There’s another non-unanimous retraction in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week, and this one involves an anti-tumor antibody that may not be what the authors originally thought it was. According to the notice for “The antibody zalutumumab inhibits epidermal growth factor receptor signaling by limiting intra- and intermolecular flexibility:”
“This American Life,” the popular radio show hosted by Ira Glass, is retracting an episode in which monologist Mike Daisey claimed to have described conditions in a Chinese factory that makes electronic devices, including Apple products. According to a note about this week’s episode: Regrettably, we have discovered that one of our most popular episodes … Continue reading Watch and learn, science journals: “This American Life” retracts Mike Daisey segment on Apple in China
An ecology researcher in the Congo has found himself at the center of a plagiarism scandal that has felled seven of his papers. As Science reports today, Serge Valentin Pangou’s work began unraveling in August 2011 after Wageningen University ecologist Patrick Jansen thought a paper he’d been asked to review for the International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation … Continue reading Plagiarism leads to seven retractions (and counting) in the conservation literature
We have learned that a widely published Japanese anesthesiologist is under investigation by his university over concerns that he engaged in repeated fraud for decades that has tainted roughly 180 articles—many of which may be retracted as a result. In a related move, the journal Clinical Therapeutics is retracting papers by the researcher, Yoshitaka Fujii, most … Continue reading Major fraud probe of Japanese anesthesiologist Yoshitaka Fujii may challenge retraction record
Slate has retracted a story about controversial bioethicist Glenn McGee and his involvement with Celltex Therapeutics, a Texas-based company that says it extracts and banks stem cells from people’s fat. Where the story by University of Minnesota bioethicist Carl Elliott once appeared now sits this editor’s note:
We tend to focus on new retractions here at Retraction Watch, and find it difficult enough to even keep up with the hundreds per year. But sometimes it’s illuminating to take a dip into history, so when Richard van Noorden alerted us to what may be the earliest-ever English language retraction, we thought we’d take … Continue reading The first-ever English language retraction (1756)?
The journal Chest has retracted two publications — a paper and an earlier meeting abstract — from a group of researchers at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City after learning that the investigators mischaracterized the nature of their study. In addition to losing the two publications, the authors were ordered to undergo a refresher … Continue reading Inquiry at Maimonides triggers two retractions in Chest, and retraining for the researchers
Anil Potti, the former Duke oncologist who has now retracted ten papers, is no longer listed as a staff member at the oncology practice that hired him sometime last year. The development, first reported by Duke Check, follows a 60 Minutes segment last week focused on Potti and Duke. Duke Check also noted that a … Continue reading Updated: Anil Potti out at Coastal Cancer Center; practice blames Duke for glowing recommendations
A couple of engineers in Iran turn out to be better at predicting the “failure probability” of water pipes than of their chances of being published. Consider this retraction notice for “Estimation of failure probability in water pipes network using statistical model,” originally published in February 2011 in Engineering Failure Analysis:
The International Journal of Impact Engineering has a highly technical retraction of an article whose authors discovered that crucial findings relied on a model that was different from the one they reported using in a particular figure. The article, “Dynamic behavior of polymers at high strain-rates based on split Hopkinson pressure bar tests,” was published … Continue reading Flawed model leads to retraction of polymer paper