Cardiology researcher who admitted to fraud earns four-year funding ban

A researcher who admitted in 2012 to “intentional and systematic manipulation” of data and had two papers retracted has been banned from funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Dennis Rottländer, who will also be returning prize money he was awarded for the research, worked in Uta C. Hoppe’s lab at the University of Cologne. … Continue reading Cardiology researcher who admitted to fraud earns four-year funding ban

“Crack Down on Scientific Fraudsters” — our op-ed in today’s New York Times

As Retraction Watch readers know, it’s very rare for a scientist to face criminal charges for fraud, and it’s also very rare for the National Institutes of Health to recoup grants found to have involved misconduct. Both have happened in the case of Dong-Pyou Han, the former Iowa State University researcher who spiked rabbit blood … Continue reading “Crack Down on Scientific Fraudsters” — our op-ed in today’s New York Times

Weekend reads: Scientific fraudster given royal honor; the Retraction Watch theme song!

Another busy week at Retraction Watch, with Ivan speaking in Vienna, at a PhD student retreat in nearby Zwettl, and in London. The retreat gave rise to “We Will Retract You,” which may just become the Retraction Watch theme song. Watch here. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Second paper falls for ex-Leiden researcher accused of fraud

Last November we wrote about the retraction of a 2010 paper in PNAS by Annemie Schuerwegh and colleagues. Schuerwegh had been fired from Leiden University in The Netherlands for fraud, which said there would be a second retraction coming. It has. The article, “Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis: a functional role for mast cells … Continue reading Second paper falls for ex-Leiden researcher accused of fraud

Fraud fells Alzheimer’s “made to order” neurons paper in Cell

In 2011, a group of researchers at Columbia University reported in Cell that they had been able to convert skin cells from patients with Alzheimer’s disease into functioning neurons — a finding that raised the exciting prospect of “made to order” brain cells for patients with the degenerative disease. As one researcher not involved with … Continue reading Fraud fells Alzheimer’s “made to order” neurons paper in Cell

So what happened after Paul Brookes was forced to shut down Science-Fraud.org?

Retraction Watch readers will likely be familiar with the story of Paul Brookes, the University of Rochester researcher whose identity as the person behind Science-Fraud.org was revealed in January 2013. That revelation — and legal threats — forced Brookes to shutter Science-Fraud.org. In a new illuminating interview in Science, Brookes discusses the legal threats he … Continue reading So what happened after Paul Brookes was forced to shut down Science-Fraud.org?

“Unfortunately, scientific publishing is not immune to fraud and mistakes”: Springer responds to fake papers story

We have an update on the story of 120 bogus papers being removed by IEEE and Springer. The latter posted a statement earlier today, which we include in its entirety below:

Fraud, retractions no barrier to US cloning patent for Woo-Suk Hwang

Woo-Suk Hwang is having quite a comeback. The cloning researcher’s fall from grace in 2005 and 2006 was covered worldwide, featuring two high-profile retractions from Science and convictions (now under appeal) on charges he embezzled government funds and broke South Korea’s bioethics law. But as Nature reported last month in a profile focusing on Hwang’s … Continue reading Fraud, retractions no barrier to US cloning patent for Woo-Suk Hwang

Weekend reads: MIT professor accused of fraud, biologist who retracted paper suspended, and more

Another busy week at Retraction Watch, featuring lots of snow at HQ and a trip to take part in a conference in Davis, California. Here’s what was happening elsewhere on the web: