As Retraction Watch readers may know, as part of keeping our database of retractions up to date, we’ve been publishing a running list of COVID-19 papers that have been retracted. That list has been steadily growing since the end of April, but yesterday the number jumped from 45 to 72, so we thought we’d walk … Continue reading List of retracted COVID-19 papers grows past 70
A veterinary researcher at the University of Maryland has lost seven papers for problematic images and other issues, bringing his retraction total to 13. Siba Samal, who studies viruses and vaccines, lost four of his articles in March after journals determined that figures in the papers were unreliable. And he was a co-author on papers … Continue reading U Maryland virus researcher up to 13 retractions
A Hindawi journal has retracted two 2013 papers by a group of stem cell researchers in China over issues with the images in the articles, bringing their count to three. Here’s the notice for “Side-by-Side comparison of the biological characteristics of human umbilical cord and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells,” by Lili Chen and colleagues … Continue reading Stem cell researchers lose two more papers, making three
Science has retracted a 13-year-old paper, five years after data sleuth Elisabeth Bik first raised questions about issues with the images in the article. The paper, “Secondary siRNAs result from unprimed RNA synthesis and form a distinct class,” appeared in 2007 and was written by a group of researchers in the Netherlands and Switzerland. The … Continue reading Science retracts paper co-authored by high-profile scientist and former Dutch minister
A group of researchers at Aichi Gakuin University in Nagoya, Japan, continues to lose papers for duplication of images and text from their previous work, and is now up to 19 retractions. Please see an update on this post. Here’s a typical notice, for “Bone morphogenetic protein-induced cell differentiation involves Atg7 and Wnt16 sequentially in … Continue reading Two and a half years after findings of misconduct, stem cell researchers up to 19 retractions
The authors of a 2017 paper on resistance to cancer chemotherapy have retracted and replaced the article after learning that it included duplicated material from previously published work by one of the duo. The article, “The evolution and ecology of resistance in cancer therapy,” was written by Robert Gatenby and Joel Brown, of the Moffitt … Continue reading Author blames “multitasking dementia” for duplicated cancer paper
Three years after work from his lab was the subject of “serious allegations,” a professor at Deakin University in Australia has left his post, Retraction Watch has learned. In an October 6, 2020 letter to staff at Deakin’s School of Medicine obtained by Retraction Watch, Dean Gary Rogers writes that Jagat Kanwar, who joined the … Continue reading Researcher leaves post at Australian university years after papers come under scrutiny
Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Nanoscience researcher loses four papers for image manipulation, forged authors … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Scholarly Research Integrity;’ amulet-COVID-19 paper retracted; bad science on voter fraud
Pro tip to would-be fraudsters: If you’re going to submit new figures to support your claims, make sure they’re not obviously fake. That’s a lesson a group of cancer researchers learned the hard way for their 2016 article in DNA and Cell Biology titled “miR-106a-5p suppresses the proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by … Continue reading Researchers tried to correct a figure after questions on PubPeer. Then the real trouble started.
Here’s a retraction notice after our own hearts. Brain Research Bulletin, an Elsevier journal, has retracted a 2017 article which duplicated a substantial amount of previously published papers by some of the same authors. But unlike many journals, which merely point out the overlap, BRB explains to readers why the copying matters. The article, “Erythropoietin … Continue reading Why duplicate publications matter: A retraction notice goes above and beyond