The authors of a 2021 Nature paper on how climate change might affect the amount of evaporation from the earth’s land surface have retracted the article after learning of a crucial error in their analysis. The crux of the paper, titled “A 10 per cent increase in global land evapotranspiration from 2003 to 2019,” was … Continue reading NASA researchers retract Nature paper on climate change and evapotranspiration
If you had a book retracted for plagiarism, would you submit a book proposal to the same publisher? And if you were that publisher, would you entertain said pitch? These, dear reader, are not idle questions.
A neuroscientist once called the “prince of panspermia” has lost a lawsuit against Springer Nature stemming from a 2019 paper of his that a journal retracted. Here’s the summary from United States District Judge John P. Cronan, who heard the original case:
Springer Nature has retracted 44 papers from a journal in the Middle East after determining that they were rubbish. The articles, which showed up in the Arabian Journal of Geosciences starting earlier this year, many of which involve at least some researchers based in China, and from their titles appear to be utter gibberish — … Continue reading Springer Nature geosciences journal retracts 44 articles filled with gibberish
A total of 436 papers in two Springer Nature journals are being subjected to expressions of concern, in the latest case of special issues — in this case, “topical collections” — likely being exploited by rogue editors or impersonators. The move follows the discovery, as we reported in August, of more than 70 papers in … Continue reading Springer Nature slaps more than 400 papers with expressions of concern all at once
A group of researchers at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia have retracted a paper in Nature for data discrepancies and inconsistencies — as well as missing data. And one of the corresponding authors has left the institution, Retraction Watch has learned. The paper, “IspH inhibitors kill Gram-negative bacteria and mobilize immune clearance,” was published in … Continue reading Researcher leaves Wistar Institute as he retracts a Nature paper
The authors of a paper taking a major database to task for including papers from allegedly predatory journals are objecting to the retraction of the article, which followed a request by one of the publishers mentioned in the analysis. And at least one of the journal’s editorial board members is considering resigning over the move. … Continue reading Authors object after Springer Nature journal cedes to publisher Frontiers’ demand for retraction
This post was updated at 1145 UTC on August 13, 2021. In the original post, we noted that Joseph Powell and Gibran Hemani had not responded to our request for comment, which we sent shortly after learning under embargo from Nature that this retraction would be published. However, Powell did respond, copying Hemani, as Powell … Continue reading Authors — except one — retract 2014 Nature paper on genetics
A widely-touted 2019 study in Nature which argued that large societies gave rise to belief in fire-and-brimstone gods — and not the other way around — has been retracted by the authors after their reanalysis of the data in the wake of criticism diluted the strength of their conclusions. The article, “Complex societies precede moralizing … Continue reading Critique topples Nature paper on belief in gods
Nature seems to be having a bit of trouble sorting out its policies regarding conflict of interest statements. In late April, as we reported, the journal corrected a paper on fish farming after a journalist pointed out that the first author had undisclosed ties to the agribusiness giant Cargill. (The New York Times, which had … Continue reading Nature corrects a correction on conflicts of interest in fish farming paper