Search Results for: Frontiers

Journal pulls plug on paper that predicts person’s death, against authors’ objections

Some people can look at an old photograph of a person — say, of your grandmother in elementary school — and tell whether the person is today alive or dead, according to a paper published last spring. If that sounds too weird to be true…well, it might be. The journal editors have retracted the paper for not having enough evidence to back … Continue reading Journal pulls plug on paper that predicts person’s death, against authors’ objections

Weekend reads: Why so much research is dodgy; why scientists should shun journals; ethical grey zones

The week at Retraction Watch featured a cancer researcher retracting 19 studies at once from a single journal, and the story of how a 7-year-old came to publish a paper. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Weekend reads: Data sharing fees block access; Machiavellianism and gossip in science; “power pose” redux

The week at Retraction Watch featured a look at where retractions for fake peer review come from, and an eyebrow-raising plan that has a journal charging would-be whistleblowers a fee. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

A significant cardiology retraction; second retraction from Case Western biologist; and more you may have missed

A number of readers contacted us last week to let us know that their email alerts had stopped arriving. We’ve now fixed that problem, which had to do with a software update. With apologies for the technical glitch, here’s a roundup (from a Friday post, which wasn’t delivered by email) of posts for which emails … Continue reading A significant cardiology retraction; second retraction from Case Western biologist; and more you may have missed

Posts you may have missed: Student loses PhD, controversial data to be released

We’ve got some late-breaking news to report — plus, it’s been a busy news week overall, and some of our email alerts didn’t go out, due to a programming glitch. Below, here are some recent stories you may have missed. A tribunal at Queen Mary University of London has decided to disclose the data from the … Continue reading Posts you may have missed: Student loses PhD, controversial data to be released

Spanish lab admits to image manipulation, retracts one paper, corrects another

A group has retracted one paper and corrected another in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) for image manipulations. Last author José G. Castaño told us the manipulation occurred at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he and one other co-author are based. He declined to name who was responsible. Here’s the retraction notice for “Cytomegalovirus promoter up-regulation is the major cause … Continue reading Spanish lab admits to image manipulation, retracts one paper, corrects another

Authors didn’t generate key brain images, probe finds

A neuroscience journal has issued a retraction after discovering some of the paper’s integral images didn’t originate from the authors’ labs. The retraction notice  — for a study about a condition once known as “water on the brain” — cites an investigation by the journal’s publisher, Frontiers, which determined that the figures were not “duly attributed.” The … Continue reading Authors didn’t generate key brain images, probe finds

Weekend reads: Elsevier’s “stupid patent of the month;” how Republicans and Democrats retract; hospital apologizes for published case report

The week at Retraction Watch featured a shooting by a researcher fired for misconduct, and the creation of fake computer-generated peer reviews. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Author lifts from one paper in two different articles. Why does one journal retract, while the other corrects?

Are there instances when similarities between papers should be fixed by a correction, rather than a retraction? We’re asking ourselves that question after seeing two journals take very different approaches to a somewhat similar situation. Last year, Frontiers in Physiology retracted a paper by Anastasios Lymperopoulos at Nova Southeastern University in Florida because of an “an … Continue reading Author lifts from one paper in two different articles. Why does one journal retract, while the other corrects?

Author loses 2nd paper on supposed dangers of chemtrails

Against the author’s wishes, a journal has retracted a paper about chemtrails, a long-standing conspiracy theory about the dangers of cloud trails released from jet planes. After the paper was scrutinized on librarian Jeffrey Beall’s blog and social media last week, Frontiers in Public Health issued an expression of concern (EOC). The paper was published June 30, and retracted … Continue reading Author loses 2nd paper on supposed dangers of chemtrails