Search Results for: Frontiers

“[W]e did not succeed:” Frontiers editor on handling of controversial retraction

Controversy continues to swirl around the retraction of a Frontiers paper linking climate skepticism to conspiratorial ideation, with three editors resigning from various Frontiers journals, and competing narratives. The authors say the journal retracted the paper because of a fear of legal threats, while the journal, and critics of the study, has said it was … Continue reading “[W]e did not succeed:” Frontiers editor on handling of controversial retraction

Chief specialty editor resigns from Frontiers in wake of controversial retraction

An editor at a Frontiers journal has resigned to protest the publisher’s decision to retract the controversial “Recursive Fury” paper that linked climate skepticism to conspiratorial ideation. Ugo Bardi was chief specialty editor of Frontiers in Energy Research: Energy Systems and Policy. He writes on his blog: …my opinion is that, with their latest statement … Continue reading Chief specialty editor resigns from Frontiers in wake of controversial retraction

Frontiers papers on GMO debate, diabetes retracted for improperly cited text

The author of a review article on diabetes has been forced to retract the paper after it emerged that he failed to properly credit some of the text — an omission we generally associate with the word plagiarism. The article, “Colonic flora, probiotics, obesity and diabetes,” was written by Paul Marik, of Eastern Virginia Medical … Continue reading Frontiers papers on GMO debate, diabetes retracted for improperly cited text

Technobabble papers by professor and editor under scrutiny

The reviewer, a neuroscientist in Germany, was confused. The manuscript on her screen, describing efforts to model a thin layer of gray matter in the brain called the indusium griseum, seemed oddly devoid of gist. The figures in the single-authored article made little sense, the MATLAB functions provided were irrelevant, the discussion failed to engage … Continue reading Technobabble papers by professor and editor under scrutiny

Weekend reads: ‘How long does it take to kill zombie papers?’; ‘The H-Index of Suspicion’; former Springer editors launch new journal

Dear RW readers, we look forward to wrapping up the week with Weekend Reads. If you enjoy it too, please consider showing your support with a tax-deductible donation. Retraction Watch and the Retraction Watch Database are projects of The Center of Scientific Integrity. Others include the Medical Evidence Project, the Hijacked Journal Checker, and the … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘How long does it take to kill zombie papers?’; ‘The H-Index of Suspicion’; former Springer editors launch new journal

Exclusive: ‘Highly problematic’ policy has Saudi university pressuring faculty to cite its research 

At Prince Sultan University in Saudi Arabia, faculty members must help raise their school’s academic standing not by doing impactful work, but by citing the institution’s research in their papers, according to a document Retraction Watch has obtained. In an interoffice memo from 2022, Ahmed Yamani, president of the Riyadh-based institution, referred to “the rule … Continue reading Exclusive: ‘Highly problematic’ policy has Saudi university pressuring faculty to cite its research 

Lancet journal retracts COVID-19 metformin paper nearly 2 years after authors request correction

A paper on a clinical trial of metformin for the treatment of COVID-19 has been retracted nearly two years after the authors flagged data issues that resulted in an expression of concern.  The results of the Brazil-based TOGETHER trial, published in December 2021 in The Lancet Regional Health–Americas, found metformin was no better than placebo … Continue reading Lancet journal retracts COVID-19 metformin paper nearly 2 years after authors request correction

Former student who ran paper mill up to 11 retractions

A former bioinformatics student who operated a paper mill while at the University of Manchester has lost another paper, bringing his total to 11 retractions.  Sameer Quazi had been enrolled in the school’s “PGCert” program in clinical bioinformatics, as Retraction Watch reported in January when the university released a statement saying an investigation found he … Continue reading Former student who ran paper mill up to 11 retractions

Why has this microRNA review paper been cited more than 2,000 times? 

Earlier this year, Marc Halushka, a pathologist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio,  came across a review titled simply “MicroRNA,” an unusually short title in a big field. Looking deeper into the review, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in 2018, Halushka found it had been cited more than 2,000 times. He thought … Continue reading Why has this microRNA review paper been cited more than 2,000 times? 

Exclusive: Journal bans drug safety database papers as they flood the literature

Starting around 2023, a curious trend took hold in papers on drug safety monitoring. The number of articles published on an individual drug and its link to specific adverse events went from a steady increase to a huge spike.  The data source in most of those articles was largely the same: The FDA Adverse Events … Continue reading Exclusive: Journal bans drug safety database papers as they flood the literature