An Elsevier journal has angered an author by removing his study without telling him. After spending months asking the journal why it removed the paper — about a heavily debated theorem in physics — and getting no response, the author threatened to seek damages from the journal and publisher for “permanently stigmatizing” his work. Yesterday, an Elsevier … Continue reading Physics journal retracts paper without alerting author