Last August, we reported on an Expression of Concern in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine for a paper on HIV and lung injury. The notice said that the University of Nebraska, home to several of the paper’s authors, had begun an inquiry. Today, the university issued a statement on the case, … Continue reading University of Nebraska clears HIV researchers of misconduct
A potential weight loss drug has been dealt what could be a serious setback after regulators found problems at two trial sites. While awaiting a final report, The Lancet, which published a study of the drug, tesofensine, has issued an Expression of Concern:
A case of alleged misconduct at the University of Washington in Seattle may finally be over. The Office of Research Integrity released its findings following an investigation into the work of Andrew Aprikyan, a former hematology researcher at the university. The Aprikyan case has dragged on for a decade. In 2010, the university fired the … Continue reading ORI rules in longstanding University of Washington misconduct case
A paper suggesting that scientists may want to rethink what levels of benzene are carcinogenic has led to a sharp exchange in the journal that originally published it. In 2006, Stephen Rappaport, of UNC-Chapel Hill, and colleagues, published a paper that began by saying that benzene is an important industrial chemical that is also emitted … Continue reading Environmental scientists call for retraction of oil industry-funded paper on benzene exposure
HeLa — the cell line that has apparently taken over any number of others commonly used in science, suggesting that many researchers may not have been studying what they thought they were studying — is back in the news. This weekend, it was the DNA sequence of the cells that’s made headlines, with a quiet … Continue reading Geneticists take HeLa sequence off-line after Lacks family notes they hadn’t given consent
Brian Deer’s name will no doubt be familiar to many Retraction Watch readers. Deer, of course, is the award-winning investigative reporter known for his reporting on numerous medical issues, including Andrew Wakefield’s now-retracted research into autism and vaccines. Deer is giving a talk next week at the UK’s “Evidence Live” conference,and has a proposal that … Continue reading Brian Deer’s modest proposal for post-publication peer review
Retraction Watch readers may recall the case of Don Poldermans, a prominent Dutch cardiology researcher who left a research position in late 2011 amid an investigation into his work. In a letter in the American Journal of Medicine titled “Scientific Fraud or a Rush to Judgement?” Poldermans — three of whose papers are subject to … Continue reading Cardiologist accused of misconduct strikes back in a journal
Consider this a bit of a thought experiment, but hear us out. The National Institutes of Health earlier this month notified the scientists it funds that, thanks to the sequester, many may soon face cuts in those grants as the agency tries to deal with a reduction in its $30.9 billion budget. In her March … Continue reading Could the sequester mean more business for Retraction Watch?
The Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders has retracted a 2012 study by a group of Iranian researchers. The reason: the authors had published the paper three years earlier, in a different journal. Here’s the notice for the article, titled “Mobile phone text messaging and Telephone follow-up in type 2 diabetic patients for 3 months: … Continue reading Mobile phone-diabetes study rings twice, earns retraction
In a new retraction notice, the Journal of Controlled Release is living up to its name. The editor-in-chief has retracted a study that plagiarized “a large number” of papers, but only three are listed in the notice. Here’s the notice for “In situ-forming hydrogels for sustained ophthalmic drug delivery,” by Basavaraj K. Nanjawade, F.V. Manvi, … Continue reading Study plagiarizes so many other papers, retraction notice can’t list them all