Search Results for: sting

Psychologist Jens Förster earns second and third retractions as part of settlement

High-profile social psychologist Jens Förster has earned two retractions following an investigation by his former workplace. He agreed to the retractions as part of a settlement with the German Society for Psychology (DGPs). The papers are two of eight that were found to contain “strong statistical evidence for low veracity.” According to the report from an expert panel convened at … Continue reading Psychologist Jens Förster earns second and third retractions as part of settlement

Do radiology journals retract fewer papers? New study suggests yes

There’s good news and bad news in radiology research, according to a new study: The number of retractions is increasing in radiology journals, but the rate of retraction remains lower than that seen in biomedical journals outside the field of radiology. According to the study in the American Journal of Roentgenology, between 1986 and 2001, … Continue reading Do radiology journals retract fewer papers? New study suggests yes

Sanction for Toronto researchers upheld despite court challenge

A Toronto hospital network is keeping two researchers’ labs closed even after an Ontario court quashed part of a misconduct finding by the institution. Some background: After the University Health Network found evidence of falsified data, Sylvia Asa stepped down as Program Medical Director of the Laboratory Medicine Program, the largest hospital diagnostic laboratory in Canada. Due to the investigation, UHN suspended the labs … Continue reading Sanction for Toronto researchers upheld despite court challenge

Why publishing negative findings is hard

When a researcher encountered two papers that suggested moonlight has biological effects — on both plants and humans — he took a second look at the data, and came to different conclusions. That was the easy part — getting the word out about his negative findings, however, was much more difficult. When Jean-Luc Margot, a … Continue reading Why publishing negative findings is hard

Court dismisses lawsuit by XMRV-chronic fatigue syndrome researcher

A California court has dismissed virologist Judy Mikovits’s lawsuit against fourteen people and two Nevada corporations, in part because she failed to submit necessary documents on time. Mikovits is the author on a now-retracted Science paper suggesting a link between a virus known as XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome, which has no known cause. She alleged that she was fired … Continue reading Court dismisses lawsuit by XMRV-chronic fatigue syndrome researcher

Journal temporarily removes paper linking HPV vaccine to behavioral issues

The editor in chief of Vaccine has removed a paper suggesting a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can trigger behavioral changes in mice. The note doesn’t provide any reason for the withdrawal, although authors were told the editor asked for further review. Two co-authors on the paper — about Gardasil, a vaccine against HPV — have previously suggested … Continue reading Journal temporarily removes paper linking HPV vaccine to behavioral issues

After 10 years, a whistleblower is vindicated. Here’s why he kept going.

Stefan Franzen doesn’t give up. Ten years ago, he began to suspect the data behind his colleagues’ research about using RNA to make palladium nanoparticles, a potentially valuable tool that ended up as a Science paper. Recently, the National Science Foundation (NSF) decided to cut off funding for Bruce Eaton and Dan Feldheim — currently at the University of … Continue reading After 10 years, a whistleblower is vindicated. Here’s why he kept going.

Sparks fly in Finland over misconduct investigation

Researchers in Finland are criticizing an investigation by VTT Technical Research Centre into one of its scientists. The investigation followed allegations about the VTT’s plasma and serum metabolomics (QBIX) group, previously led by Matej Orešič (who is now based at the Steno Diabetes Center in Gentofte, Denmark) and Tuulia Hyötyläinen. Kai Simons, who conducted an … Continue reading Sparks fly in Finland over misconduct investigation

Chemist sues University of Texas (again) to keep PhD

A chemist is suing the University of Texas a second time in an effort to keep the PhD she earned in 2008. In 2014, school officials revoked Suvi Orr‘s degree after finding it was based, in part, on falsified data. Some of the data were also included in a paper in Organic Letters that was retracted in 2011 after some steps … Continue reading Chemist sues University of Texas (again) to keep PhD

Should there be “data authors?” Q&A with NEJM editor Jeffrey Drazen

Would designating a set of authors as responsible for data production – separate from those who conduct the analysis – help boost the reliability of papers? That’s a question raised by the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Jeffrey Drazen. Along with many other editors of top medical journals, Drazen recently signed a … Continue reading Should there be “data authors?” Q&A with NEJM editor Jeffrey Drazen