I will not plagiarize, I will not plagiarize, No plagiaré…: When a journal requires a public apology

This one is an oldie but a goodie. We’ve published a few accounts of what it feels like to have your work plagiarized. But often absent from accounts like that are the views of the plagiarists. So here’s one. In 2009, the Cuban Journal of Endocrinology retracted a 2000 paper by a researcher who acknowledged … Continue reading I will not plagiarize, I will not plagiarize, No plagiaré…: When a journal requires a public apology

Image correction in Current Biology for Harvard’s Sam Lee

The work of Sam W. Lee, a cancer biologist at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, has come under fire at Science Fraud lately over concerns about the possible reuse of images in his group’s published studies. Turns out there’s some there, there after all. The journal Current Biology has issued a pretty thorny correction for … Continue reading Image correction in Current Biology for Harvard’s Sam Lee

“Administrative error” leads to duplication retraction

Forgive us if we’re a tad skeptical here, but we’re not convinced about the, um, sincerity of the following retraction notice. The International Journal of Biological Macromolecules has retracted a paper it published earlier this year by a group of Canadian researchers who had already published the same paper in a different journal. The article, … Continue reading “Administrative error” leads to duplication retraction

Paper cuts? Duplication, data manipulation force retraction of study of circumcision by ring device

A group of Chinese authors studying the Shang Ring, “a device that allows professionals to perform hundreds rather than tens of” circumcisions in a day, as had to retract the paper after editors apparently figured out they had changed some dates in the paper so it wouldn’t look as though they were trying to publish … Continue reading Paper cuts? Duplication, data manipulation force retraction of study of circumcision by ring device

Group’s duplication retractions span the globe, from New Zealand to Romania to Croatia

The retraction count continues to grow for a group of Iranian scientists who appear to have published similar work four times. The group was forced to retract a Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases paper in March. That retraction came alongside one in the New Zealand Journal of Medical Laboratory Science, whose editor had tipped … Continue reading Group’s duplication retractions span the globe, from New Zealand to Romania to Croatia

Two Moriguchi stem cell papers being retracted

It was, as Nature News wrote last month, a story that “seemed too good to be true:” Stem-cell transplant claims debunked Transplant of induced pluripotent stem cells to treat heart failure probably never happened Hisashi Moriguchi, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo, had claimed a result that would have put him years ahead … Continue reading Two Moriguchi stem cell papers being retracted

Hydrogen study has “merit” — just not enough to avoid retraction

The International Journal of Hydrogen Energy has retracted a paper by a group from Malaysia and India who, reading between the lines, couldn’t quite get the low notes to overcome what the high notes lacked. Or something like that. The paper, “Hydrogen production from sea water using waste aluminium and calcium oxide,” appears to have … Continue reading Hydrogen study has “merit” — just not enough to avoid retraction

Lemus, Stapel each rack up another retraction

The retraction counts keep mounting for two Retraction Watch frequent flyers. First, Diederik Stapel’s 26th retraction, according to our count. Psychologist Stapel admitted to making up data in dozens of studies, and is also facing a criminal inquiry for misuse of funds. Here’s the notice:

Did a McLuhan moment lead to retraction in Chemistry — A European Journal?

The authors of a chemistry paper are retracting it after a Columbia University chemistry researcher pointed out a fatal misinterpretation of his own work in it. Here’s the notice in Chemistry — A European Journal:

Walk (back) an Egyptian (vulture): Another paper by Spanish vet under scrutiny retracted

With apologies to the Bangles for this post’s title, we have another vulture-related retraction from Jesús A. Lemus, the Spanish veterinary researcher whose results have come into question. This one involves a paper that appeared in PLoS ONE in 2009, titled “Susceptibility to Infection and Immune Response in Insular and Continental Populations of Egyptian Vulture: … Continue reading Walk (back) an Egyptian (vulture): Another paper by Spanish vet under scrutiny retracted