After receiving additional data from the government, an activist group has retracted an analysis that suggested energy companies were not taking steps to cut back on a controversial practice. The Bakken analysis — named for North Dakota’s gigantic underground deposit of oil and natural gas — was published by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC). It … Continue reading Activist group retracts warnings about midwest oil wells
A few unusual acknowledgements added by authors after finalizing the manuscripts have highlighted a common element in science publishing – right before going to press, authors can make minor changes to manuscripts that editors won’t necessarily review before publication. We were reminded of this when reading two opinion papers published in August by Science and Engineering Ethics. … Continue reading A publication loophole? Authors can make changes editors won’t always see
A review of preclinical research of a now widely used cancer drug suggests the studies contain multiple methodology flaws and overestimate the benefits of the drug. Specifically, the researchers found that most studies didn’t randomize treatments, didn’t blind investigators to which animals were receiving the drug, and tested tumors in only one animal model, which limits the … Continue reading Much of preclinical research into one cancer drug is flawed, says report
The week at Retraction Watch featured a mysterious retraction from PLOS ONE, and a thoughtful piece by a scientist we’ve covered frequently on where we went wrong in that coverage. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
We are pleased to present a guest post by Paolo Macchiarini, a surgeon best known for pioneering the creation of tracheas from cadavers and patients’ own stem cells. Macchiarini has faced some harsh criticisms over the years, including accusations of downplaying the risks of the procedure and not obtaining proper consent. We have covered the investigation, including … Continue reading Where I think Retraction Watch went wrong: A guest post from Paolo Macchiarini
PLOS One has retracted one of two cancer papers with “substantial overlap” that were reviewed simultaneously by different editors. This one’s a bit of a mystery — neither of the papers share an author, and no authors share institutions. Once the editors discovered the overlap, they contacted the authors. One group of authors provided the requested … Continue reading Mystery: PLOS One seeks investigation after publishing two papers with “substantial overlap”
Three authors have been banned from journals published by IGM Publication, including the Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research. The ban — a relatively infrequent occurrence in publishing — comes after the publisher removed a 2014 article that seems to have merely changed the title and authors of a 2013 article from another journal. When … Continue reading Publisher bans authors for apparent plagiarism
A correction to a 2011 paper doesn’t change its main conclusion: Hearing song lyrics about violence — “let the bodies hit the floor,” for example — can prompt aggressive behavior, even more so than violent imagery in music videos. The correction follows an investigation by Macquarie University that found errors in data analysis to be an “honest … Continue reading Violent songs can lead to spicy food, and other lessons we learned from corrected graphic
After reviewing hundreds of peer review reports from three journals, authors representing publishers BioMed Central and Springer suggest there may be some benefits to using “open” peer review — where both authors and reviewers reveal their identity — and not relying on reviewers hand-picked by the authors themselves. But the conclusions are nuanced — they found … Continue reading Should peer review be open, and rely less on author-picked reviewers? Study says…
The BMJ has issued two “clarifications” to an investigation it published last week that questioned whether the new U.S. dietary guidelines were evidence-based. The article criticized several aspects of the new dietary guidelines, such as “deleting meat from the list of foods recommended as part of its healthy diets” — without, according to author Nina Teicholz, reviewing the scientific literature … Continue reading Following criticism, BMJ “clarifies” dietary guidelines investigation