The authors of a paper retracted for plagiarism of a popular website have decided not to take the charges — which they don’t contest — lying down. Here’s the notice for “Alcohol consumption and hormonal alterations related to muscle hypertrophy: a review,” which appeared in Nutrition & Metabolism, a BioMed Central title:
Another busy week at Retraction Watch. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
A paper on liver failure in infants has been retracted due to a lab error, though the author contends that the paper still holds a valuable message for pediatricians — one that could save lives. To get to that, though, we had to make it through what turns out to be an unnecessarily vague retraction … Continue reading Paper on liver failure in babies withdrawn for lab mix-up
After typing up 96 citations, researchers from the National Institute for Digestive Diseases, I.R.C.C.S. “S. de Bellis,” in Bari, Italy, apparently ran out of steam for the last five, earning themselves a retraction for plagiarism in a literature review of the effects of probiotics on intestinal cancer. Here’s the notice for “Intestinal Microbiota, Probiotics and … Continue reading Yogurt to be kidding me: Five articles plagiarized in one retracted paper
Guangwen Tang, a rice researcher at Tufts University, landed in hot water in 2012 after her team was accused of feeding Chinese children genetically modified Golden Rice without having obtained informed consent from the parents. Now, she’s suing both Tufts and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which reportedly is retracting a paper, “ß-carotene in Golden Rice is as good … Continue reading Rice researcher in ethics scrape threatens journal with lawsuit over coming retraction
The British Journal of Nutrition has retracted a 2013 paper by a group of researchers from Taiwan after learning that the authors had studied the wrong strain of microbe. The article was titled “Oral Lactobacillus reuteri GMN-32 treatment reduces blood glucose concentrations and promotes cardiac function in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus.” According to the abstract:
In the wake of Harvard’s gritty performance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament — they were eliminated Saturday — a pair of faculty members at the Ivy League institution are calling foul on two controversial journal articles that have already been corrected. Walter Willett, an oft-quoted Harvard nutrition expert, is calling for the retraction of … Continue reading March Madness? Harvard profs take shots at controversial studies, request retractions
The authors of a 2011 paper on sex workers in India have lost the article in a dispute over the provenance of the data. The article, “Health of Home-Based Sex Workers and their Children in Rural Andhra Pradesh, India,” appeared in Asian Population Studies and was written by Monique M. Hennink and Solveig A. Cunningham, … Continue reading Sex worker paper falls in data dispute
Nutrition & Metabolism has retracted a 2008 article by a dwindling group of researchers from Pakistan. We’d say it’s the equivalent of punting on first down, expect that’s what the editors probably should have done in the beginning. As it happens, the journal seems to be guilty of delay of game in this case. As … Continue reading And then there were none: Plagiarism forces retraction of metabolism paper with vanishing authors
Another busy week at Retraction Watch, featuring lots of snow at HQ and a trip to take part in a conference in Davis, California. Here’s what was happening elsewhere on the web: