EMBO investigation yields two more retractions and three corrections for Voinnet

An investigation into the work of Olivier Voinnet by The EMBO Journal has led to another two retractions and three more corrections for the high-profile plant scientist, now suspended from the CNRS for two years. According to the authors, Voinnet was responsible for some of the errors; all papers have been questioned on PubPeer. The EMBO J, … Continue reading EMBO investigation yields two more retractions and three corrections for Voinnet

“Exactly the same clinical study” published six times

A group of researchers conducted a clinical trial on hundreds of hypertensive patients. Then, they published the results…six times. The “nearly identical” papers came to our attention via a retraction in Inflammation. Editor in chief Bruce Cronstein explained how he learned of the mass duplication: The editors were contacted en masse by somebody doing a Cochrane Review … Continue reading “Exactly the same clinical study” published six times

8 things you might not know about research misconduct proceedings: Guest post

Have you ever wondered what could happen if you’re accused of misconduct and face official proceedings? We are pleased to present a guest post from Callan Stein, a lawyer who represents U.S. researchers in misconduct cases, who describes some nuances many may not realize about these situations.  Most researchers know that being accused of research … Continue reading 8 things you might not know about research misconduct proceedings: Guest post

Three more retractions for former record-holder Boldt, maybe more to come

Justus Liebig University in Germany has been investigating concerns that Joachim Boldt, number two on the Retraction Watch Leaderboard and now up to 92 retractions, may have “manipulated” more data than previously believed. Until now, the vast majority of Boldt’s retractions were thought to have involved inadequate ethics approval. However, new retraction notices for Boldt’s … Continue reading Three more retractions for former record-holder Boldt, maybe more to come

Weekend reads: Academic article brokering; favorite fieldwork bloopers; worst peer review ever

This week, we marked the fifth anniversary of Retraction Watch with the announcement of a generous new grant. We also covered the retraction of a slew of papers in a journal plagued by problems. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Paper on natural ways to fight cancer stem cells nixed for plagiarism

Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents has retracted a 2015 review article about natural fighters of cancer stem cells for reproducing “content to a high degree of similarity without appropriate attribution or acknowledgement” from a handful of papers. Although the editor and publisher pulled the paper, they did so with the cooperation of the authors, according to … Continue reading Paper on natural ways to fight cancer stem cells nixed for plagiarism

Serbian journal cleans house with 16 retractions and 2 corrections after investigation

Editors at the Archives of Biological Sciences, the official journal of Serbian Biological Society, have unleashed a flood of retractions and corrections as part of an effort to fix the mistakes of the former editorial board. The fixes – 16 retractions and two corrections, by our count – are in response to a formal investigation … Continue reading Serbian journal cleans house with 16 retractions and 2 corrections after investigation

Nutrition researcher Chandra loses libel case against CBC

The self-proclaimed “father of nutritional immunology,” Ranjit Kumar Chandra, has lost a libel lawsuit against the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). The suit was in response to a 2006 three-part documentary from the CBC, which examined allegations of fraud against the former Memorial University researcher. After the 58-day trial, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice “ruled … Continue reading Nutrition researcher Chandra loses libel case against CBC

NYT journalist: I am not a neutral observer–can I still be a fair reporter?

We present a guest post from Tracy Tullis, author of a recent story in the New York Times that — as we reported — the editors said afterwards they “would not have assigned” to her if they’d known about her “involvement in a cause related to news coverage.” This is her side of the story. … Continue reading NYT journalist: I am not a neutral observer–can I still be a fair reporter?

Voinnet notches second retraction, two more corrections

Olivier Voinnet — a plant researcher who was recently suspended for two years from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) after an investigation by ETH Zurich and CNRS found evidence of misconduct — has issued his second retraction and two more corrections. PNAS posted the retraction earlier this week for a 2006 article after an inspection … Continue reading Voinnet notches second retraction, two more corrections