Search Results for: nature

RIKEN inquiry prompted by STAP stem cell controversy generates three corrections

A review of past publications by the Japanese research institution RIKEN has produced three corrections of articles by a molecular geneticist, Haruhiko Koseki, The Scientist is reporting. The articles had appeared in Molecular and Cellular Biology between 2005 and 2010. The review was triggered by the scandal involving Haruko Obokata, a former RIKEN scientist whose … Continue reading RIKEN inquiry prompted by STAP stem cell controversy generates three corrections

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:

“Barriers to retraction may impede correction of the literature:” New study

One of the complaints we often hear about the self-correcting nature of science is that authors and editors seem very reluctant to retract papers with obvious fatal flaws. Indeed, it seems fairly clear that the number of papers retracted is smaller than the number of those that should be. To try to get a sense … Continue reading “Barriers to retraction may impede correction of the literature:” New study

“Apparently, the bureaucracy at Elsevier is the most cumbersome thing in the world:” Journal editor

We recently came across a paper in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, an Elsevier title, that had been temporarily removed without explanation. While we see a fair number of such opaque notices from Elsevier — and have written about why we think they’re a bad idea — we took interest in this one because the … Continue reading “Apparently, the bureaucracy at Elsevier is the most cumbersome thing in the world:” Journal editor

UT-Southwestern cancer researchers up to 8 retractions

A group at the University of Texas Southwestern led by Adi F. Gazdar that found evidence of inappropriate image manipulation in a number of their papers has retracted its seventh and eighth studies. Here’s the notice for 2005’s “Aberrant methylation profile of human malignant mesotheliomas and its relationship to SV40 infection,” in Oncogene:

Obokata agrees to retract both STAP stem cell papers: Report

Last month we wrote that Haruko Obokata, the Japanese stem cell researcher whose work is under a cloud of suspicion, had agreed to call for the retraction of one of two disputed Nature papers about her findings. Now Reuters is reporting that Obokata will ask for the second article to be pulled, as well (one … Continue reading Obokata agrees to retract both STAP stem cell papers: Report

Journal retracts letter accusing physicist of using fake names to criticize papers

From the world of physics, we have a retraction involving rivalry and alleged sock puppetry. The Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology has removed a letter from its website after a scientist complained that it was making unproven allegations against him. It’s a head-scratching case. The letter, from Lorenzo Iorio, first appeared … Continue reading Journal retracts letter accusing physicist of using fake names to criticize papers

Weekend reads: Förster defense crumbling, peer-reviewed journalism, heated rhetoric about replication

Another busy week at Retraction Watch, with Harvard dominating the news about scientific misconduct here and elsewhere. Here’s what else was happening around the web:

Serial fakery: Researcher found to have committed misconduct at Harvard and Oxford

A former Harvard postdoc who was found guilty of faking data at Oxford as a student did the same thing at Harvard, according to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). We first wrote about Helen Freeman in February, when we covered a retraction in Cell Metabolism that said the UK’s Medical Research Council had found … Continue reading Serial fakery: Researcher found to have committed misconduct at Harvard and Oxford

Lactobacillus intolerance: Bacterium mixup forces retraction

The British Journal of Nutrition has retracted a 2013 paper by a group of researchers from Taiwan after learning that the authors had studied the wrong strain of microbe. The article was titled “Oral Lactobacillus reuteri GMN-32 treatment reduces blood glucose concentrations and promotes cardiac function in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus.” According to the abstract: