Search Results for: elsevier

COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis paper raises questions about what earns post-publication peer review

On March 7, a Sage journal published an expression of concern for an article on cases of myocarditis in people who had received a COVID-19 vaccine.  “The Editor and the publisher were alerted to potential issues with the research methodology and conclusions and author conflicts of interest” and had undertaken an investigation of the article, … Continue reading COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis paper raises questions about what earns post-publication peer review

Weekend reads: On errors and consequences; AI in peer review; Canada’s PM accused of plagiarism

Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up past 500. There are more than 58,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains more than 300 titles. And have you seen our leaderboard of authors with the most retractions lately … Continue reading Weekend reads: On errors and consequences; AI in peer review; Canada’s PM accused of plagiarism

Why RFK Jr.’s pick for a vaccine-autism review may be familiar to Retraction Watch readers

When it comes to conversations about vaccines and autism, we always have plenty to write about. And the latest news that the Trump administration has tapped David Geier for a study on possible links between immunizations and autism, first reported by the Washington Post, is no exception. Geier has a long history of promoting the … Continue reading Why RFK Jr.’s pick for a vaccine-autism review may be familiar to Retraction Watch readers

Sequence errors are ‘canaries in a coal mine’ in genetics studies, sleuth says 

A genetics researcher came across an interesting paper earlier this year on the gene he studies. The scientist, a doctoral candidate who asked not to be named, decided to take a closer look at which part of the gene, SNHG14, the authors targeted to measure its expression. He ran the sequence of the short strand … Continue reading Sequence errors are ‘canaries in a coal mine’ in genetics studies, sleuth says 

His manuscript was rejected. Then he saw it published by other authors

A chemist at a university in Pakistan found a surprise when he opened an alert from ResearchGate on a newly published paper on a topic related to his own work.  When Muhammad Kashif, a chemist at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, looked at the paper, he noticed “substantial overlap” with an unpublished review article he … Continue reading His manuscript was rejected. Then he saw it published by other authors

Was nonsense ‘vegetative electron microscopy’ phrase a Farsi typo?

A gibberish phrase that caught the attention of science sleuths after it slipped into several journals might trace its origin to a typo in Farsi rather than questionable use of AI, as we reported earlier this month. Nearly two dozen scientific papers, including some in journals from major publishers, mysteriously refer to “vegetative electron microscopy” … Continue reading Was nonsense ‘vegetative electron microscopy’ phrase a Farsi typo?

Author forges document to claim USDA affiliation 

A journal has retracted three papers after an investigation revealed one of the authors falsely claimed he was affiliated with the United States Department of Agriculture. All three retraction notices, issued February 13 by the Journal of Environmental Management,  state study coauthor Tariq Shah claimed affiliation with the USDA Plant Science Research Unit. “When asked … Continue reading Author forges document to claim USDA affiliation 

Paper on conversion therapy retracted, authors planning to republish 

A four-year-old paper claiming conversion therapy reduced same-sex thoughts in gay men has been retracted after criticism from other researchers prompted further review of the work. “Efficacy and risk of sexual orientation change efforts: a retrospective analysis of 125 exposed men,” published in F1000Research in March 2021, found conversion therapy (referred to in the paper … Continue reading Paper on conversion therapy retracted, authors planning to republish 

As Springer Nature journal clears AI papers, one university’s retractions rise drastically

Neurosurgical Review has begun retracting scores of commentaries and  letters to the editor after getting inundated by AI-generated manuscripts. At the top of the affiliations list: Saveetha University in Chennai, India, an institution that, as we reported with Science in 2023, engages in aggressive self-citation.   At publication time, Neurosurgical Review had retracted 129 papers so … Continue reading As Springer Nature journal clears AI papers, one university’s retractions rise drastically

‘The fraud was not subtle’: Chemist blames students after ten papers retracted

While reviewing a manuscript for the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Caroline Kervarc-Genre and her colleague, Thibault Cantat, researchers at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, noticed something unusual.  The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra buried in the supplementary information had striking irregularities: The baseline was interrupted in some parts, and the noise was … Continue reading ‘The fraud was not subtle’: Chemist blames students after ten papers retracted