Paper on chemtrails, a favorite subject of conspiracy theorists, retracted

A paper claiming to expose the “tightly held secret” that long clouds trailing from jets are toxic coal fly ash — and not, as the U.S. government says, primarily composed of harmless ice crystals — has been retracted. The paper is called “Evidence of Coal-Fly-Ash Toxic Chemical Geoengineering in the Troposphere: Consequences for Public Health,” … Continue reading Paper on chemtrails, a favorite subject of conspiracy theorists, retracted

Retraction of grizzly bear-diabetes study follows departure of Amgen scientist for data manipulation

A study that looked to hibernating bears to understand the mechanisms behind diabetes has been retracted because an author based at the biotech company Amgen “manipulated specific experimental data” in two figures. According to the The Wall Street Journal, Amgen discovered the manipulation while reviewing the data following publication of the paper,”Grizzly bears exhibit augmented insulin sensitivity while obese prior to … Continue reading Retraction of grizzly bear-diabetes study follows departure of Amgen scientist for data manipulation

Trachea surgeon Macchiarini acted “without due care,” but is not guilty of misconduct: Karolinska

Following an investigation, Karolinska Institutet has found that surgeon and visiting professor Paolo Macchiarini acted in some cases “without due care,” but that his behavior “does not qualify as scientific misconduct.” Karolinska’s Vice Chancellor has also recommended that Macchiarini submit an unspecified number of corrections “to clarify and rectify the failings that the inquiry has … Continue reading Trachea surgeon Macchiarini acted “without due care,” but is not guilty of misconduct: Karolinska

A mess: PLOS mistakenly publishes rejected ADHD-herbicide paper, retracts it

PLOS One has retracted a paper that links the most commonly used herbicide to ADHD, after it was “published in error.” According to the note, the paper was “editorially rejected following peer review and consultation with the Editorial Board,” but ended up going through the production process anyway. When we contacted the authors, they filled us in … Continue reading A mess: PLOS mistakenly publishes rejected ADHD-herbicide paper, retracts it

Golden rice paper pulled after judge rules for journal

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is retracting a paper that showed genetically engineered rice serves as an effective vitamin A supplement after a Massachusetts judge denied the first author’s motion for an injunction against the publisher. The journal announced plans to retract the paper last year following allegations that the paper contained ethical mis-steps, such … Continue reading Golden rice paper pulled after judge rules for journal

High-profile biologist is suspended after two investigations found he “breached his duty of care”, committed “misconduct”

High-profile plant biologist Olivier Voinnet has been suspended for two years from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) following the results of two investigations that revealed a number of issues in his publication record. An investigation at ETH Zurich found that the scientist “breached his duty of care in the handling of figures as well as in … Continue reading High-profile biologist is suspended after two investigations found he “breached his duty of care”, committed “misconduct”

Beekeeper association stung by retraction after posting accusations about major honey processor

The American Honey Producers Association has apparently retracted an online article that said Honey Holding — a.k.a Honey Solutions, an industrial honey processor — had been charged with tax evasion and illegally selling Chinese honey containing corn syrup and sugar. According to the note: AHPA has removed the article from its website, and is correcting and … Continue reading Beekeeper association stung by retraction after posting accusations about major honey processor

Columbia biologists “deeply regret” Nature retraction, after postdoc faked 74 panels in 3 papers

A team of Columbia University biologists has retracted a 2013 Nature paper on the molecular pathways underlying Alzheimer’s disease, the second retraction from the group after a postdoc faked data. An April report from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) found the a first author, former Columbia postdoc Ryousuke Fujita, responsible for “knowingly and intentionally fabricating and falsifying research in seventy-four … Continue reading Columbia biologists “deeply regret” Nature retraction, after postdoc faked 74 panels in 3 papers

“Will you marry me?”: An unusual note sneaks into acknowledgements of scientific paper

Scientists have discovered the skull of a new dinosaur, a feathered relative of the Triceratops, according to new findings released in Current Biology today. Now, we know what you may be thinking – we don’t normally cover science news. We’re writing about this paper because of a little note we saw in the acknowledgements:

Should the chocolate-diet sting study be retracted? And why the coverage doesn’t surprise a news watchdog

Note: This story has been updated to include the journal’s response. See below. Yesterday, John Bohannon described in i09.com how he successfully”created” health news — he conducted a flawed trial of the health benefits of chocolate, gamed the data to produce statistically significant results, and published the findings in the International Archives of Medicine: It was terrible science. … Continue reading Should the chocolate-diet sting study be retracted? And why the coverage doesn’t surprise a news watchdog