An article published earlier this year has been retracted from the Journal of Heat Transfer. But the retraction notice gives no information about what was amiss. The article is entitled “Neural Network Methodology for Modeling Heat Transfer in Wake Flow,” and the retraction notice, in full, reads:
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have retracted a paper in Nanoscale about an experimental computer chip after they were unable to recreate their published results. “We retract this article to avoid misleading readers and intend to undertake further tests to confirm our previous results,” they write in the notice. The scientists are working … Continue reading Chip slip: Irreproducibility erases computer memory paper
Authors of a 2012 article in Infection and Immunity investigating a malaria vaccine strategy are retracting it because it “contains several images that do not accurately reflect the experimental data.” The paper, “Fine Specificity of Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein Binding Engagement of the Duffy Antigen on Human Erythrocytes,” has been cited 9 times, according to Thomson … Continue reading “The first author assumes all responsibility:” Malaria vaccine article retracted for image manipulation
In what can only be described as a remarkable and swift series of events, one of the authors of a much-ballyhooed Science paper claiming that short conversations could change people’s minds on same-sex marriage is retracting it following revelations that the data were faked by his co-author. [3:45 p.m. Eastern, 5/28/15: Please see an update … Continue reading Author retracts study of changing minds on same-sex marriage after colleague admits data were faked
A group of authors have withdrawn a 2011 Journal of Biological Chemistry paper, but then appear to have re-published almost the same paper a month later, only this time with just five of the original nine authors. The paper, “HDAC3-dependent reversible lysine acetylation of cardiac myosin heavy chain isoforms modulates their enzymatic and motor activity,” … Continue reading Déjà vu: JBC epigenetics paper is retracted, then largely re-published with fewer authors
Environmental Science & Technology has issued a correction for a March 2015 paper on methane contamination from gas wells after learning that the authors failed to disclose funding from Chesapeake Energy Corp., a major U.S. energy producer. The paper, “Methane Concentrations in Water Wells Unrelated to Proximity to Existing Oil and Gas Wells in Northeastern … Continue reading Undisclosed industry funding prompts correction of fracking paper
In an lawsuit unsealed yesterday, the owner of a CrossFit gym is suing Ohio State University (OSU) under the False Claims Act, claiming that researchers faked data in a university-based study involving his gym — and that OSU used the study to win $273 million in Federal grants. The suit, originally filed in February in … Continue reading CrossFit gym owner sues Ohio State, says fraudulent data led to $273 million in NIH grants
The author of a 2006 review article published in Abdominal Imaging has retracted it because it hews too closely to previously published articles. The review described the latest imaging techniques used in cancer, focusing on genitourinary conditions. Here’s the full text of the retraction notice for “New Horizons in Genitourinary Oncologic Imaging”:
Authors from Xinxiang Medical University in Weihui, China, are retracting a 2014 paper in Molecular Biology Reports because… well, because lots of things. The researchers exposed nine rats to acute levels of alcohol then compared them to unexposed mice rats, noting differences in gene expression and molecular pathways. But no one is toasting these findings … Continue reading Drunk rats paper wasted by “significant statistical errors”, among other issues
This is the second article in a series by John R. Thomas, Jr., a lawyer at Gentry Locke [Editor’s note, 3/26/19: He has since moved to Haley, Hafemann, Magee and Thomas] who represents whistleblowers in a variety of False Claims Act cases. In this installment, he writes about how whistleblowers can tell if they have … Continue reading So you want to be a whistleblower? Part II