Should authors have to retract papers based on data obtained unethically?

Careful Retraction Watch readers may have noticed that one of the categories in our right-hand column under “by reason for retraction” is “lack of IRB approval.” That’s because in just over a year, we’ve written a number of posts about two cases of retractions for that reason. One was the now-infamous case of Joachim Boldt, who has … Continue reading Should authors have to retract papers based on data obtained unethically?

Publisher error handling two eye papers leads to retractions, new policy on notices

We can only imagine how Joe Hollyfield felt to learn from us, of all people, that his journal, Experimental Eye Research, had retracted two manuscripts in a recent issue. The papers, “Mechanisms of retinal ganglion cell injury and defense in glaucoma,” by Qu J, Wang D, and Grosskreutz CL, and “Mitochondria: Their role in ganglion cell … Continue reading Publisher error handling two eye papers leads to retractions, new policy on notices

Science genetics paper retracted after “unfortunate mistake”

Sometime last year, the University of Zurich’s Erik Postma was reading a paper in Science titled “Additive Genetic Breeding Values Correlate with the Load of Partially Deleterious Mutations” when he realized something. The authors, led by Joseph Tomkins of the University of Western Australia, had made a mistake. Postma set to writing a “Technical Comment,” the … Continue reading Science genetics paper retracted after “unfortunate mistake”

Montreal Heart Institute researcher dismissed following two retractions for image manipulation

A Montreal Heart Institute researcher who retracted two papers less than a month ago has been fired from his post. Zhiguo Wang, who had been funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Canadian Diabetes Association, studied the genes linked to heart rhythm abnormalities, among other subjects. Wang also has an appointment at the University … Continue reading Montreal Heart Institute researcher dismissed following two retractions for image manipulation

Editor of Remote Sensing resigns over controversial climate paper; co-author stands by it

The editor of a journal that published a highly contentious article challenging claims of global warming has stepped down over the paper. In a remarkable letter to his readership, Wolfgang Wagner, who until today was editor of Remote Sensing, an open-access journal that we’ve written about before, said he felt forced to resign because the … Continue reading Editor of Remote Sensing resigns over controversial climate paper; co-author stands by it

Should journals apologize to victims of plagiarism? More on Journal of Clinical Microbiology case

Yesterday, we reported on a retraction in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology involving plagiarism and author issues. Well, it turns out we only had half the story. Thanks to a comment on Derek Lowe’s In the Pipeline blog, which picked up our item yesterday, we’ve learned of a remarkable pair of letters in the journal about … Continue reading Should journals apologize to victims of plagiarism? More on Journal of Clinical Microbiology case

Former Pitt psych nursing researcher loses seven papers (and counting) in referencing, plagiarism scandal

Scott Weber seems to have been behaving badly. The Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing (JCAPN) has retracted five of Weber’s papers, dating back to 2009. And the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (JAANP)and Perspectives in Psychiatric Care also have pulled articles by the nursing researcher. The reason: he misused his … Continue reading Former Pitt psych nursing researcher loses seven papers (and counting) in referencing, plagiarism scandal

Happy anniversary, Retraction Watch: What we’ve learned, and what’s in store for year two

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the launch of Retraction Watch. We’d like to thank our readers, tipsters, and fans for your support and feedback — and our helpful critics who have spurred us to do better. Over the past 12 months we’ve written more than 250 posts about retractions ranging from the extraordinary — think … Continue reading Happy anniversary, Retraction Watch: What we’ve learned, and what’s in store for year two

A dingo ate my IRB form: Journal cries foul over Aussie-rules football and rugby papers that lied

If there’s any group of subjects a scientist wouldn’t want to piss off, it would have to be Aussie-rules football and rugby players, who are tough enough to make a saltwater crocodile wish it was a belt.  And when those guinea pigs are suffering from low back pain — well, we shudder to think. The … Continue reading A dingo ate my IRB form: Journal cries foul over Aussie-rules football and rugby papers that lied

Sebastiani group retracts genetics of aging study from Science

When a group of researchers last year claimed to have found a “genetic signature” to identify people likely to live to 100, they were questioned immediately. Now they’ve retracted the controversial paper —  but continue to stand behind their assertion. The paper had been the subject of an “Expression of Concern” in November. The retraction … Continue reading Sebastiani group retracts genetics of aging study from Science