Danish high court clears Pedersen in misconduct case

Lawyers one, scientists nil. Danish judges have overruled scientists in that nation, concluding that a panel of experts erred in finding that physiologist Bente Klarlund Pedersen, of the University of Copenhagen, was guilty of misconduct. Last September, Pedersen announced that she would fight the ruling of the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (DCSD, Danish acronym … Continue reading Danish high court clears Pedersen in misconduct case

More evidence scientists continue to cite retracted papers

A new paper in the MDPI journal Publications reports that the only controlled study on the effect of giving COPD patients Omega-3 has been cited 52 times since being retracted. Of those, only two mentioned the retraction. In 2005, Chest published an article that found that COPD patients who took omega-3 supplements for 2 years experienced improvements in their condition, … Continue reading More evidence scientists continue to cite retracted papers

Weekend reads: Tortured reviewers, why failure is good, journals without editors?

This week at Retraction Watch, an explosives paper burned up, and we found that we’re cited in a $8 million lawsuit. Here’s what’s happening elsewhere:

Exclusive: St. Jude Children’s suspends enrollment in cancer trials over toxicity concerns

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis has temporarily halted enrollment in six bone marrow transplant trials due to concerns over how side effects were being identified in medical records, Retraction Watch has learned. According to a source familiar with the trials, five of the six being suspended were all enrolling children with blood cancers … Continue reading Exclusive: St. Jude Children’s suspends enrollment in cancer trials over toxicity concerns

Publisher and uni go head to head over disputed images in diabetes papers

The State University of Campinas University of Campinas and the American Diabetes Association disagree strongly over how to handle disputed images from faculty member Mario Saad, who is suing the ADA to prevent retraction of his papers. While the State University of Campinas University of Campinas (Unicamp) acknowledges that 2 of Saad’s papers contain “mistakes”, … Continue reading Publisher and uni go head to head over disputed images in diabetes papers

RW cited in scientist’s $8 million suit against university

Maybe the polar vortex is to blame (chilling effect, and all), but it must be lawsuit season! First it was Mario Saad, who sued the American Diabetes Association to prevent them from retracting his papers in flagship journal Diabetes. Now Rakesh Kumar is getting in on the action. According to George Washington University student paper the GW Hatchet, … Continue reading RW cited in scientist’s $8 million suit against university

Chem paper retracted because “a significant amount of data” was wrong

The editors of ACS’s Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data have sunk a paper on halogenated alkanes after realizing that “a significant amount” of the data was “inaccurate,” thereby “invalidating” the paper. Here’s the notice for “Influence of Solvent Nature on the Solubility of Halogenated Alkanes” (which has only been cited twice, according to Google Scholar):

Meet the new Retraction Watch editor: Alison McCook

Retraction Watch readers, please join us in welcoming Alison McCook to the fold. We’re thrilled that McCook, an award-winning Philadelphia-based science writer and editor, began as editor today.

Weekend reads: Savage peer reviews, cosmology claim bites dust, $50 million diet pill hoax

This week at Retraction Watch featured polar opposites: Two new entries in our “doing the right thing” category, and one in our plagiarism euphemism parade. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

“The main improvements reported are invalid”: Quantum communication paper retracted

A paper on quantum communication has been retracted for failing to address several important problems, making the conclusions invalid. Quantum communication involves sending a series of photons in specific quantum states over fiberoptic cables. It’s a little like the 1s and 0s of traditional computing, but much more secure. If the photons are intercepted on … Continue reading “The main improvements reported are invalid”: Quantum communication paper retracted