Search Results for: nature

BMC editors update retraction after investigation clears authors of faking peer reviews

Editors at BioMed Central have taken the unusual step of updating a retraction notice after an investigation found the authors were not responsible for a peer review process gone awry. The paper is one of  dozens of other papers retracted in March for fake peer reviews. That month, the paper “Clinical application of contrast enhanced ultrasound to … Continue reading BMC editors update retraction after investigation clears authors of faking peer reviews

Drugmaker accused of omitting side effect data from 2003 Risperdal paper

A 2003 paper may have left out potentially “significant” data on the long-term side-effects of an antipsychotic drug used in children, according to a former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As reported by the Toronto Star, David Kessler is alleging that Janssen, the maker of Risperdal (and owned by Johnson & Johnson), omitted data about the risks … Continue reading Drugmaker accused of omitting side effect data from 2003 Risperdal paper

Weekend reads: Academic article brokering; favorite fieldwork bloopers; worst peer review ever

This week, we marked the fifth anniversary of Retraction Watch with the announcement of a generous new grant. We also covered the retraction of a slew of papers in a journal plagued by problems. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Golden rice paper pulled after judge rules for journal

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is retracting a paper that showed genetically engineered rice serves as an effective vitamin A supplement after a Massachusetts judge denied the first author’s motion for an injunction against the publisher. The journal announced plans to retract the paper last year following allegations that the paper contained ethical mis-steps, such … Continue reading Golden rice paper pulled after judge rules for journal

Weekend reads: Fame bias at journals; retractions as good news; hoarding data as bad news

This week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of a widely covered paper on marriage and illness, and the resignation of a high-profile lab head in Toronto. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Cell biologist Hanna issues two errata; images mysteriously disappear from Imgur

Cell biologist Jacob Hanna, the highly cited stem cell researcher currently at the Weizmann Institute of Science,  has posted a long erratum for a 2005 paper in Blood for “inadvertent mistakes,” among other issues; soon after, Hanna’s team issued another erratum for a 2009 Cell Stem Cell paper. There’s more to tell: Last month, commenters … Continue reading Cell biologist Hanna issues two errata; images mysteriously disappear from Imgur

HIV postdoc faked data in published paper, 2 grants

An HIV researcher has admitted to faking data in a published paper, a manuscript, and two grant applications, according to a notice released today by the the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Former postdoc Julia Bitzegeio faked data in a 2013 paper, published in the Journal of Virology, about how HIV adapts to interferon. In the paper, “the manipulation … Continue reading HIV postdoc faked data in published paper, 2 grants

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”

Ethics dispute forces retraction of paper on Hep C in Japanese leper colony

Here’s a case of retraction being a hammer when a scalpel might have been better. The authors of a 2011 paper in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology looking at transmission of hepatitis C in a former leper colony in Japan have retracted the article because an ethics panel in that country objected to the scientists’ use of … Continue reading Ethics dispute forces retraction of paper on Hep C in Japanese leper colony