Preprint on discrimination against women reinstated by Elsevier server after removal for legal threats

A leading repository of social science which is owned by Elsevier has reposted an article it removed on New Year’s Day after the author was accused of defamation and the site was threatened with legal action if it didn’t remove the paper.  The article in question was written by Ann Lipton, the associate dean for … Continue reading Preprint on discrimination against women reinstated by Elsevier server after removal for legal threats

Elsevier subjects entire special issue of journal on COVID-19 to an expression of concern

Elsevier has subjected an entire special issue of a journal — including a paper claiming COVID-19 vaccines kill five times more people over 65 than they save — to an expression of concern. The special issue of Toxicology Reports contained eight articles, including the vaccines paper co-authored by Ronald Kostoff. Here’s the expression of concern, … Continue reading Elsevier subjects entire special issue of journal on COVID-19 to an expression of concern

Elsevier makes “sand, sun, sea and sex with strangers” paper disappear following criticism

An Elsevier journal has disappeared a paper claiming that gay men seeking sex on the beach is damaging dunes, after critics lambasted the work as terrible science and an “egregious” attack on gays and bisexuals.  The article, “Sand, Sun, Sea and Sex with Strangers, the “five S’s”. Characterizing “cruising” activity and its environmental impacts on … Continue reading Elsevier makes “sand, sun, sea and sex with strangers” paper disappear following criticism

COVID-19 vaccine-myocarditis paper to be permanently removed: Elsevier

A paper claiming that cases of myocarditis spiked after teenagers began receiving COVID-19 vaccines that earned a “temporary removal” earlier this month will be permanently removed, according to a publisher at Elsevier. As we reported last week, the article, “A Report on Myocarditis Adverse Events in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) in … Continue reading COVID-19 vaccine-myocarditis paper to be permanently removed: Elsevier

Elsevier corrects a retraction notice following questions from Retraction Watch

An Elsevier journal has corrected a retraction notice after we asked questions about what exactly it was saying — but not before the journal’s editor tried to defend what turned out to be a mistaken passage. The article, “Measurement of performance parameters and improvement in optimized solution of WEDM on a novel titanium hybrid composite,” … Continue reading Elsevier corrects a retraction notice following questions from Retraction Watch

Elsevier says “integrity and rigor” of peer review for 400 papers fell “beneath the high standards expected”

Elsevier says it is reassessing its procedures for special issues after one of its journals issued expressions of concern for six such publications, involving as many as 400 articles, over worries that the peer review process was compromised.  The journal, Microprocessors & Microsystems, published the special issues using guest editors.   The EoCs vary slightly, but … Continue reading Elsevier says “integrity and rigor” of peer review for 400 papers fell “beneath the high standards expected”

Elsevier glitch prompts temporary removal of critique of review on race and heart disease

A timing glitch prompted the temporary removal of a letter to the editor calling out a previously published study for “perpetuating historical harms” through its framing of race and ethnicity.  The letter, “Race is not a risk factor: Reframing discourse on racial health inequities in CVD prevention,” appeared online in April in the American Journal … Continue reading Elsevier glitch prompts temporary removal of critique of review on race and heart disease

Elsevier retracts entire book that plagiarized heavily from Wikipedia

The periodic table is, as a recent book notes, a guide to nature’s building blocks. But the building blocks of said book appear to have been passages from Wikipedia. The book, The Periodic Table: Nature’s Building Blocks: An Introduction to the Naturally Occurring Elements, Their Origins and Their Uses, was published by Elsevier last year. … Continue reading Elsevier retracts entire book that plagiarized heavily from Wikipedia

Mask study was “misleading” and misquotes citations, says Elsevier

Three days after we reported that Elsevier would be retracting a paper about COVID-19 and masks whose author claimed a false affiliation with Stanford, the publisher tells us that the “paper is misleading,” “misquotes and selectively cites published papers,” and that the data in one table is “unverified.” As we noted earlier this week: The … Continue reading Mask study was “misleading” and misquotes citations, says Elsevier

Elsevier journal to retract widely debunked masks study whose author claimed a Stanford affiliation

A study that warned of the perils of using face masks as a precaution against contracting Covid-19 appears slated for retraction, Retraction Watch has learned.  [Please see an update on this post.] The 2020 paper, “Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis,” was written by Baruch Vainshelboim, who listed his affiliation as Stanford University … Continue reading Elsevier journal to retract widely debunked masks study whose author claimed a Stanford affiliation