A journal is investigating research by a group in Australia, after receiving “serious allegations” regarding a 2017 paper about treating eye burns. The journal, Frontiers in Pharmacology, has issued an expression of concern (EOC) for the 2017 paper while it investigates. The notice does not specify the nature of the allegations. Meanwhile, several other papers … Continue reading Work by group at Australian university faces scrutiny
When a neuroscientist noticed there were problems with his January 2017 paper in Nature Neuroscience, he didn’t wait for the journal to take action — instead, he published his concerns about four figures on PubMed Commons. Months later, the journal has issued formal corrections to those figures — along with several more. In February … Continue reading Months after neuroscientist flagged errors, Nature journal corrects them — and more
Science Signaling has issued an expression of concern for a 2016 paper, citing an institutional investigation into image manipulation. According to a spokesperson for the journal, the corresponding author, Tanya Kalin, became concerned that two images in the paper had been manipulated. Kalin then notified the research integrity officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, … Continue reading Science journal flags cancer paper under investigation for image manipulation
WASHINGTON, D.C — Last week, former brain scientist Christian Kreipke stared down the third set of research misconduct allegations against him since 2011. Or, possibly, according to him, it was the third iteration of the same research misconduct allegations he’s faced for years, a piling on by the most powerful of the three institutions out … Continue reading Ex-Wayne State scientist, ORI square off in court
A diabetes researcher who sued a publisher to protect several papers from being retracted recently received his 13th, in a prestigious gastroenterology journal. Mario Saad, based at the University of Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil, has had a string of retractions over the past few years, including four in Diabetes after he lost a legal … Continue reading Diabetes researcher who sued to prevent retractions now has 13
For the first time in its eight-year history, Nature Chemistry has retracted a paper, citing “data integrity issues.” The 2010 paper, which explored how various iron-based molecules interact with water and ethanol, was withdrawn after the authors uncovered possible duplication in two images. According to the retraction notice, the authors could not provide the raw … Continue reading Nature Chemistry issues its first retraction
A once-rising star in stem cell biology — who recently lost both her job and a sizable grant — has had a fourth paper retracted. The notice — issued by Nature for a 2006 letter — cites duplicated images, and a lack of raw data to verify the findings. First author Susana Gonzalez — who … Continue reading Nature retracts paper by stem cell scientist appealing her dismissal
Are there a limited number of ways to describe the the background and methods of an experiment? Once something has been written well, and vetted by editors, is it a waste of time to rewrite it ? And if text has been reused, how should that be indicated — if at all? These are questions … Continue reading How much text recycling is okay?
Two molecular biologists have withdrawn two 2015 papers published in the same journal, citing image duplication and manipulation, among other issues. One notice — published in June — explains that, after further investigation, the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) found certain experiments “were not performed appropriately.” The other notice cites “missing data” and notes that … Continue reading “Some experiments were not performed appropriately:” Florida researchers lose two papers
An engineering researcher has written about models tackling a range of complex issues — security problems in Iraq, poverty in Europe, and emergency responses to humanitarian crises. But there may be some limits to his expertise: Between 2016 and 2017, five journals have retracted five of his papers, citing plagiarism. Some of the notices describe … Continue reading Plagiarism costs author five papers in five different journals