Search Results for: medical

Data “mismatch” and author’s illness pluck bird sex-ratio study from literature

Inaccessible data and an author’s illness are to blame for the retraction of a paper on sex ratios of baby finches, according to the authors. The paper, “Experimental evidence that maternal corticosterone controls adaptive offspring sex ratios,” published in Functional Ecology, outlined how a hormone in mother finches can “skew” the number of males vs females that … Continue reading Data “mismatch” and author’s illness pluck bird sex-ratio study from literature

HIV vaccine researcher who confessed to fraud files appeal of 57-month prison sentence

Dong-Pyou Han, who was sentenced earlier this month to nearly five years in prison for faking the results of HIV vaccine experiments, has appealed the decision. According to Report on Research Compliance, which first reported the news, the appeal was filed on July 15. In addition to the prison sentence, Han had been ordered on … Continue reading HIV vaccine researcher who confessed to fraud files appeal of 57-month prison sentence

Half of anesthesiology fraudster’s papers continue to be cited years after retractions

In yet more evidence that retracted studies continue to accrue citations, a new paper has shown that nearly half of anesthesiologist Scott Reuben’s papers have been cited five years after being retracted, and only one-fourth of citations correctly note the retraction. According to the new paper, in Science and Engineering Ethics:

Retraction of monkey paper linked to problems at shuttered research institute

Evidence of poorly treated lab animals has led researchers to retract a 2014 article in Veterinary Pathology that explored the neurological effects of dehydration in squirrel monkeys. The study was pulled after Frederick Wang, the former director of the New England Primate Research Center, unveiled reports of a dozen squirrel monkeys that were found dehydrated and … Continue reading Retraction of monkey paper linked to problems at shuttered research institute

JCI issues mega-correction for multiple myeloma paper

The Journal of Clinical Investigation has issued a lengthy correction to a paper about the role of the immune system in the progression and treatment response of multiple myeloma. The correction changes details from the name of an author to figure legends, and adds entire supplemental figures. Shortly after the paper’s publication on April 20th, commenters … Continue reading JCI issues mega-correction for multiple myeloma paper

Two crystallography papers break apart for “trivial errors,” says author

Biophysicists in India have retracted two crystallography papers describing protein binding sites following “concerns,” according to one retraction note. The last author on both papers, however, told us he believed the retractions were the result of “trivial errors.” Although one journal praised him in its retraction note for his “positive engagement,” he said the process left him feeling … Continue reading Two crystallography papers break apart for “trivial errors,” says author

Psych journal axes study of child molesters

A journal has issued a “notice of redundant publication” for a paper that used virtual reality to understand arousal patterns in child molesters — the result of “an unfortunate sequence of personal events relating to the first author.” The study, “Using immersive virtual reality and ecological psychology to probe into child molesters’ phenomenology,” was originally … Continue reading Psych journal axes study of child molesters

Cancer Research retraction is fifth for Robert Weinberg; fourth for his former student

Another domino has fallen in a chain of retractions for Robert Weinberg, the man who discovered the first tumor-causing gene in humans, along with the first tumor suppressor gene: Cancer Research just retracted a paper of his on some of the molecular steps to metastasis. The paper, “Concurrent Suppression of Integrin α5, Radixin, and RhoA Phenocopies … Continue reading Cancer Research retraction is fifth for Robert Weinberg; fourth for his former student

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:

Two more retractions make four for bone researcher

Bone anatomists have retracted two papers on primate jawbone structure from the Journal of Anatomy due to “errors in the validation protocol and data,” marking the fourth retraction for one of the authors. Olga Panagiotopoulou retracted two other papers over the past year, all of which were due to a common methodological problem. As Panagiotopoulou — who completed … Continue reading Two more retractions make four for bone researcher