University investigating leading German derm lab that retracted Immunology paper

The laboratory of Michael Hertl, a German dermatology researcher with an international reputation, is under investigation for possible misconduct, according to a legal official at Hertl’s institution, Philipps-Universitat Marburg. The acknowledgement was prompted by our query earlier this week about a 2008 paper from Hertl’s group that had been retracted by the journal Immunology. According … Continue reading University investigating leading German derm lab that retracted Immunology paper

Should we change our name to Mori Watch? Yet another retraction from cancer researcher

Earlier this week we reported on the latest retraction of an article by Naoki Mori, number 21 in a series. We could have waited a few days and saved ourselves some trouble. The journal Leukemia Research has retracted a 2006 paper by Mori, titled “Curcumin suppresses constitutive activation of AP-1 by downregulation of JunD protein … Continue reading Should we change our name to Mori Watch? Yet another retraction from cancer researcher

Another for Mori: 1999 Infection and Immunity paper pulled

When we first wrote about Naoki Mori last December, one question we had was why Infection and Immunity, the journal that got the ball rolling in this case, wasn’t retracting a 1999 article by the serial manipulator. Well, it has. The August issue of the journal, a publication of the American Society of Microbiology — … Continue reading Another for Mori: 1999 Infection and Immunity paper pulled

Second retraction by Harvard group studying cannabinoids, this one in JBC

Last week, we reported that a group of Harvard researchers had retracted a paper in Blood for “multiple instances of duplicate (redundant) publication of data, text, and images that are nonessential to the paper.” The retraction notice referred to a paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC): The redundancies are between the above-cited Blood … Continue reading Second retraction by Harvard group studying cannabinoids, this one in JBC

Another Bulfone-Paus paper under review, this one in Blood

Blood tells Retraction Watch that they are reviewing a 1999 paper co-authored by Silvia Bulfone-Paus, who has already retracted 12 papers in other journals. The study, “Human monocytes constitutively express membrane-bound, biologically active, and interferon-gamma-upregulated interleukin-15,” has been cited 124 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge. Its corresponding author is Tiziana Musso, of … Continue reading Another Bulfone-Paus paper under review, this one in Blood

Bulfone-Paus saga continues: Her supporters and home institution exchange sharp letters

Retraction Watch readers may have been following the case of Silvia Bulfone-Paus, whose lab has been forced to retract 12 papers amid allegations of scientific misconduct. As is often true in such cases, the story doesn’t end with those retractions. We’ve just become aware of a fascinating exchange in March and April between Bulfone-Paus’s supporters … Continue reading Bulfone-Paus saga continues: Her supporters and home institution exchange sharp letters

In a retraction’s wake: Postdoc Shane Mayack, dismissed from Amy Wagers’ stem cell lab, speaks out

  Last October, Retraction Watch readers will recall, up-and-coming stem cell researcher Amy Wagers retracted a study in Nature describing how her team rejuvenated blood-forming stem cells in older mice. Shane Mayack, a postdoc in Wagers’ lab who had been dismissed after an inquiry into what happened, did not sign that retraction. Since then, Mayack … Continue reading In a retraction’s wake: Postdoc Shane Mayack, dismissed from Amy Wagers’ stem cell lab, speaks out

Is scientific fraud on the rise?

As readers of this blog have no doubt sensed by now, the number of retractions per year seems to be on the rise. We feel that intuitively as we uncover more and more of them, but there are also data to suggest this is true. As if to demonstrate that, we’ve been trying to find … Continue reading Is scientific fraud on the rise?

Fraud by Naoki Mori claims another paper, this one in a journal whose board he sits on

Late last month we wrote about a handful of retractions involving Naoki Mori, a promising Japanese cancer researcher who appears to have built a CV with the help of fabricated evidence. The fraud earned Mori a 10-year publishing ban from the American Society of Microbiology, which publishes Infection and Immunity. There were two other retractions … Continue reading Fraud by Naoki Mori claims another paper, this one in a journal whose board he sits on

Department of Redundancy Department: From fish to toxicology, where have all the editors gone?

Readers of three science publications may be wondering, “Where in the world were the editors?” after retractions appeared recently in the journals sounding the same theme: The articles in question had too much “overlap” between previous publications. For example, the Journal of Fish Biology notice reads, in part: “The retraction has been agreed due to … Continue reading Department of Redundancy Department: From fish to toxicology, where have all the editors gone?