The Year In Retractions, 2018: What 18,000+ retractions (and counting) told us

Another year in the books — or journals — already? 2018 was another  productive year for Retraction Watch. Topping our own leaderboard of achievements was the launch of our database of retractions, along with an analysis published in Science. With more than 18,000 entries, the repository is the largest of its kind. We are grateful … Continue reading The Year In Retractions, 2018: What 18,000+ retractions (and counting) told us

Former Cedars-Sinai scientist committed misconduct in food preservatives-obesity paper

A former researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has been sanctioned by a Federal watchdog for misconduct in a 2017 paper that claimed to link food preservatives and obesity. Uthra Rajamani, first author of the paper in Nature Communications, “engaged in research misconduct,” according to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI), and agreed to have … Continue reading Former Cedars-Sinai scientist committed misconduct in food preservatives-obesity paper

Weekend reads: Tenured professor in Illinois fired; should journals publish CRISPR babies paper?; retracted vaccine-autism paper reappears

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured a retraction for a prominent psychologist at Cornell, more … Continue reading Weekend reads: Tenured professor in Illinois fired; should journals publish CRISPR babies paper?; retracted vaccine-autism paper reappears

Weekend reads: Meet journals’ research integrity czars; Duke set to settle big grant fraud case; what a cannabis stock’s collapse can teach investors

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured some big numbers: 26 retractions for an engineer in Italy, … Continue reading Weekend reads: Meet journals’ research integrity czars; Duke set to settle big grant fraud case; what a cannabis stock’s collapse can teach investors

Weekend reads: A whistleblower speaks; a new most-cited retracted paper; criminalizing scientific fraud?

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured a call for more than 30 retractions by former Harvard … Continue reading Weekend reads: A whistleblower speaks; a new most-cited retracted paper; criminalizing scientific fraud?

“Irreconcilable” differences about author order, other issues topple two articles in Spandidos journal

Researchers in China have retracted a pair of papers in the same journal after running into “irreconcilable” differences with the articles. Both articles appeared in Molecular Medicine Reports, from Spandidos. One article, “Combined treatment with extracorporeal shock‑wave therapy and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation improves bone repair in a rabbit model of bone nonunion,” … Continue reading “Irreconcilable” differences about author order, other issues topple two articles in Spandidos journal

University recommends researcher be fired after misconduct finding

The University of Gothenburg has requested the dismissal of a researcher who has been found guilty of scientific misconduct in seven articles. The researcher, Suchitra Sumitran-Holgersson, is “guilty of research misconduct through intentional fabrication, falsification or suppression of basic material and deliberately abandoning good scientific practice in seven of the reviewed articles,” according to a … Continue reading University recommends researcher be fired after misconduct finding

Karolinska finds Macchiarini, six other researchers guilty of misconduct

Former super-star surgeon Paolo Macchiarini is guilty of misconduct, along with six of his co-authors — including one who initially help alert authorities to problems with Macchiarini’s work, according to an announcement today by his former institution, the Karolinska Institute. KI is also calling to retract six articles co-authored by Macchiarini and his colleagues, including … Continue reading Karolinska finds Macchiarini, six other researchers guilty of misconduct

Weekend reads: Heart drug scandal widens; sexual harassment allegations force editor’s resignation; a dying scientist’s rogue vaccine trial

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured a boycott by thousands of researchers of a new Nature … Continue reading Weekend reads: Heart drug scandal widens; sexual harassment allegations force editor’s resignation; a dying scientist’s rogue vaccine trial

How often do scientists who commit misconduct do it again?

When someone has to retract a paper for misconduct, what are the odds they will do it again? And how can we use that information to stop repeat offenders? Those are the questions that  Toshio Kuroki of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Akira Ukawa of RIKEN set out to tackle in … Continue reading How often do scientists who commit misconduct do it again?