Korean stem cell investigation expands to another researcher, and more papers

Last month, we brought you the story of Soo-Kyung Kang, a Seoul National University stem cell researcher who has now retracted four papers amidst questions about image manipulation in a total of 14 studies. That story has drawn a great deal of attention in Korea, with comparisons to the Woo-Suk Hwang scandal, and has even led to a … Continue reading Korean stem cell investigation expands to another researcher, and more papers

Premature delivery? Paper on rapid assay for ruptured placenta pulled for “mishandling” of tests

The other day we brought you the story (well, not quite a STORY) of a group of researchers who had to retract a paper in the Journal of Computational Chemistry because of a “computation error.” We still don’t know what that means. That was fresh in our minds when we came across the following retraction … Continue reading Premature delivery? Paper on rapid assay for ruptured placenta pulled for “mishandling” of tests

Millennium Villages Project forced to correct Lancet paper on foreign aid as leader leaves team

A senior member of a high-profile foreign aid research team has left the project on the heels of a Lancet correction of a heavily criticized paper the team published earlier this month. Paul Pronyk, who until last week was director of monitoring and evaluation at Columbia University’s Center for Global Health and Economic Development, which … Continue reading Millennium Villages Project forced to correct Lancet paper on foreign aid as leader leaves team

Not for the faint of heart: Cardiologists retract syncope paper after realizing data columns weren’t aligned right

Improperly aligned columns have cost researchers at the Mayo Clinic a paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The paper originally concluded that fainting spells (syncope) give patients with high blood pressure in their lung arteries poor prognoses, an observation that turned out to be incorrect. The problem? The group merged two electronic … Continue reading Not for the faint of heart: Cardiologists retract syncope paper after realizing data columns weren’t aligned right

Mighty molten powder researchers publish paper in journal twice, months apart

A group of French researchers liked their paper on the properties of molten tin so much they published it twice. In the same journal. Four months apart. The article, “Nitrogen spray atomization of molten tin metal: Powder morphology characteristics,” first appeared online in the January 2007 issue of the Journal of Materials Processing Technology. That … Continue reading Mighty molten powder researchers publish paper in journal twice, months apart

Whistleblower forces retractions of four stem cell papers amid questions about more than a dozen studies

In a case that is a good reminder of why journal editors shouldn’t ignore anonymous tips, a Seoul National University stem cell researcher has been forced to retract four papers, and withdraw another under peer review, in Antioxidants & Redox Signaling following a whistleblower’s exhaustive analysis. Two retractions by Soo Kyung Kang, a professor of … Continue reading Whistleblower forces retractions of four stem cell papers amid questions about more than a dozen studies

Journal retracts protein paper from scientist who misused deceased mentor’s data

It seemed like a touching tribute when Jiasheng Diao dedicated his 2009 article, “Crystal Structure of Butyrate Kinase 2 from Thermotoga maritima, a Member of the ASKHA Superfamily of Phosphotransferases,” in the Journal of Bacteriology to a deceased mentor, Miriam Hasson. Before her death in January 2006, of a brain tumor, Hasson and her husband, … Continue reading Journal retracts protein paper from scientist who misused deceased mentor’s data

Will a new literature format “radically alter” how scientists write, review, and read papers?

A group of authors at a Pittsburgh company have proposed a new way to write, review, and read scientific papers that they claim will “radically alter the creation and use of credible knowledge for the benefit of society.” From the abstract of a paper appearing in the new Mary Liebert journal Disruptive Science and Technology, … Continue reading Will a new literature format “radically alter” how scientists write, review, and read papers?

Would you pay $63 for a retraction notice?

For $63 plus tax, you can have a single steak with a side order of fried potatoes and a wedge of crisp iceberg lettuce at the famed Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn. Or you can get a peek at one measly retraction notice from Bentham Science Publishers (at least it’s BYOB). To be fair, the … Continue reading Would you pay $63 for a retraction notice?

Fleetwood Mac, anyone? Landslides paper crumbles under weight of “significant originality issue”

As Stevie Nicks sang in Fleetwood Mac’s hit, “Landslide”: Well, I’ve been afraid of changing, cause I’ve built my life around you …. The authors of a 2010 paper in the journal Landslides might have taken those words a little too much to heart. Their manuscript, “Real-time slope water table forecasting by multi-tank model combined … Continue reading Fleetwood Mac, anyone? Landslides paper crumbles under weight of “significant originality issue”