Search Results for: sting

ASU professor is demoted, will correct book following “unattributed and poorly paraphrased material”

Matthew Whitaker at Arizona State University is revising a textbook about modern African-American history after it was found to contain “unattributed and poorly paraphrased material,” according to a statement from the author. The revised version of the book Peace Be Still: Modern Black America from World War II to Barack Obama will include “a statement of … Continue reading ASU professor is demoted, will correct book following “unattributed and poorly paraphrased material”

Weekend reads: California universities battle in court for research dollars; fake conferences; fake impact factors

This week at Retraction Watch featured a look at the nuances of replication efforts, aka “the replication paradox,” as well as yet another story of fake peer reviews, this time at Hindawi. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

High-profile biologist is suspended after two investigations found he “breached his duty of care”, committed “misconduct”

High-profile plant biologist Olivier Voinnet has been suspended for two years from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) following the results of two investigations that revealed a number of issues in his publication record. An investigation at ETH Zurich found that the scientist “breached his duty of care in the handling of figures as well as in … Continue reading High-profile biologist is suspended after two investigations found he “breached his duty of care”, committed “misconduct”

New York Times says it “would not have assigned” elephant article to writer had they known of conflict

Although we nearly always stick to covering the scientific literature, we sometimes write about cases in other media that shed light on how different outlets correct the record. This is one of those times. The New York Times issued an editor’s note and correction last week to a June 26 article about Happy the elephant, … Continue reading New York Times says it “would not have assigned” elephant article to writer had they known of conflict

Weekend reads: Is failing to share data misconduct?; worst journal ever; Elsevier boycott

The big news this week at Retraction Watch was the release of more than two dozen retractions for accounting researcher James Hunton, and the sentencing of Dong-Pyou Han for scientific fraud (see more below). Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Editors retract algae study, citing “issues with the data”

The International Journal of Phytoremediation  has issued a retraction for a 2013 article suggesting algae could shield against gamma radiation better than lead. Sadly, such an innovation was not to be — the editors have pulled the paper, saying: We are now cognizant that there are issues with the data and determinations made within the manuscript … Continue reading Editors retract algae study, citing “issues with the data”

Lancet journal removes Buddha cover art following protest

The Lancet Infectious Diseases has removed a cover illustration of the Buddha contemplating a mosquito from its June, 2015 issue — a complement to a paper about malaria treatment in Cambodia — after receiving emails from readers who protested the depiction of the statue in a non-religious context. After publishing the cover, the journal received … Continue reading Lancet journal removes Buddha cover art following protest

“Values were outside expected ranges”: Toxicology paper spiked after audit

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have retracted a 2014 article after a review unearthed unresolved problems with the study’s control material. The retracted paper, “Effect of Temperature and Storage Time on Sorbitol Dehydrogenase Activity in Sprague-Dawley Rat Serum and Plasma,” looked to test the durability and stability of sorbitol dehydrogenase, an … Continue reading “Values were outside expected ranges”: Toxicology paper spiked after audit

JBC cancer paper felled by duplication is one author’s second retraction this month

A 2002 paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on how lung cancer cells resist death has been retracted for duplicating figures from a 2001 paper. The retracted paper, “Fibroblast growth factor-2 induces translational regulation of Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 via a MEK-dependent pathway: correlation with resistance to etoposide-induced apoptosis,” shares the first and last authors … Continue reading JBC cancer paper felled by duplication is one author’s second retraction this month

Weekend reads: LaCour loses job offer; new Science data guidelines; Macchiarini grant funding frozen

This week at Retraction Watch saw us report on thousands of retractions from IEEE, which will have a serious effect on retraction record-keeping, a bizarre case of author impersonation, and a look at dentistry in outer space. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: