In September 2014, an investigation into the work of an award-winning cancer researcher in Illinois concluded that multiple papers had been affected by misconduct. Now, nearly four years later, two of those articles have been retracted. What happened in the intervening years reveals a complicated and at times bizarre story involving not only scientific misconduct, … Continue reading He was once a prominent cancer researcher. Then his gambling — and a finding of scientific misconduct — got in the way.
A probe into the work of a researcher who studied natural products for cancer had many stops and starts along the way — including five extensions granted by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity — according to documents obtained by Retraction Watch. Following a public records request, we recently obtained a copy of the report … Continue reading A misconduct probe — which led to 20 retraction requests — took four years. Why?
Over the years, we have written about a number of the sleuths who, on their own time and often at great risks to their careers or finances, have looked for issues in the scientific literature. Here’s a sampling:
The U.S. Office of Research Integrity has removed an issue of its quarterly newsletter, without including a public notice explaining why. The main website for the newsletter — published since 1993 — is now missing the March 2017 edition. A spokesperson for the agency told Retraction Watch:
The Retraction Watch Privacy Policy Welcome to Retraction Watch (retractionwatch.com), a site dedicated to reporting on scientific retractions and related issues. Retraction Watch is a project of The Center For Scientific Integrity, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation with headquarters in New York. Retraction Watch (referred to below as “the website,” “we,” “us,” “our”) is the … Continue reading Privacy policy
A university and medical center have requested a batch of retractions following an investigation that found 20 papers by a cancer researcher contained manipulated images. The request, from University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) and Birmingham VA Medical Center, focuses on papers by Santosh Katiyar, who explored alternative approaches to treating skin cancer in animal models. For … Continue reading University requests 20 retractions of cancer papers following probe
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 a collaboration with Undark looking at how scientists who commit … Continue reading Weekend reads: How to get away with scientific fraud; what’s wrong with nutrition research; a second chance after misconduct
A prominent (yet controversial) journalist in Australia has admitted to duplicating three images that were part of her PhD thesis — a practice outside experts agreed was acceptable, if not ideal, at the time, according to a report released today. As part of an inquiry, the University of Adelaide convened an expert panel to investigate … Continue reading Controversial Australian science journalist admits to duplication in her PhD thesis
The University of Tokyo has fired a high-profile cell biologist after a probe determined his group had falsified data. According to a news release issued today (in Japanese), the university has issued a “disciplinary dismissal” of Yoshinori Watanabe (according to our Google translate of the notice). In 2016, the institution began an investigation of seven … Continue reading Prominent researcher dismissed following misconduct probe
For months, a researcher has wrestled with a journal over the wording of an upcoming retraction notice. It appears that she has lost. Earlier this week, Cell retracted the paper, despite the protests of first author Shalon Babbitt Ledbetter. When Ledbetter learned the journal was planning to retract the biochemistry paper over image manipulations, but … Continue reading Researcher loses battle with Cell over wording of retraction notice