A group of authors have retracted a Cell paper describing a mouse model of autism because of image problems. The senior author on the paper — there were 22 altogether — is Paul Worley of Johns Hopkins. Here’s the notice for “Enhanced Polyubiquitination of Shank3 and NMDA Receptor in a Mouse Model of Autism:”
Alirio Melendez, a former National University of Singapore immunologist whose story we’ve been following here since a retraction in September of last year, committed misconduct on an “unprecedented” scale, according to the university, involving more than 20 papers. Nature’s Richard van Noorden has the scoop: After a 19-month investigation, the National University of Singapore (NUS) … Continue reading NUS: Melendez committed “serious scientific misconduct,” but don’t expect to get any details
It’s not often that wade into retractions in the mainstream media on this blog, but in this case, we’ll make an exception. As Politico and Poynter — and probably others — have reported, CNN has retracted a story about a yet-to-be-published study in Psychological Science claiming to find a link between estrogen and elections (disclosure: … Continue reading Psychological Science in the news again: CNN retracts story on hormone-voting link
Researchers often like to complain that science journalists puff up their results to sell newspapers. And there’s no question that reporters make missteps. But a commentary published today in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine brings to mind the old saying about those who live in glass houses not casting the first stones. In … Continue reading Researchers: Stop the spin and boasting in articles, say other researchers
Maybe it’s an occupational hazard of dealing with quantum physics — uncertainty and all that — but a group of Swiss researchers has retracted their paper on quantum dots after discovering “major errors” that undermined their conclusions. The article, published in 2010 as a research letter in Nature Photonics, was titled “Polarization-entangled photons produced with … Continue reading “Major errors” lead to retraction of Nature Photonics paper on quantum dots
We have a few updates on stories we’ve covered. In June, we wrote about the withdrawal of a paper claiming that temperatures in the last 60 years were warmest in the last 1,000 years. At the time, we reported, following posts by others, that the authors had been made aware of errors in their work … Continue reading Updates: Journal of Climate adds info about withdrawn hot temps paper, chemistry journal corrects retraction notice
Could this really — and finally — be the end for the alleged link between XMRV, also known as xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus, to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)? The title of the press release announcing a long-awaited study of the subject in mBio is blunt: “Viruses not to blame for chronic fatigue syndrome after all.” … Continue reading New study “puts…speculation to rest” about link between XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome
A materials researcher faced three months without salary, retired from his research position and may have to return a portion of a grant worth $1 million US as punishment after a postdoc in his lab was caught fabricating data. Seizo Miyata, formerly a materials researcher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, headed a group that … Continue reading Former Tokyo Tech materials researcher sanctioned after bringing forward evidence of data fabrication
It has been a while since we heard about Joachim Boldt, the German anesthesiologist whose 90-odd retractions briefly put him at the top of the heap until Yoshitaka Fujii kicked him off earlier this year. Now, Boldt’s former institution, the Klinikum Ludwigshafen, has released a report on its investigation into the disgraced critical care expert, … Continue reading Boldt inquiry concludes: False findings in at least 10 studies, but no harm to patients
The European Journal of Surgical Oncology has retracted a meeting abstract that evidently was never meant to be. The study, by researchers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Good Hope Hospital, both in Birmingham, England, was to be presented at this year’s annual meeting of the Association of Breast Surgery and purported to compare rates of … Continue reading Cancer journal pulls deeply flawed meeting abstract on breast surgery