Search Results for: stem cell

Lancet issues expression of concern for 2011 Macchiarini paper

The Lancet has tagged an expression of concern onto a seminal 2011 paper by Paolo Macchiarini, the Italian surgeon whose work and conduct outside the operating room has earned months of  heavy criticism that recently culminated in his dismissal from the Karolinska Institutet. “Tracheobronchial transplantation with a stem-cell-seeded bioartificial nanocomposite: a proof-of-concept study,” which described the first … Continue reading Lancet issues expression of concern for 2011 Macchiarini paper

Denmark court clears controversial psychologist of misconduct charges

A Danish court has determined that psychologist Helmuth Nyborg did not commit misconduct in a controversial 2011 paper which predicted an influx of immigrants into Denmark would lower the population’s average IQ by the latter part of this century. The ruling, reported by the Danish newspaper Politiken, overturns a previous finding of misconduct by the the Danish … Continue reading Denmark court clears controversial psychologist of misconduct charges

Biologist’s research under investigation in Sweden after being questioned on PubPeer

The University of Gothenburg in Sweden is investigating several papers co-authored by biologist Suchitra Sumitran-Holgersson after they were challenged on PubPeer. Sumitran-Holgersson already has one retraction under her belt — of a 2005 Blood paper, after another investigation concluded the results “cannot be considered reliable.” Sumitran-Holgersson and her husband, co-author Jan Holgersson, did not sign the retraction notice. Both were … Continue reading Biologist’s research under investigation in Sweden after being questioned on PubPeer

Macchiarini dismissed from Karolinska

The Karolinska Institutet has dismissed former rising star surgeon Paolo Macchiarini from his post, effective immediately. A KI news release, dated today, states: The Staff Disciplinary Board at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to relieve Paolo Macchiarini of his duties as a researcher at KI. He is to be informed immediately that his contract has been … Continue reading Macchiarini dismissed from Karolinska

Shigeaki Kato up to 38 retractions

Our retraction notice count for Shigeaki Kato, number seven on our leaderboard, has grown to 38. The former University of Tokyo endocrinologist recently earned another retraction, for a paper in Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics that contained image manipulation. As we’ve noted before, Kato resigned from the university in 2012 as it investigated his work for misconduct; in 2013 a Japanese newspaper reported that the investigation … Continue reading Shigeaki Kato up to 38 retractions

Whistleblower removed from Macchiarini’s Lancet author list

Last week, The Lancet honored a co-author’s request to remove his name from Paolo Macchiarini’s seminal 2011 paper, which described the first transplant of an artificial trachea seeded with autologous stem cells but has since come under fire. On March 3, the journal posted this notice: The Lancet has been contacted by Dr KH Grinnemo … Continue reading Whistleblower removed from Macchiarini’s Lancet author list

Weekend reads: Prof charged with $8 million research fraud; war on bullshit science; more Macchiarini fallout

This week at Retraction Watch featured seven retractions in a long-running case involving cancer research, as well as the retraction of a paper claiming a link between a vaccine and behavioral issues. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Sweden, rocked by scientific scandals, re-thinking how it investigates misconduct

The Swedish government is taking a second look at how it handles misconduct investigations. According to a spokesperson: Yes, we have an national investigation ongoing since last autumn. It will investigate how misconduct is investigated and handled in Sweden… She also sent us a link to a description of the investigation, in Swedish. The outcome … Continue reading Sweden, rocked by scientific scandals, re-thinking how it investigates misconduct

Macchiarini may be dismissed from Karolinska; dean of research resigns

There’s more news to report on the story of surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who’s been dogged by allegations of misconduct. After the Karolinska Institutet (KI) announced it would not extend his contract and that he needed to “phase out” his research by November, it has now announced it may dismiss him. In addition, Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, KI’s Dean of … Continue reading Macchiarini may be dismissed from Karolinska; dean of research resigns

Weekend reads: Publish and perish in Texas; clinical trial reporting poor but improving; forget peer review

The week at Retraction Watch featured a peer review nightmare come true, and a look at why publishing negative findings is hard. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: