Search Results for: stem cell

Weekend reads: A Russian paper mill under an X-ray; AI and doctored images; COVID-19 vaccine paper earns scrutiny

Last chance to make a tax-deductible contribution for 2021. Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: 2021: A review of the year’s 3,200 retractions ‘A clusterf**K’: Authors plagiarize material from NIH and elsewhere, make legal threats — then see their paper … Continue reading Weekend reads: A Russian paper mill under an X-ray; AI and doctored images; COVID-19 vaccine paper earns scrutiny

Researchers ‘devastated’ after finding manipulated data in study of pediatric brain tumors

An international group of cancer researchers has lost an influential 2020 paper in Nature Neuroscience after finding problems with the data that triggered an institutional investigation. The article, “Tumor necrosis factor overcomes immune evasion in p53-mutant medulloblastoma,” represented a potentially major advance in the treatment of pediatric brain tumors, according to Robert Wechsler-Reya, the director … Continue reading Researchers ‘devastated’ after finding manipulated data in study of pediatric brain tumors

Paper retracted because authors ‘misrepresented a published theoretical model as if they had found it’

A physics journal has retracted a 2017 paper after learning that the authors had tried to pass off the ideas of others as their own.  Normally, we’d just call that a case of plagiarism and move on. But in this case, the charge goes a bit deeper – less cribbing a few lines of the … Continue reading Paper retracted because authors ‘misrepresented a published theoretical model as if they had found it’

Weekend reads: Chair leaves post during investigation of double-dipping allegations; geoscientist fined; prof claims another’s papers are hers

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our co-founder Ivan Oransky presented oral evidence to the UK … Continue reading Weekend reads: Chair leaves post during investigation of double-dipping allegations; geoscientist fined; prof claims another’s papers are hers

“Sand, sun, sea and sex with strangers” paper did not need human subjects research protection approval, says author

A now-temporarily retracted paper about how gay men seeking sex on the beach is damaging dunes that was criticized for its language — and for not mentioning any ethical approval — did not need such approval, one of the study’s authors said. The study was carried out in 2018. But the Human Research Ethics Commitee … Continue reading “Sand, sun, sea and sex with strangers” paper did not need human subjects research protection approval, says author

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

Anatomy journal retracts 13 papers

The Anatomical Record is correcting itself in a big way, pulling 13 articles, including several linked to paper mills.  The papers, all by authors in China, were published between 2019 and 2021.  Some were flagged in a September 2021 report on research misconduct by the Chinese government. They join a slew of articles The Anatomical … Continue reading Anatomy journal retracts 13 papers

Report by former Motherisk lab director of cocaine exposure in a child is subjected to an expression of concern

A pediatrics journal has issued an expression of concern for a 2007 paper by a group of Canadian researchers whose leader, Gideon Koren, resigned in 2015 under a cloud after concerns surfaced about the integrity of the data in hundreds of his published studies.  Koren, once a prominent pediatrician and pharmacologist at the University of … Continue reading Report by former Motherisk lab director of cocaine exposure in a child is subjected to an expression of concern

“Fabulous document”, “very helpful guidance”: Sleuths react to recommendations for handling image integrity issues

Retraction Watch readers are likely familiar with the varied — and often unsatisfying — responses of journals to scientific sleuthing that uncovers potential problems with published images. Some editors take the issues seriously, even hiring staff to respond to allegations and vet manuscripts before publication. Some, however, take years to handle the allegations, or ignore … Continue reading “Fabulous document”, “very helpful guidance”: Sleuths react to recommendations for handling image integrity issues

Should journals retract when an author is sent to prison for a crime unrelated to their work?

Should a journal retract a paper when they learn that one of its authors has earned a year-long prison sentence for downloading child pornography? For Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics the answer was no. And experts in publication ethics say that was the right call. The researcher in question is Jan Joosten, who … Continue reading Should journals retract when an author is sent to prison for a crime unrelated to their work?