Search Results for: Scott S. Reuben

When it comes to retracting papers by the world’s most prolific scientific fraudsters, journals have room for improvement

Journals have retracted all but 19 of the 313 tainted papers linked to three of the most notorious fraudsters in science, with only stragglers left in the literature. But editors and publishers have been less diligent when it comes to delivering optimal retraction notices for the affected articles. That’s the verdict of a new analysis … Continue reading When it comes to retracting papers by the world’s most prolific scientific fraudsters, journals have room for improvement

Two in 100 clinical trials in eight major journals likely contain inaccurate data: Study

A sweeping analysis of more than 5,000 papers in eight leading medical journals has found compelling evidence of suspect data in roughly 2% of randomized controlled clinical trials in those journals. Although the analysis, by John Carlisle, an anesthetist in the United Kingdom, could not determine whether the concerning data were tainted by misconduct or … Continue reading Two in 100 clinical trials in eight major journals likely contain inaccurate data: Study

Nutrition researcher Chandra, who lost libel suit, charged with health care fraud

A nutrition researcher with multiple retractions who unsuccessfully sued the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for libel has been charged with defrauding a state health insurance plan. The Toronto Star reports that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Ranjit Kumar Chandra for billing the Ontario Health Insurance Plan for “services that were either not provided … Continue reading Nutrition researcher Chandra, who lost libel suit, charged with health care fraud

Vast majority of Americans want to criminalize data fraud, says new study

As Retraction Watch readers know, criminal sanctions for research fraud are extremely rare. There have been just a handful of cases — Dong-Pyou Han, Eric Poehlman, and Scott Reuben, to name several — that have led to prison sentences. According to a new study, however, the rarity of such cases is out of sync with … Continue reading Vast majority of Americans want to criminalize data fraud, says new study

The standard in transparency? Editor praises author honesty that led to retraction in anesthesia journal

Sometimes, a junior member of the team sees things an editor-in-chief misses. Regular readers know that we’re always delighted when we get a chance to commend researchers and journals for doing the right thing. Here’s an example that sets the standard. Anesthesia & Analgesia (A&A) is retracting a 2015 paper which purportedly found important differences in patient outcomes … Continue reading The standard in transparency? Editor praises author honesty that led to retraction in anesthesia journal

Neuroscientist pleads guilty in court to fraud, gets two-year suspended sentence

A Parkinson’s researcher pleaded guilty to fraud in court this morning in Brisbane, Australia, and received a two-year suspended sentence. Court sentences for fraud are rare, to say the least. This one follows an investigation by Bruce Murdoch‘s former employer, the University of Queensland, into 92 papers — resulting in the retraction of three papers co-authored by Caroline Barwood, … Continue reading Neuroscientist pleads guilty in court to fraud, gets two-year suspended sentence

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

Who has the most retractions? Introducing the Retraction Watch leaderboard

Ever since we broke the news about the issues with the now-retracted Science paper about changing people’s minds on gay marriage, we’ve been the subject of a lot of press coverage, which has in turn led a number of people to ask us: Who has the most retractions? Well, we’ve tried to answer that in … Continue reading Who has the most retractions? Introducing the Retraction Watch leaderboard

Unusual: HIV vaccine researcher who faked data arrested, faces felony charges

Dong Pyou-Han, a former researcher at Iowa State University who spiked rabbit blood samples to make it look as though a potential HIV vaccine was working, was arrested earlier this week on felony charges. According to the Des Moines Register:

Does science need a retraction “shame list?”

A pair of engineering researchers has analyzed the work of a handful of prolific scientific fraudsters, and has concluded that science needs a “shame list” to deter future misconduct. The paper, “Analysis and Implications of Retraction Period and Coauthorship of Fraudulent Publications,” by Jong Yong Abdiel Foo and Xin Ji Alan Tan, of  Ngee Ann … Continue reading Does science need a retraction “shame list?”