Retraction of review of broccoli’s health benefits is 22nd for deceased author, 5th for one of his postdocs

Broccoli almost certainly is good for you — but just how good might have taken a bit of a hit with the retraction of a 12-year-old review on the vegetable’s health benefits by a notorious fraudster.  By our count, the retraction, which appeared in July, marks the 22nd for Das, formerly of the University of … Continue reading Retraction of review of broccoli’s health benefits is 22nd for deceased author, 5th for one of his postdocs

Mathematician ranked as Clarivate “highly cited researcher” has third paper retracted

A math professor named as a “highly cited researcher” by Clarivate Analytics has had his third paper retracted after issues with it were flagged last year. The mathematician, Abdon Atangana, is a professor at The University of the Free State, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and China Medical University, Taiwan.  Atangana’s article, “Derivative with two fractional … Continue reading Mathematician ranked as Clarivate “highly cited researcher” has third paper retracted

Lawyer for researcher deposed in $112.5 million Duke case asks us to remove a post

We receive occasional demand letters from attorneys here at Retraction Watch. Perhaps the most memorable was one in 2013 from an attorney claiming to represent Bharat Aggarwal. That prompted Popehat’s Ken White to enlarge our vocabulary by using the word “bumptious” in a post about the letter. To that library of letters we can now … Continue reading Lawyer for researcher deposed in $112.5 million Duke case asks us to remove a post

Cancer journals retract 10 papers, flag 8 more, and apologize for the delay

Five journals published by a prominent cancer research society have retracted a total of 10 papers — most of them by a former researcher at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Nine of the 10 retractions share that researcher, Bharat Aggarwal, as an author. Aggarwal — who more than five years ago threatened to sue … Continue reading Cancer journals retract 10 papers, flag 8 more, and apologize for the delay

Caught Our Notice: Researcher who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch now up to 19 retractions

Title: Curcumin-Free Turmeric Exhibits Activity against Human HCT-116 Colon Tumor Xenograft: Comparison with Curcumin and Whole Turmeric What Caught Our Attention: We haven’t heard much about Bharat Aggarwal since his seven retractions in 2016 propelled him onto our leaderboard (and long after he threatened to sue Retraction Watch for our reporting). There was a whisper … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: Researcher who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch now up to 19 retractions

MD Anderson: No, we did not co-sponsor this cancer conference

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, of Houston, is asking a conference on cancer in Chennai, India to stop claiming it is a co-sponsor. The meeting was the subject of a story in The New Indian Express, which reported that Baba Ramdev, a prominent yogi “who had claimed that cancer is divine justice … Continue reading MD Anderson: No, we did not co-sponsor this cancer conference

Sorry, researchers: That Thomson Reuters “highly cited” designation you received is probably wrong

Elation, then disappointment. That was the emotional sequence for some significant number of researchers around the world on Friday. In the space of several hours, they received word that they were among the scientific 1% — the most cited researchers on the planet — then learned that…well, they actually weren’t. Here’s the letter — subject line, … Continue reading Sorry, researchers: That Thomson Reuters “highly cited” designation you received is probably wrong

Seven retractions for prominent cancer researcher brings total to 18

A cancer researcher has earned seven more retractions following an investigation into his work by his former employer, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, bringing his total to 18 retractions. Bharat Aggarwal‘s name will be familiar to some readers, as he has threatened to sue Retraction Watch for reporting on his case. All of the new retraction notices, issued … Continue reading Seven retractions for prominent cancer researcher brings total to 18

Here’s why this lawyer defends scientists accused of misconduct

More scientists are trying to settle accusations of misconduct in court, a trend very familiar to Washington, DC-based lawyer Paul Thaler. Regular readers may recall the name of one of Thaler’s clients — Rakesh Kumar, a scientist at George Washington University who filed an $8 million lawsuit for how the school handled an investigation into his work. … Continue reading Here’s why this lawyer defends scientists accused of misconduct

Highly cited cancer researcher logs 8th, 9th retractions

Bharat Aggarwal, a highly cited cancer researcher who retired last year from MD Anderson, has logged two retractions following an investigation into his work, bringing his total to nine. Aggarwal has threatened to sue us in the past, and told us that MD Anderson has been investigating his work. Earlier this year, Biochemical Pharmacology retracted seven studies of … Continue reading Highly cited cancer researcher logs 8th, 9th retractions