Search Results for: press release

Ohio State just released a 75-page report finding misconduct by a cancer researcher. What can we learn?

Today, the Ohio State University (OSU) announced that Ching-Shih Chen, who resigned from a professorship there in September, was guilty of “deviating from the accepted practices of image handling and figure generation and intentionally falsifying data” in 14 images from eight papers. Chen had earned more than $8 million in Federal grants, and his work … Continue reading Ohio State just released a 75-page report finding misconduct by a cancer researcher. What can we learn?

Journal silently fixes emergency care paper — after misleading press coverage

Last month, a colleague of emergency medicine doctor Daniel Waxman sent him some newly reported findings that took him by surprise. Waxman knew from the title of a press release about the recent paper — “Nearly Half of U.S. Medical Care Comes From Emergency Rooms” — that something was wrong. Immediately I said, that’s not … Continue reading Journal silently fixes emergency care paper — after misleading press coverage

Newly released AI software writes papers for you — what could go wrong?

This week, we received a press release that caught our attention: A company is releasing software it claims will write manuscripts using researchers’ data.  The program, dubbed “Manuscript Writer,” uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate papers, according to the company that created it, sciNote LLC. A spokesperson explained the software generates a first draft the … Continue reading Newly released AI software writes papers for you — what could go wrong?

Ketamine-depression paper retracted following investigation at Yale

A psychiatry journal has retracted a 2011 paper exploring the use of ketamine to treat patients with severe depression following an investigation at Yale University. According to the retraction notice, Yale determined that the paper, published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, did not accurately describe the research. But the study’s lead author, Gregory Larkin, … Continue reading Ketamine-depression paper retracted following investigation at Yale

Reuters removes story on gender confirmation surgery because firm mistakenly released data

Reuters has removed a story about gender confirmation surgery, saying it included problematic data. The public relations firm representing the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) — which generated the data in the report  — took responsibility, saying it supplied Reuters with data the ASPS did not want released. Yesterday, Reuters pulled its version of a widely-reported story about … Continue reading Reuters removes story on gender confirmation surgery because firm mistakenly released data

Make America Retract Again: Physics group yanks release that quoted Trump, angered scientists

Bowing to outraged scientists, the American Physical Society (APS) has retracted a press release (archived here) it issued yesterday that urged President-elect Donald Trump to  “Make America Great Again” by strengthening “scientific leadership.” The statement, attributed to Tawanda Johnson, in the APS’ Washington, D.C. office, congratulated Trump on his victory over Hillary Clinton and said the … Continue reading Make America Retract Again: Physics group yanks release that quoted Trump, angered scientists

Macchiarini paper in Nature journal earns expression of concern for data questions

Nature Communications has issued an expression of concern for a 2014 paper by beleaguered surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, citing concerns over whether the paper accurately reports the experiments that were carried out. According to the notice, Macchiarini, a former rising star in the field of transplant medicine, agrees with the expression of concern. Three of his 22 … Continue reading Macchiarini paper in Nature journal earns expression of concern for data questions

Weekend reads: Macchiarini guilty of misconduct; controversial PACE data to be released; gender bias at conferences

This week at Retraction Watch featured the return of a notorious fraudster, and plagiarism of plagiarism. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

UK tribunal orders release of data from controversial chronic fatigue syndrome study

A tribunal in the UK has rejected an appeal by Queen Mary University of London, who sought to reverse a previous order that they release data from a controversial 2011 paper in The Lancet about chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The decision is one in a long series of judgments about the so-called PACE trial, which reported … Continue reading UK tribunal orders release of data from controversial chronic fatigue syndrome study

Weekend reads: What do PhDs earn?; university refuses to release data; collaboration’s dark side

This week at Retraction Watch featured a look at the huge problem of misidentified cell lines, a check-in with a company that retracted a paper as it was about to go public, and Diederik Stapel’s 58th retraction. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: