After being “blindsided” a few months ago when she was told one of her 2005 papers was going to be retracted, a researcher scrambled to get information about why. And when she didn’t like the answers, she took to PubPeer. Eight days ago, Shalon (Babbitt) Ledbetter, the first author of the 2005 paper published in … Continue reading Delays, arguing over upcoming Cell retraction leave first author “devastated”
In a recent editorial, the Journal of Neurochemistry declared it would no longer accept author-suggested reviewers. While other journals have done the same in order to prevent fake reviews, the Journal of Neurochemistry is basing its decision on a different logic. We spoke with editor Jörg Schulz about why he believes relying on reviewers picked by editors helps … Continue reading Why one journal will no longer accept author-suggested reviewers
A journal has retracted a warning posted to a paper involved in an authorship dispute, after the issue was resolved in a court case. In an editorial published Jan. 10, editors at the journal Molecules wrote that they were removing the expression of concern for “Helleborus purpurascens—Amino Acid and Peptide Analysis Linked to the Chemical … Continue reading Journal retracts note of concern after court settles authorship dispute
A researcher has retracted a 2009 chemistry paper after discovering that a figure had been “inappropriately edited.” According to the journal, a reader brought the images in question in Figure 1 to the editors’ attention last September. Timothy P. Lodge, distinguished professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis — and editor of Macromolecules through December … Continue reading Author retracts 2009 chemistry paper with “heavily doctored” images
Here’s a rather odd case: A postdoctoral researcher says his former boss changed his name on a paper without his permission. According to the postdoc, Antonio Herrera-Merchan, his principal investigator at University of Granada insisted on the name change to distance them both from a scandal in Herrera-Merchan’s previous lab. After publishing a paper in … Continue reading Lead author changes co-author’s name on a paper without his permission. Why?
A researcher found guilty of misconduct earlier this year has been temporarily banned from funding by the German Research Foundation. The Foundation’s decision, issued on Dec. 14, 2017, comes six months after the Leibniz Association, made up of 91 independent research institutions, found Karl Lenhard Rudolph guilty of “grossly negligent scientific misconduct.” The research body … Continue reading Former director earns two-year funding ban after misconduct finding
A BMJ journal has published an updated analysis of a 2007 paper that shaped current car seat safety recommendations, which reports less conclusive findings about the safest way to install the seat. The updated analysis follows an expression of concern the journal Injury Prevention added to the paper in June 2017, after the authors and … Continue reading “This is about saving kids’ lives:” Authors update pivotal car seat safety results
PLOS ONE has retracted two 2014 papers from a group of researchers, after an institutional investigation confirmed image duplication. Although the authors initially asked to correct the figures in the two papers, they ultimately agreed with the decision to retract. Mrinal K. Maiti—an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur and corresponding author … Continue reading PLOS ONE retracts two papers one year after author says he okayed the move
Last week, a Swedish government funding agency announced 325 recipients of grants in Natural and Engineering Sciences. We don’t normally write about grant announcements, but we’re flagging this one because one recipient may be familiar to our readers. It is Peter Eklöv of Uppsala University, a co-author of a now-retracted Science paper about the potential … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: Author of controversial retracted paper earns Swedish gov’t grant
The Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists (JSA) has requested the retraction of nine additional papers by a co-author of fraudster Yoshitaka Fujii, after investigating allegations of fraud in dozens of papers. According to the report, a committee investigated approximately 40 publications by Yuhji Saitoh of Yachiyo Medical Center and Tokyo Women’s Medical University and “identified ten publications with clear … Continue reading Society recommends 9 retractions for co-author of researcher with record number of retractions