Search Results for: sting

Drunk rats paper wasted by “significant statistical errors”, among other issues

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

So you want to be a whistleblower? Part II

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

Don’t like annoying ads on Retraction Watch? Here’s how to keep them turned off

Dear Retraction Watch readers: In recent months, since we switched to Google AdSense, we’ve heard from a number of you that you find some of the ads on our site annoying. Here’s a secret:

Editor of Medical Journal of Australia fired after criticizing decision to outsource to Elsevier

Public health expert Stephen Leeder has been ousted as editor of Australia’s top medical journal after he questioned the decision to outsource the journal’s production and other tasks to publishing giant Elsevier. Leeder, emeritus professor at the University of Sydney, told the Medical Observer he was asked to leave when he and the journal’s publisher, … Continue reading Editor of Medical Journal of Australia fired after criticizing decision to outsource to Elsevier

Misconduct earns researcher a five-year ban on federal funding

A University of Minnesota former chemistry graduate student has been banned from receiving federal funding for five years based on “a preponderance of the evidence that the Respondent intentionally and knowingly engaged in research misconduct.” Venkata J. Reddy appears to have manipulated findings in one R01 grant application. In recent years, bans are less common than having … Continue reading Misconduct earns researcher a five-year ban on federal funding

It’s a man’s world — for one peer reviewer, at least

We’ve written quite a lot about the perks and pitfalls of the peer review system, but one thing we never really touched on was the risk that a reviewer might be … well, not to put too fine a point on it: a dope. But Fiona Ingleby can speak to that. Ingleby, a postdoc in … Continue reading It’s a man’s world — for one peer reviewer, at least

When should a paper be retracted? A tale from the obesity literature

In our line of work, we see it all — mega-corrections that don’t quite rise to the level of retraction, letters to the editor that point out seemingly fatal flaws in papers that remain untouched, and studies retracted for what seem like minor reasons. It can make you wonder what makes a paper worthy of … Continue reading When should a paper be retracted? A tale from the obesity literature

Does peer review ferret out the best science? New study tries to answer

Grant reviewers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health are doing a pretty good job of spotting the best proposals and ranking them appropriately, according to a new study in Science out today. Danielle Li at Harvard and Leila Agha at Boston University found that grant proposals that earn good scores lead to research that … Continue reading Does peer review ferret out the best science? New study tries to answer

Use of data “without permission,” bad authors list, and hidden funding sink mol bio paper

A Chinese researcher has lost a paper after the journal discovered he published others’ research without permission and lied about the grant funding he used for the work. Yihang Shen published a paper using his PhD research on the molecular biology of fetal rodent livers earlier this year in DNA and Cell Biology. Unfortunately, he didn’t have permission to … Continue reading Use of data “without permission,” bad authors list, and hidden funding sink mol bio paper

Beleaguered Förster turns down prestigious professorship, citing personal toll

Jens Förster, a social scientist accused of research misconduct, has turned down a highly coveted — and well-endowed — professorship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Foster explained his decision to decline the 5 million Euro award in a post on his personal website: