Search Results for: medical

Irish university strips student of PhD following investigation

Maynooth University has revoked a former student’s PhD following an investigation into the circumstances that led to two previous retractions in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. During the investigation, Aisha Qasim Butt admitted to some misconduct in the two papers and the research that made up her PhD, according to a university statement (which you … Continue reading Irish university strips student of PhD following investigation

Case report on cyst surgery sliced by journal for plagiarism

A case report that detailed the removal of a cyst from the side of a young woman’s face has been retracted for plagiarizing text from a similar case report published two years earlier. Contemporary Clinical Dentistry posted the notice on July 31. Parts of the 2014 report were “directly copied” from a report published in … Continue reading Case report on cyst surgery sliced by journal for plagiarism

Making error detection easier – and more automated: A guest post from the co-developer of “statcheck”

We’re pleased to present a guest post from Michèle B. Nuijten, a PhD student at Tilburg University who helped develop a program called “statcheck,” which automatically spots statistical mistakes in psychology papers, making it significantly easier to find flaws. Nuijten writes about how such a program came about, and its implications for other fields. Readers … Continue reading Making error detection easier – and more automated: A guest post from the co-developer of “statcheck”

Weekend reads: The end of journals?; Impact Factor for sale; fake peer reviews earn funding bans

This morning, our thoughts are with the people of Paris. The week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of a paper claiming dramatically higher rates of sexual trauma among men in the military, and a look at whether gender plays a role in peer review. Also: We’re hiring. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Food article pulled when authors can’t serve up data

An article about a dietary plan to help people lose weight has been retracted after other researchers raised concerns, and the authors failed to provide the data that supported their findings. The retraction is accompanied by a Letter to the Editor by a group of outside researchers — including David Allison at the University of Alabama … Continue reading Food article pulled when authors can’t serve up data

St. Jude investigation finds faked data in brain tumor paper

An investigation at St. Jude Children’s Hospital into “irregularities” in a figure featured in a neuroblastoma paper has concluded that the image was fabricated. The paper, published in Surgery in 2012, was retracted on Friday. Here’s the full retraction notice for “Liposome-encapsulated curcumin suppresses neuroblastoma growth through nuclear factor-kappa B inhibition:”

Weekend reads: Elsevier mutiny; babies as co-authors; what to do after rejection

This week’s Weekend Reads, which appears below, was preempted yesterday by the news that the Office of Research Integrity had issued a finding of misconduct in the long-running case of Anil Potti. The week also featured news about a child psychiatry trial halted for unexplained reasons, and saw the launch of our new weekly column … Continue reading Weekend reads: Elsevier mutiny; babies as co-authors; what to do after rejection

It’s official: Anil Potti faked cancer research data, say Feds

Following five years of scrutiny, more than ten retractions, multiple settled lawsuits, and medical board reprimands, we may finally have some resolution on the case of Anil Potti, the once-rising cancer research star who resigned from Duke in 2010. While there have been numerous allegations of misconduct in Potti’s work, and strong comments to that effect by … Continue reading It’s official: Anil Potti faked cancer research data, say Feds

Plagiarism was “not an intentional act,” says first author of retracted TB paper

A 2013 review article about tuberculosis is being retracted for “unacknowledged re-use of significant portions of text” from another article, which the first author said wasn’t intentional. Sayantan Ray, based at Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata in India, told us that “most of the unchanged text” is present in sections written by junior co-authors. Since there doesn’t … Continue reading Plagiarism was “not an intentional act,” says first author of retracted TB paper

Weekend reads: Psychology stats errors abound; font choice dooms grant application

This week at Retraction Watch featured high-profile retractions from Nature and the BMJ. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: