Leading cancer vaccines researcher retracts paper for figure “discrepancies” flagged by watchdog blog

Gerold Schuler, a German immunology researcher who shared the 2006 Deutscher Krebspreis — aka the German Cancer Prize — for his work that contributed to cancer vaccines has retracted a paper in International Immunology following concerns raised by a German science watchdog blog. Here’s the notice:

JCO expresses concern over images from Spanish group that had aroused earlier concern

The Journal of Clinical Oncology has issued an expression of concern about a 2003 article by a group of researchers in Spain who appear to have had recurrent problems with images. The paper has been cited 56 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge. Here’s the notice: It has been brought to our attention, … Continue reading JCO expresses concern over images from Spanish group that had aroused earlier concern

Resveratrol researcher Dipak Das: My lab’s work was “99% correct”

Dipak Das, the UConn red wine researcher charged by his institution with rampant misconduct that will likely lead to dozens of retractions, is evidently a 99%-er — when it comes to accuracy, that is. According to a statement purportedly from his lawyer refuting those charges, Das claims, among other things, that the output from his … Continue reading Resveratrol researcher Dipak Das: My lab’s work was “99% correct”

Journal of Neurochemistry retracts paper after SUNY Upstate medical school finds evidence of fraud

Following an investigation by the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate into the work of one of its neuroscientists, the Journal of Neurochemistry has retracted a 2007 paper. The retraction notice is quite clear about why the paper is being withdrawn:

Corrections in PLoS One, Nature Medicine for Zhiguo Wang, and details about Montreal Heart Institute investigation

PLoS One and Nature Medicine have issued corrections for papers by Zhiguo Wang, the former Montreal Heart Institute researcher who resigned in September following an investigation into image manipulation in his lab.  In September, PLoS One told us that they were investigating the paper. Here’s the text of the correction for “Transcriptional and Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms for Oncogenic Overexpression of … Continue reading Corrections in PLoS One, Nature Medicine for Zhiguo Wang, and details about Montreal Heart Institute investigation

New retraction sheds light on Medical College of Georgia vascular biology case

In late January, we wrote a post about a retraction in the journal Molecular Endocrinology involving work from the lab of Stephen M. Black, of the Vascular Biology Center at at the Medical College of Georgia. At the time, we didn’t know much. The notice was pretty thin sauce, although it hinted at “significant concerns … Continue reading New retraction sheds light on Medical College of Georgia vascular biology case

Authors retract two JBC papers on how heart rhythms go awry; Montreal Heart Institute looking into why

The authors of two Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) studies of the molecular underpinnings of hearts whose rhythms have gone awry have retracted the papers, for reasons that are not completely clear. The two papers are  “MicroRNA miR-133 represses HERG K+ channel expression contributing to QT prolongation in diabetic hearts,” published in 2007, and “Down-regulation of miR-1/miR-133 contributes … Continue reading Authors retract two JBC papers on how heart rhythms go awry; Montreal Heart Institute looking into why

The way science should work: A swift, clearly worded retraction in G&D, after legitimate questions by another group

A retraction appeared online last week in Genes & Development (G&D) that neatly brings together a few recent Retraction Watch threads: Whether retraction is appropriate for a failure to replicate, and whether retraction notices should give enough detail for readers to know what actually happened. The retraction notice, for “Alternative splicing produces high levels of … Continue reading The way science should work: A swift, clearly worded retraction in G&D, after legitimate questions by another group

Japanese virologist hit with publishing ban after widespread data manipulation

A leading Japanese virologist has received a 10-year publishing ban from the American Society of Microbiology after many of his published articles were found to have evidence of data manipulation. In its January 2011 issue, Infection and Immunity, an ASM title, is retracting five articles by the researcher, Naoki Mori, of the University of Ryukyus … Continue reading Japanese virologist hit with publishing ban after widespread data manipulation