Against the authors’ objections, Nature Methods has added an expression of concern to a 2017 paper that drew fire for suggesting a common gene editing technique could cause widespread collateral damage to the genome. The latest note — the second to be added in two months — alerts readers to an alternative interpretation of the … Continue reading Controversial CRISPR paper earns second editorial note
Image duplications and unsupported data continue to plague a network of cancer researchers that includes the former vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Los Angeles, James Economou. On July 2, the editors at Cancer Research retracted a 2011 paper that Economou published as last author, saying it suffered from image duplication and … Continue reading Drip, drip: UCLA investigation finds more image duplications
One of the world’s most prestigious mathematics journals has issued what appears to be its first retraction. The Annals of Mathematics recently withdrew a 2001 paper exploring the properties of certain symmetrical spaces. What prompted this retraction? And why did it occur 16 years after the paper was published?
A Cornell food researcher who has pledged to re-analyze his papers following heavy criticism of his work has issued a major correction to a 2005 paper. The correction tweaks two tables, a figure, and the description of the methodology — and notes in two instances the correct findings are unknown, since the original data are unavailable. … Continue reading “The correct values are impossible to establish:” Embattled nutrition researcher adds long fix to 2005 paper
When a journal discovers elementary design flaws in a paper, what should it do? Should it retract immediately, or are there times when it makes sense to give the researchers time to perform a “do-over?” These are questions the editors at Scientific Reports recently faced with a somewhat controversial 2016 paper, which reported that microRNAs … Continue reading Instead of retracting a flawed study, a journal let authors re-do it. It got retracted anyway.
A Nature journal has posted a editor’s note to a recent letter on potential unintended consequences of CRISPR gene editing, after an executive at a company trying to commercialize the technology said the paper should be retracted. The original article, published on May 30 as a correspondence in Nature Methods, suggested that using CRISPR in mice … Continue reading Journal alerts readers to “technical criticism” of CRISPR study
Since it launched in 2012, PubPeer has grown to become a standard part of the scientific lexicon, and its numerous post-publication discussions have led to more editorial notices than we can count. But it’s also faced its share of critics, including a scientist who took the site to court to unmask commenters he alleged had … Continue reading Meet PubPeer 2.0: New version of post-publication peer review site launches today
After a paper is published, how long should a journal consider allegations of misconduct? For one journal, that answer is: Six years. We see plenty of journals that retract papers at least 10 years old over concerns regarding misconduct, but in a recent editorial, Molecular and Cellular Biology announced it would pursue allegations made within … Continue reading Journal won’t look at allegations about papers more than six years old, nor comment on those from “public websites”
When the World Conference on Research Integrity kicks off at the end of this month, one topic that will be on attendees’ minds is how journals and research institutions should collaborate when investigating the integrity of individual publications. That’s because this week, a group of stakeholders from institutions and the publishing world released draft guidelines … Continue reading When misconduct occurs, how should journals and institutions work together?
A physics journal has retracted a 2011 paper by a group of scientists based in Italy, noting it’s “literally copied” from a paper by the same authors. This is the 12th retraction for the paper’s first author Alberto Carpinteri, who is known in the engineering community for championing some controversial ideas, such as that the Shroud … Continue reading Controversial researcher loses 12th paper that’s “literally copied;” authors object