Search Results for: nature

Weekend reads: Gay canvassing study redux; editors fired; how the world’s biggest faker was caught

This week at Retraction Watch was dominated by the Science same-sex marriage study, after we broke the news Wednesday morning that one of its authors had requested its retraction. (And crashed our servers in the process.) So the first section of this Weekend Reads will focus on pieces following up on that story: The New … Continue reading Weekend reads: Gay canvassing study redux; editors fired; how the world’s biggest faker was caught

Author retracts study of changing minds on same-sex marriage after colleague admits data were faked

In what can only be described as a remarkable and swift series of events, one of the authors of a much-ballyhooed Science paper claiming that short conversations could change people’s minds on same-sex marriage is retracting it following revelations that the data were faked by his co-author. [3:45 p.m. Eastern, 5/28/15: Please see an update … Continue reading Author retracts study of changing minds on same-sex marriage after colleague admits data were faked

Harvard biofilm paper in Cell breaks down after challenged findings can’t be repeated

Researchers at Harvard have retracted a Cell paper on biofilm disassembly after they repeated the experiment—following contradictory results from another team—and the new results “can no longer support” the original conclusions. The 2012 paper, “A Self-Produced Trigger for Biofilm Disassembly that Targets Exopolysaccharide,” describes a factor called norspermidine, produced by the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, that appeared to break … Continue reading Harvard biofilm paper in Cell breaks down after challenged findings can’t be repeated

“[W]e can learn from these bad actors:” Trail of retractions follows former Vanderbilt researcher’s fraud

Authors have retracted three papers from the Journal of Physiology because they contained “falsified or fabricated data.” The papers, which address calcium signaling in heart muscle cells, are among the six pegged for retraction after an Office of Research Integrity (ORI) investigation into one of the authors, Igor Dzhura, formerly of Vanderbilt University. The ORI … Continue reading “[W]e can learn from these bad actors:” Trail of retractions follows former Vanderbilt researcher’s fraud

Weekend reads: Stress tests in psychology; writing advice to ignore; how to have fun in the lab

This week at Retraction Watch featured a sexist peer review seen around the world, and settlement of the malpractice case against Duke and Anil Potti. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: 

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

Retraction Watch is hiring!

Since becoming our intern in June of last year, and then our first-ever staff writer in October, Cat Ferguson has written more than 200 posts, breaking news left and right. But as we noted on Twitter the other day with not a small degree of sadness, Cat has left Retraction Watch for a great gig … Continue reading Retraction Watch is hiring!