A pair of perfume researchers in England have lost a 2019 paper on what makes a scent appealing because, ahem, something about the data didn’t smell quite right. The article was titled “Social success of perfumes,” and it appeared in July in PLOS ONE. There was a press release and a university writeup about the … Continue reading PLOS ONE retracts perfume study when data don’t pass the sniff test
PLoS ONE has retracted a meta-analysis on mindfulness after determining that the authors used dubious methodology and failed to adequately report their financial interest in the psychological treatment the article found effective. The article, “Standardised mindfulness-based interventions in healthcare: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs,” appeared in April 2015 and has been … Continue reading PLOS ONE pulls highly cited mindfulness paper over undeclared ties, other concerns
The stars did not align for a 2016 paper ancient astronomy in the Amazon region after the author discovered errors in his work that the journal deemed fatal to the case, although the author has objected to the retraction. And the author feels as though he was punished for being honest. The article, “Solar-Aligned Pictographs … Continue reading Author of retracted PLOS ONE paper wonders if he was punished for being honest
We have news of two upcoming retractions, both following critiques on PubPeer. PLOS ONE is retracting a 2012 paper by researchers at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, “Interferon-β Induces Cellular Senescence in Cutaneous Human Papilloma Virus-Transformed Human Keratinocytes by … Continue reading “All very painful:” Two retractions to watch for, in eLife and PLOS ONE
PLOS ONE has retracted two papers for image problems, which we’ve learned were brought to the journal’s attention more than four years ago. The first article came from a group of cancer researchers in China, and it turns out to have a bit more wrong than a few dodgy figures. The second also involved cancer … Continue reading “We regret our delay:” PLOS ONE retracts two papers
A year ago, PLOS ONE published a study claiming that there was strong evidence that a person wrapped in the Shroud of Turin — according to lore, the burial shroud of Jesus Christ — had suffered “strong polytrauma.” Today, they retracted it. According to the retraction notice for “Atomic resolution studies detect new biologic evidences on … Continue reading Over authors’ objections, PLOS ONE retracts paper claiming Shroud of Turin showed evidence of trauma
In April 2015, two high-profile chemistry bloggers — and their commenters — raised questions about a paper that had been published in PLOS ONE some 18 months earlier. More than three years later, the journal has now retracted the paper, with a notice that echoes the 2015 blog posts. So what took so long? PLOS … Continue reading Three years after questions surfaced, PLOS ONE retracts paper about potential antibiotic
If you’ve been pausing at some detailed PLOS ONE notices lately — such as one issued last month for a cancer paper that lists 21 shortcomings — you’re not alone. According to a spokesperson for the publisher, the journal has been progressively pushing towards more transparency in its notices — in part, because it was … Continue reading Have you seen more detail in PLOS ONE retraction notices? You’re welcome
PLOS ONE has retracted two 2014 papers from a group of researchers, after an institutional investigation confirmed image duplication. Although the authors initially asked to correct the figures in the two papers, they ultimately agreed with the decision to retract. Mrinal K. Maiti—an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur and corresponding author … Continue reading PLOS ONE retracts two papers one year after author says he okayed the move
On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Office of Research Integrity published its first misconduct finding of the year. The ORI reported that Brandi M. Baughman — a former research training awardee at the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences (NIEHS) — had “falsified and/or fabricated data” in 11 figures in a 2016 paper published in PLOS … Continue reading PLOS ONE retracts paper after researcher admits to fabricating data