An engineering journal has retracted three 2016 papers. The reason: They had been cited too often. Although the reason for the retractions may sound odd, the editor, Minvydas Ragulskis, told Retraction Watch he was concerned an author had engaged in citation manipulation. Specifically, Ragulskis explained that the majority of the citations came from papers at … Continue reading Three papers retracted… for being cited too frequently
Here’s a head-scratcher: A 2017 paper examining why long space flights can cause eye damage has been taken down, with a brief note saying NASA, which sponsored the research, asked for the retraction because of “security concerns.” According to the first author, the paper included information that could identify some of the astronauts that took … Continue reading A paper about eye damage in astronauts got pulled for “security concerns.” Huh?
A journal is planning to retract a paper that purported to link a component of vaccines to autism in mice. The paper, about the effects of aluminum adjuvants in vaccines on the immune response in the brains of mice, is the second retraction for co-authors Christopher Shaw and Lucija Tomljenovic, of the University of British … Continue reading Journal to retract paper called “anti-vaccine pseudoscience”
A computer science journal has retracted two papers, after discovering “a conflict of interest between the handling editor and one of the authors.” Matt Hodgkinson, head of research integrity at Hindawi Limited, which publishes the journal Scientific World Journal, told us that the conflict of interest stemmed from the fact that Zheng Xu, an author … Continue reading “We would now catch” this conflict of interest: Hindawi journal retracts two papers
A group of authors have withdrawn a paper after revealing a litany of issues to the journal that published it. Among those issues were “scientifically misleading errors,” “insufficient” validation, and a disagreement between the researchers on whether it should have been published at all. “Optimal DNA structure of reverse-hairpin beacons for label-free and positive surface … Continue reading “Scientifically misleading errors” prompt authors to withdraw paper
A biologist at the University of Basel is retracting two papers, citing data manipulation uncovered during an institutional investigation. That investigation has already led to the retraction of a paper in Science Translational Medicine by some of the same authors earlier this year. The two latest retractions, in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC), share … Continue reading “Data had been manipulated,” again: Swiss probe prompts two more retractions
The week at Retraction Watch featured a story of unintended consequences and a broken relationship, and a retraction for a paper that had just about everything wrong with it. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Science Translational Medicine has retracted a paper by researchers based in Switzerland, after an investigation concluded two figures had been manipulated. The investigation occurred at the University of Basel. It’s not clear what prompted it, but the paper has been discussed at length on PubPeer. After the investigation concluded two figure panels included manipulated data, the last … Continue reading “Data had been manipulated:” Science Translational Medicine retracts paper
A scientist in Germany has lost two papers that were collectively cited more than 500 times, after an investigation at her former university found her guilty of scientific misconduct. The probe into Tina Wenz by the University of Cologne in Germany, her former employer, recommended that six of her papers — which have induced some chatter on … Continue reading Researchers retract two well-cited papers for misconduct
A researcher who received a lifetime funding ban for misconduct from a Canadian agency has logged her third retraction, after a re-analysis of her work unveiled “serious inconsistencies.” In July, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) released a report about Sophie Jamal, following an investigation by her former employer, The Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Canada. … Continue reading Bone researcher with lifetime funding ban earns third retraction