Search Results for: nature

Investigation leads to retraction of breast cancer paper, second for one author

The authors of a Journal of Biological Chemistry paper on a breast cancer gene are withdrawing it following an investigation at Roswell Park Cancer Institute that found a figure contained “manipulated” data. Last author Toru Ouchi is based at Roswell in the department of cancer genetics. Second to last author Sam W. Lee, at Massachusetts General Hospital, … Continue reading Investigation leads to retraction of breast cancer paper, second for one author

“Whoops.” Paper cites retracted gay canvassing paper — but blame me, says journal editor

By now, most Retraction Watch readers are likely familiar with the retraction in May of a much-ballyhooed study in Science on whether gay canvassers could persuade people to agree with same-sex marriage. It turns out that before that retraction appeared, a different study that cited the Science paper made its way online. Kenneth Zucker, the editor … Continue reading “Whoops.” Paper cites retracted gay canvassing paper — but blame me, says journal editor

Stem cell researcher Jacob Hanna’s correction count updated to 10

Thanks to some eagle-eyed readers, we’ve been alerted to some corrections for high profile stem cell scientist Jacob Hanna that we had missed, bringing our count to one retraction and 13 errata on 10 papers. The problems in the work range from duplications of images, to inadvertent deletions in figures, to failures by his co-authors to disclose … Continue reading Stem cell researcher Jacob Hanna’s correction count updated to 10

NSF investigation of high-profile plant retractions ends in two debarments

A nearly ten-year-long series of investigations into a pair of plant physiologists who received millions in funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation has resulted in debarments of less than two years for each of the researchers. The NSF Office of Inspector General recently posted its close-out report on its decision and a review of … Continue reading NSF investigation of high-profile plant retractions ends in two debarments

Retraction of grizzly bear-diabetes study follows departure of Amgen scientist for data manipulation

A study that looked to hibernating bears to understand the mechanisms behind diabetes has been retracted because an author based at the biotech company Amgen “manipulated specific experimental data” in two figures. According to the The Wall Street Journal, Amgen discovered the manipulation while reviewing the data following publication of the paper,”Grizzly bears exhibit augmented insulin sensitivity while obese prior to … Continue reading Retraction of grizzly bear-diabetes study follows departure of Amgen scientist for data manipulation

Weekend reads: Ghost authors proliferate; science goes to the movies; pricey grant fraud

The week at Retraction Watch featured the results of a massive replication study, yet another retraction for Diederik Stapel, and a messy situation at PLOS. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Court grants Toronto researchers review of misconduct findings

A Canadian court has granted a review of two researchers’ application to quash the findings of a university investigation that found signs of falsified data, according to the researchers’ lawyer. Yesterday, the court ruled that the application by Sylvia Asa and her husband, Shereen Ezzat, to quash the University Health Network investigation’s findings be reviewed by a … Continue reading Court grants Toronto researchers review of misconduct findings

Following criticism, PLOS removes blog defending scrutiny of science

Community blog PLOS Biologue has pulled a post by journalists Charles Seife and Paul Thacker that argued in favor of public scrutiny of scientists’ behavior (including emails), following heavy criticism, including from a group and scientist mentioned in the post. Their reasoning: The post was “not consistent with at least the spirit and intent of our community guidelines.” The … Continue reading Following criticism, PLOS removes blog defending scrutiny of science

Weekend reads: “Unfeasibly prolific authors;” why your manuscript will be rejected; is science broken?

The week at Retraction Watch featured revelations of yet more fake peer reviews, bringing the retraction total to 250. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

EMBO investigation yields two more retractions and three corrections for Voinnet

An investigation into the work of Olivier Voinnet by The EMBO Journal has led to another two retractions and three more corrections for the high-profile plant scientist, now suspended from the CNRS for two years. According to the authors, Voinnet was responsible for some of the errors; all papers have been questioned on PubPeer. The EMBO J, … Continue reading EMBO investigation yields two more retractions and three corrections for Voinnet