St. Jude investigation finds faked data in brain tumor paper

An investigation at St. Jude Children’s Hospital into “irregularities” in a figure featured in a neuroblastoma paper has concluded that the image was fabricated. The paper, published in Surgery in 2012, was retracted on Friday. Here’s the full retraction notice for “Liposome-encapsulated curcumin suppresses neuroblastoma growth through nuclear factor-kappa B inhibition:”

Heart researcher who faked patient data gets third retraction

A heart researcher has notched her third retraction, a small 2006 trial in Annals of Internal Medicine which seemed to show that a blood pressure drug could help people with artery disease walk further with less pain. Earlier this year, Anna Ahimastos, formerly a researcher at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, lost a … Continue reading Heart researcher who faked patient data gets third retraction

It’s official: Anil Potti faked cancer research data, say Feds

Following five years of scrutiny, more than ten retractions, multiple settled lawsuits, and medical board reprimands, we may finally have some resolution on the case of Anil Potti, the once-rising cancer research star who resigned from Duke in 2010. While there have been numerous allegations of misconduct in Potti’s work, and strong comments to that effect by … Continue reading It’s official: Anil Potti faked cancer research data, say Feds

Biology journal bans plagiarizers, reviewers with non-institutional email addresses

DNA and Cell Biology has declared it will ban any authors who submit plagiarized manuscripts for three years, and will no longer accept suggestions of reviewers with non-institutional email addresses. The move comes after a wave of hundreds of retractions stemming from fake peer reviews, often occurring when authors supply fake emails for suggested reviewers. In an … Continue reading Biology journal bans plagiarizers, reviewers with non-institutional email addresses

Elsevier retracting nine papers for fake peer review

The fake peer review retraction count continues to mount. Elsevier is retracting nine papers from five journals because fake email addresses for reviewers were provided during submission of the original manuscripts. According to a statement from the publisher:

Danish neuroscientist sentenced by court for lying about faked experiments

In a rare development, neuroscientist Milena Penkowa has been sentenced by a Danish court for faking data. The ruling, from the Copenhagen City Court, resulted from Penkowa’s publication of her 2003 thesis describing experiments that she never carried out. The court “placed weight” on the fact that she didn’t just commit fraud, but “systematically supplied false information” to avoid … Continue reading Danish neuroscientist sentenced by court for lying about faked experiments

17 retractions from SAGE journals bring total fake peer review count to 250

On Monday, we reported on 64 new retractions from Springer journals resulting from fake peer reviews. Yesterday, SAGE — which retracted 60 papers for the same reason just over a year ago — added 17 additional retractions to their list. The articles were published in five different journals, and one retraction involved authorship fraud in … Continue reading 17 retractions from SAGE journals bring total fake peer review count to 250

64 more papers retracted for fake reviews, this time from Springer journals

This is officially becoming a trend: Springer is pulling another 64 articles from 10 journals after finding evidence of faked peer reviews, bringing the total number of retractions from the phenomenon north of 230. Given that there have been about 1,500 papers retracted overall since 2012, when we first reported on the phenomenon, faked reviews have been … Continue reading 64 more papers retracted for fake reviews, this time from Springer journals

Penn State postdoc faked data in cancer manuscript

A former postdoctoral fellow at Penn State University faked numerous data and analyses in a manuscript submitted to Molecular Cancer Research, according to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). In a notice released today, the ORI found Julie Massè:

HIV postdoc faked data in published paper, 2 grants

An HIV researcher has admitted to faking data in a published paper, a manuscript, and two grant applications, according to a notice released today by the the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Former postdoc Julia Bitzegeio faked data in a 2013 paper, published in the Journal of Virology, about how HIV adapts to interferon. In the paper, “the manipulation … Continue reading HIV postdoc faked data in published paper, 2 grants