JCO expresses concern over images from Spanish group that had aroused earlier concern

The Journal of Clinical Oncology has issued an expression of concern about a 2003 article by a group of researchers in Spain who appear to have had recurrent problems with images. The paper has been cited 56 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge. Here’s the notice: It has been brought to our attention, … Continue reading JCO expresses concern over images from Spanish group that had aroused earlier concern

Cell runs a lengthy correction, rather than retraction, for image problems

The journal Cell has an interesting — and somewhat puzzling — correction this month that we’ll add to our “mega-correction” file. At issue is a paper, published in October, from the lab of Harvard’s Stephen Elledge, a noted genetics researcher, whose first author is a post-doc there named Michael Emanuele. According to the notice, Emanuele (singled … Continue reading Cell runs a lengthy correction, rather than retraction, for image problems

Tsuji explains why JBC paper was retracted: Western blot problems

Last week, we reported on the retraction of a paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) that had one of the journal’s typically inscrutable retraction notices.: This article has been withdrawn by the authors. Late last week, we heard back from corresponding author Takashi Tsuji by email. It turns out one of our commenters … Continue reading Tsuji explains why JBC paper was retracted: Western blot problems

Resveratrol researcher Dipak Das: My lab’s work was “99% correct”

Dipak Das, the UConn red wine researcher charged by his institution with rampant misconduct that will likely lead to dozens of retractions, is evidently a 99%-er — when it comes to accuracy, that is. According to a statement purportedly from his lawyer refuting those charges, Das claims, among other things, that the output from his … Continue reading Resveratrol researcher Dipak Das: My lab’s work was “99% correct”

Journal of Neurochemistry retracts paper after SUNY Upstate medical school finds evidence of fraud

Following an investigation by the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate into the work of one of its neuroscientists, the Journal of Neurochemistry has retracted a 2007 paper. The retraction notice is quite clear about why the paper is being withdrawn:

ORI roundup: Former SUNY grad student, two Kansas U researchers hit with sanctions

In two unrelated cases, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has sanctioned a grad student and a pair of colleagues, one of whom plagiarized and the other allowed the intellectual theft to go unchecked. We think the handling of these cases — both first noted briefly by The Chronicle of Higher Education — is worth noting.

Corrections in PLoS One, Nature Medicine for Zhiguo Wang, and details about Montreal Heart Institute investigation

PLoS One and Nature Medicine have issued corrections for papers by Zhiguo Wang, the former Montreal Heart Institute researcher who resigned in September following an investigation into image manipulation in his lab.  In September, PLoS One told us that they were investigating the paper. Here’s the text of the correction for “Transcriptional and Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms for Oncogenic Overexpression of … Continue reading Corrections in PLoS One, Nature Medicine for Zhiguo Wang, and details about Montreal Heart Institute investigation

Authors retract two JBC papers on how heart rhythms go awry; Montreal Heart Institute looking into why

The authors of two Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) studies of the molecular underpinnings of hearts whose rhythms have gone awry have retracted the papers, for reasons that are not completely clear. The two papers are  “MicroRNA miR-133 represses HERG K+ channel expression contributing to QT prolongation in diabetic hearts,” published in 2007, and “Down-regulation of miR-1/miR-133 contributes … Continue reading Authors retract two JBC papers on how heart rhythms go awry; Montreal Heart Institute looking into why

Three more withdrawals for Naoki Mori, and a hint of the mother of retractions

Lest readers of Retraction Watch had forgotten about Naoki Mori, the cancer researcher who liked his Western blots so much he decided to reuse them — and reuse them some more — he’s back. The British Journal of Haematology (BJH) has retracted two papers Mori published in that journal, and BMC Microbiology has retracted another, … Continue reading Three more withdrawals for Naoki Mori, and a hint of the mother of retractions

On second thought: PNAS retracts two papers after results fail replication

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) ran two retractions this week. One of those papers was “Properdin homeostasis requires turnover of the alternative complement pathway,” which first appeared online in October of last year. The researchers were looking at the interaction between complement — a sort of primitive immune system — and … Continue reading On second thought: PNAS retracts two papers after results fail replication