Exclusive: PLOS ONE to retract more than 100 papers for manipulated peer review

In March, an editor at PLOS ONE noticed something odd among a stack of agriculture manuscripts he was handling. One author had submitted at least 40 manuscripts over a 10-month period, much more than expected from any one person.  The editor told the ethics team at the journal about the anomaly, and they started an … Continue reading Exclusive: PLOS ONE to retract more than 100 papers for manipulated peer review

14 retractions for researchers who falsely claimed US physicist as co-author

Groups of researchers from around the world have racked up a total of 14 retractions for faked authorship. And one author seems to have been up to those and other shenanigans for a decade. All of the 14 papers include David Ross, a physicist at the University of Texas at Austin. There was just one … Continue reading 14 retractions for researchers who falsely claimed US physicist as co-author

Weekend reads: 50 years after Tuskegee; ‘Is psychological science self-correcting?’; ‘The peer review system is broken’

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: An editor invited me to submit a commentary, then he rejected it – and named and blamed me in an editorial University of Fukui professor called out for fake peer review, loses “love hormone” paper … Continue reading Weekend reads: 50 years after Tuskegee; ‘Is psychological science self-correcting?’; ‘The peer review system is broken’

Crystallography database flags nearly 1000 structures linked to a paper mill

A chemistry database of crystal structures has marked nearly 1000 entries with expressions of concern after finding they were linked to articles identified as products of a paper mill.  The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) added notes to 992 structures in its database, according to a notice posted to its website in May. And a crystallography … Continue reading Crystallography database flags nearly 1000 structures linked to a paper mill

Weekend reads: Retracted papers that keep getting cited; ivermectin retractions; publishing peer reviews

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Japanese university recommends five retractions after investigating botany researcher ‘Our deepest apology’: Journal retracts 30 likely paper mill articles after investigation published by Retraction Watch Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to … Continue reading Weekend reads: Retracted papers that keep getting cited; ivermectin retractions; publishing peer reviews

NYU postdoc with federal research misconduct settlement awarded NIH grant

A postdoc at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine who the U.S. Office of Research Integrity found engaged in research misconduct while a postdoc at another institution has been awarded an NIH grant just months after being sanctioned.  The postdoc, Shuo Chen, didn’t admit or deny the ORI’s findings, but agreed to one year … Continue reading NYU postdoc with federal research misconduct settlement awarded NIH grant

Retraction leads to review change at SAGE journal

A cancer journal has retracted a 2016 paper by a group in China after deciding – more than five years after publication – it couldn’t stand behind the work.  The article, “The preoperative platelet–lymphocyte ratio versus neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio: which is better as a prognostic factor in oral squamous cell carcinoma?”, appeared in Therapeutic Advances in … Continue reading Retraction leads to review change at SAGE journal

Weekend reads: Researcher has paper retracted, then earns promotion; is peer review ‘more cavalier, self-serving, and ignorant?’; a ‘weird notice’ for all a publisher’s papers

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Want to know whether that journal is scamming you? Introducing the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker Cornell food marketing researcher who retired after misconduct finding is publishing again Urology researcher under investigation for double-dipping has … Continue reading Weekend reads: Researcher has paper retracted, then earns promotion; is peer review ‘more cavalier, self-serving, and ignorant?’; a ‘weird notice’ for all a publisher’s papers

Cornell food marketing researcher who retired after misconduct finding is publishing again

Brian Wansink, the food marketing researcher who retired from Cornell in 2019 after the university found that he had committed academic misconduct, has published two new papers.  The articles, in Cureus and the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, appear to use data that are at least a decade old. Wansink’s only coauthor … Continue reading Cornell food marketing researcher who retired after misconduct finding is publishing again

Kale ‘miracle food’ paper retracted for being ‘word salad’

Kale may be a superfood, but for one paper on the vegetable, Twitter proved to be its Kryptonite. We’ll explain. Last November, Food Science & Nutrition published an article titled “Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) as miracle food with special reference to therapeutic and nutraceuticals perspective.” How miraculous? As the authors, from Government College University … Continue reading Kale ‘miracle food’ paper retracted for being ‘word salad’