Weekend reads: Study claiming masks harm is retracted; papers lead to high treason charges; paying to publish in fake journals

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to more than 300. There are now 40,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains 200 titles. And have you … Continue reading Weekend reads: Study claiming masks harm is retracted; papers lead to high treason charges; paying to publish in fake journals

Exclusive: Top-tier university in Japan investigating prof’s alleged misconduct

Tokyo’s Waseda University is investigating alleged misconduct by an assistant professor at the institution, Retraction Watch has learned. The probe is focusing on at least three works by Woohyang Sim, of the Faculty of International Research and Education, including her 2020 doctoral dissertation, titled “What is Higher Education For? Educational Aspirations and Career Prospects of … Continue reading Exclusive: Top-tier university in Japan investigating prof’s alleged misconduct

Guest post: When whistleblowers need lawyers

In my prior career as an investigative science journalist and now as a whistleblower lawyer, I’ve seen institutions react to allegations of scientific fraud in two ways.  The first could be called “Investigate and Disclose.” This strategy was exemplified by Bell Laboratories’ 2002 investigation of allegations that Jan Hendrik Schön, a member of the technical … Continue reading Guest post: When whistleblowers need lawyers

Five years on, convicted transplant surgeon earns expressions of concern from Lancet

In 2018, when The Lancet pulled two studies by once-celebrated transplant surgeon Paolo Macchiarini after he was found guilty of misconduct, we suggested in a post that the journal’s chapter of the long-running Macchiarini saga was finally over.  We were wrong. Last week, the journal issued expressions of concern about a pair of papers by … Continue reading Five years on, convicted transplant surgeon earns expressions of concern from Lancet

Cancer researcher banned from federal funding for faking data in nearly 400 images in 16 grant applications

A former associate professor at Purdue University faked data in two published papers and hundreds of images in 16 grant applications, according to a U.S. government research watchdog.  Alice C. Chang, whose publications and grants listed her name as Chun-Ju Chang, received nearly $700,000 in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through grant … Continue reading Cancer researcher banned from federal funding for faking data in nearly 400 images in 16 grant applications

Nobel Prize winner Gregg Semenza retracts four papers

A Johns Hopkins researcher who shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology has retracted four papers from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) for concerns about images in the articles. Gregg Semenza is “one of today’s preeminent researchers on the molecular mechanisms of oxygen regulation,” the work for which he … Continue reading Nobel Prize winner Gregg Semenza retracts four papers

Einstein duo faked data in 16 federal grant applications: ORI

A pair of researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York faked data in 50 figures in 16 NIH grant applications for six years starting in 2013, according to new findings from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI). According to the ORI, Daniel Leong, a former lab tech at Einstein, intentionally, … Continue reading Einstein duo faked data in 16 federal grant applications: ORI

University of Rochester cancer researchers included ‘incorrect images’ in 13 papers, committee finds

A group of cancer researchers at the University of Rochester have now lost three papers over concerns about the data in the articles – issues that evidently did not rise to the level of misconduct, according to the institution. The work came from the lab of Yuhchyau Chen, of the university’s Wilmot Cancer Institute. A … Continue reading University of Rochester cancer researchers included ‘incorrect images’ in 13 papers, committee finds

Weekend reads: Hundreds of researchers in China sanctioned; phony finance research; results of the cancer research reproducibility project

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Paper on canine gastrointestinal illness dogged by lack of disclosures … Continue reading Weekend reads: Hundreds of researchers in China sanctioned; phony finance research; results of the cancer research reproducibility project

False claims allegations cost Mass General, former Harvard researcher more than $1 million

A former Harvard researcher has agreed to pay $215,000 to settle allegations that he used bogus data in a grant application to the National Institutes of Health — and the teaching hospital where he worked has already repaid more than $900,000 in grant funds. The settlement, of which we were just made aware, was announced … Continue reading False claims allegations cost Mass General, former Harvard researcher more than $1 million