Weekend reads: Weaponizing doubt; pharma’s lawsuit against journal dismissed; ‘misconstrued misinformation’

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Ivermectin papers slapped with expressions of concern More than 100 of an anesthesiologist’s papers retracted KCL investigation finds misconduct in Lancet Neurology paper Philadelphia-area lung researcher up to six retractions Biotech’s ‘cell squeezing’ technology … Continue reading Weekend reads: Weaponizing doubt; pharma’s lawsuit against journal dismissed; ‘misconstrued misinformation’

Ivermectin papers slapped with expressions of concern

A journal has issued expressions of concern for a pair of 2021 meta-analyses purporting to find that ivermectin is an effective treatment for Covid-19 after data sleuths raised questions about some of the research in the studies.  As we reported last fall, one of the two papers – “Ivermectin for Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 … Continue reading Ivermectin papers slapped with expressions of concern

More than 100 of an anesthesiologist’s papers retracted

There’s a new entry on the Retraction Watch Leaderboard. And this one is also the fourth member of the Retraction Watch Century Club. An anesthesiology researcher in Japan is now up to 117 retractions – putting him third on our list of most-retracted authors. Hironobu Ueshima, formerly of Showa University Hospital in Tokyo, was found … Continue reading More than 100 of an anesthesiologist’s papers retracted

Weekend reads: ‘Death threats, ghost researchers and sock puppets’; high levels of duplication in Russian science; DNA barcoding fraud?

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Paper used to support claims that ivermectin reduces COVID-19 hospitalizations is withdrawn by preprint server University president in Japan self-plagiarized and will forfeit some pay French ocean institute goes public about authors who forged … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘Death threats, ghost researchers and sock puppets’; high levels of duplication in Russian science; DNA barcoding fraud?

Paper used to support claims that ivermectin reduces COVID-19 hospitalizations is withdrawn by preprint server

The overseers of the preprint server SocArXiv have withdrawn a paper which claims that treating Covid patients with ivermectin dramatically reduces their odds of hospitalization, calling the work “misleading” and “part of an unethical program by the government of Mexico City to dispense hundreds of thousands of doses of an inappropriate medication to people who … Continue reading Paper used to support claims that ivermectin reduces COVID-19 hospitalizations is withdrawn by preprint server

‘Amateur bullshit’ is the price to pay for democratizing scholarly publishing, says editor

A case of author’s remorse immediately after publication of her paper has the editor of the journal calling “bullshit” on the decision to retract the work.  The paper, “Stopping the Revolving Door: Reducing 30-Day Psychiatric Readmissions With Post-discharge Telephone Calls,” was written by a trio of authors from AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, in southern New … Continue reading ‘Amateur bullshit’ is the price to pay for democratizing scholarly publishing, says editor

Weekend reads: Academia with and without peer review; bogus journals; rector found guilty of misconduct

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Paper on “suspicious activities” on India-China border retracted ‘[T]he authors plagiarised a large amount of text, but…retractions should not be used as a tool to punish authors’ Court injunction forces gastro journal to slap … Continue reading Weekend reads: Academia with and without peer review; bogus journals; rector found guilty of misconduct

Expressions of concern mount for heart researchers over data provenance

A group of heart researchers in China now have four expressions of concern, along with a retraction, for questions about the reliability of their data.  The latest expressions of concern for the team, led by Bu Lang Gao, of Shijiazhuang First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, involves a 2019 paper in Springer Nature’s Scientific Reports … Continue reading Expressions of concern mount for heart researchers over data provenance

Weekend reads: Academic fraud factories; zombie science; ‘Silicon Valley’s new obsession’

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Authors admit to stealing parts of a paper from a thesis on an unrelated subject Should residents and fellows be encouraged to publish systematic reviews and meta-analyses? How an ivermectin study that didn’t mention … Continue reading Weekend reads: Academic fraud factories; zombie science; ‘Silicon Valley’s new obsession’

Two abstracts about unapproved heart technology retracted

A group of heart researchers have lost two meeting abstracts after, according to one of the authors, companies said the data were proprietary and couldn’t be published. But it’s not clear the companies did so. The studies appeared in the journal Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, and were presented at … Continue reading Two abstracts about unapproved heart technology retracted