Search Results for: "plos one"

Whistleblower forces retractions of four stem cell papers amid questions about more than a dozen studies

In a case that is a good reminder of why journal editors shouldn’t ignore anonymous tips, a Seoul National University stem cell researcher has been forced to retract four papers, and withdraw another under peer review, in Antioxidants & Redox Signaling following a whistleblower’s exhaustive analysis. Two retractions by Soo Kyung Kang, a professor of … Continue reading Whistleblower forces retractions of four stem cell papers amid questions about more than a dozen studies

The HeLa problem: What a retraction says about whether cancer researchers can trust their cell lines

Retraction Watch readers who’ve read Rebecca Skloot’s bestseller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks may remember that decades ago, scientists began realizing that Lacks’s cells, now known as the HeLa cell line and used in labs around the world, were so good at proliferating that they had taken over many other cell lines researchers use … Continue reading The HeLa problem: What a retraction says about whether cancer researchers can trust their cell lines

Spanish veterinary researcher under suspicion of creating “ghost” author, fabricating data

The Spanish press has picked up on the story of a prominent veterinary scientist in that country who has been accused of research misconduct. According to El Pais, the researcher, Jesús Ángel Lemus, whose areas of interest include the effects of toxins on birds, ran into trouble in December when colleagues complained to the Ethics … Continue reading Spanish veterinary researcher under suspicion of creating “ghost” author, fabricating data

Author who took responsibility for errors in retracted PNAS paper cites it…in error

One of the issues we’ve touched on at Retraction Watch is what happens once papers are retracted. A few studies have found that other authors continue to cite those studies anyway, without noting their withdrawal from the literature. A more recent paper found that retractions are linked to a dramatic decline in citations (see last … Continue reading Author who took responsibility for errors in retracted PNAS paper cites it…in error

The Anil Potti retraction record so far

A 60 Minutes segment Sunday on Anil Potti has drawn national attention to the case, so we thought this would be a good time to compile all of the retractions and corrections in one place. Duke has said that about a third of Potti’s 40-some-odd papers would be retracted, and another third would have “a … Continue reading The Anil Potti retraction record so far

An arXiv for all of science? F1000 launches new immediate publication journal

Late last year, we published an invited commentary in Nature calling for science to more formally embrace post-publication peer review, and stop fetishizing the published paper. One of the models we cited was Faculty of 1000 (F1000), “in which experts flag important papers in their field.” So it’s not surprising that F1000 is announcing today … Continue reading An arXiv for all of science? F1000 launches new immediate publication journal

Mysterious retraction in the Journal of Biological Chemistry for Takashi Tsuji’s group

The authors of a paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) have retracted it, but don’t ask us why. This being the JBC, the retraction notice for “Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type I Tax Down-regulates the Expression of Phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-Trisphosphate Inositol Phosphatases via the NF-κB Pathway” is the very definition of opaque:

Remaining Zhiguo Wang retractions will be in the Journal of Cellular Physiology

We’ve been following the case of Zhiguo Wang, the former Montreal Heart Institute researcher who was forced to resign his post in early September following an investigation into his work. At the time of that announcement, two retractions of the Wang group’s papers — which we had reported on in August — had appeared. The … Continue reading Remaining Zhiguo Wang retractions will be in the Journal of Cellular Physiology

Third retraction from dismissed Montreal cardiology researcher Zhiguo Wang appears

Ten days ago, we reported on the dismissal of Zhiguo Wang, a Montreal Heart Institute researcher who had already retracted two papers because of image manipulation. At the time, an official said the institute had requested three more retractions, but when we asked which three papers, we were told: As written in the press release, the MHI has … Continue reading Third retraction from dismissed Montreal cardiology researcher Zhiguo Wang appears

The way science should work: A swift, clearly worded retraction in G&D, after legitimate questions by another group

A retraction appeared online last week in Genes & Development (G&D) that neatly brings together a few recent Retraction Watch threads: Whether retraction is appropriate for a failure to replicate, and whether retraction notices should give enough detail for readers to know what actually happened. The retraction notice, for “Alternative splicing produces high levels of … Continue reading The way science should work: A swift, clearly worded retraction in G&D, after legitimate questions by another group