“Lack of experience and understanding” forces duplication retractions of liver cancer paper

A group of researchers in China has lost their paper on liver cancer after the first author admitted to duplication, also known, inelegantly, as self-plagiarism. The paper, “Glycyrrhetinic acid-modified chitosan nanoparticles enhanced the effect of 5-fluorouracil in murine liver cancer model via regulatory T-cells,” appeared in the July 2013 issue of the Journal of Drug … Continue reading “Lack of experience and understanding” forces duplication retractions of liver cancer paper

No more scientific Lake Wobegon: After criticism, publisher adds a “reject” option for peer reviewers

If you know Prairie Home Companion, you that that in fictional Lake Wobegon, “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” That’s a bit like what Harvard’s Nir Eyal found when he was asked to review a paper for Dove Medical Press. Here’s what he … Continue reading No more scientific Lake Wobegon: After criticism, publisher adds a “reject” option for peer reviewers

Author blames “young coworker” for duplication as paper is retracted

Does anyone know how to say “thrown under the bus” in Italian? A group of researchers in Italy has retracted a paper after it became clear that they had duplicated some of their previous work. Or, as one of the senior authors put it, as a “young coworker” had reused their material. Here’s the notice … Continue reading Author blames “young coworker” for duplication as paper is retracted

Cancer-anorexia paper retracted for “unacceptable” duplication

Drug Design, Development and Therapy has retracted a 2013 paper by a group from Italy for duplication. The retraction notice for the paper, “Drugs in development for treatment of patients with cancer-related anorexia and cachexia syndrome,” fairly bristles with indignation:

C-section study retracted for being a twin

A group of surgeons in Cairo, Egypt have retracted their 2012 paper in the International Journal of Women’s Health for plagiarism, although that’s not quite what they’re calling it. Here’s the notice:

Journal retracts nanoparticle paper, citing widespread misuse of sources

The  International Journal of Nanomedicine is retracting a paper it published in June that appears to contain an impressive amount of misappropriated text and figures. The article, “Particokinetics: computational analysis of the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles deposition process,” came from a group at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, in São Paulo, Brazil, led by Walter … Continue reading Journal retracts nanoparticle paper, citing widespread misuse of sources

Journal pulls four breast cancer papers for duplication

The journal Breast Cancer: Targets and Therapy, a Dove Medical Press title, has retracted four articles from a group of Indian researchers over what it said were “unacceptable levels” of duplication with other published work. (Such a construction leaves us wondering what might constitute “acceptable levels” of duplication, but that’s for a different post.) The … Continue reading Journal pulls four breast cancer papers for duplication