Search Results for: medical

How critics say a computer scientist in Spain artificially boosted his Google Scholar metrics

Want a higher h-index? Here’s a way – but be warned, it’s a method that will raise some eyebrows. Take the example of Juan Manuel Corchado, a computer scientist at the University of Salamanca in Spain. He has the 145th-highest h-index in the country. But many of the nearly 39,000 citations are by him to … Continue reading How critics say a computer scientist in Spain artificially boosted his Google Scholar metrics

Harvard eye researchers have eight papers retracted for lack of ethical approval

A group of eye researchers is up to eight retractions for problems with the ethics approval for their studies.  The studies appeared in three journals, although one, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), is pulling six studies.  The senior author on all eight publications was Jorge G. Arroyo, a former faculty member at Harvard. Arroyo’s … Continue reading Harvard eye researchers have eight papers retracted for lack of ethical approval

The 21-year-old apology – and retraction from JAMA

Contrary to what Toscanini famously said, it’s never too late to apologize.  Ask Shetal Shah. In 2000, Shah, now a professor of pediatrics at New York Medical College’s Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, in Valhalla, published an essay in JAMA about a young medic providing care to indigenous people in Alaska. Titled “Five Miles From Tomorrow,” … Continue reading The 21-year-old apology – and retraction from JAMA

Weekend reads: False data in Columbia rankings?; data service accused of intimidating researchers; preprint server removes ‘inflammatory’ papers

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Study of cryotherapy for COVID-19 anosmia fails the sniff test Psych journal in revolt as it publishes paper saying masturbation and gay sex are harmful Award-winning Berkeley postdoc faked data, says federal watchdog Murder … Continue reading Weekend reads: False data in Columbia rankings?; data service accused of intimidating researchers; preprint server removes ‘inflammatory’ papers

Psych journal in revolt as it publishes paper saying masturbation and gay sex are harmful

Several psychiatry researchers have been unsuccessfully seeking distance from a dodgy journal with which they’re affiliated – and which has now published an article claiming homosexuality and masturbation deserve to be considered (or reconsidered, as the case may be) mental illnesses.  The 2021 paper, “Review of Removing Homosexuality and Masturbation from the List of Sexual … Continue reading Psych journal in revolt as it publishes paper saying masturbation and gay sex are harmful

Study of cryotherapy for COVID-19 anosmia fails the sniff test

The authors of a study suggesting that a deep freeze might help reverse one of the curious complications of COVID-19 have put their paper on ice after determining that they lacked adequate ethics approval for the research. “Whole-Body Cryotherapy as an Innovative Treatment for COVID 19-Induced Anosmia-Hyposmia: A Feasibility Study,” was written by a group … Continue reading Study of cryotherapy for COVID-19 anosmia fails the sniff test

Authors request retraction of study in Nature journal and look into four more papers

A group of researchers at the University of Chicago has asked a Nature journal to retract a paper after PubPeer commenters pointed out numerous duplicated images in the article. The paper, “Synergistic checkpoint-blockade and radiotherapy–radiodynamic therapy via an immunomodulatory nanoscale metal–organic framework,” was published last month in Nature Biomedical Engineering. According to its senior author, … Continue reading Authors request retraction of study in Nature journal and look into four more papers

Study on teen pot use goes up in smoke, then reappears

A JAMA journal has retracted and replaced a widely circulated 2021 paper which purported to find that pot use among adolescents drops when states make the drug legal.  The article, “Association of Marijuana Legalization With Marijuana Use Among US High School Students, 1993-2019,” appeared in JAMA Network Open and received a bale of attention in … Continue reading Study on teen pot use goes up in smoke, then reappears

UNC-Chapel Hill vice chancellor resigns post after admitting to plagiarism

Terry Magnuson, the vice chancellor for research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s medical school, has resigned from that post two days after the U.S. Office of Research Integrity said that he had admitted to plagiarizing text in an NIH grant application. As we reported March 8, Magnuson “engaged in research misconduct … Continue reading UNC-Chapel Hill vice chancellor resigns post after admitting to plagiarism

Lancet journal retracts, replaces paper on treatment for pancreatic cancer

A Lancet journal has retracted and replaced a 2021 paper on the treatment of pancreatic cancer over an error that prompted an institutional investigation. The article, “Stereotactic body radiotherapy plus pembrolizumab and trametinib versus stereotactic body radiotherapy plus gemcitabine for locally recurrent pancreatic cancer after surgical resection: an open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial,” appeared … Continue reading Lancet journal retracts, replaces paper on treatment for pancreatic cancer