Search Results for: images

Controversial Australian science journalist admits to duplication in her PhD thesis

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

Prominent researcher dismissed following misconduct probe

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

Researcher loses battle with Cell over wording of retraction notice

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

Author under fire has eight papers retracted, including seven from one journal

A researcher whose work on the use of nanomaterials has been heavily scrutinized on PubPeer — with one critic alleging a paper contained “obviously fabricated” images — has lost eight papers. [Editor’s note: See update below.] The eight articles — seven from Biosensors and Bioelectronics and one from Analytica Chimica Acta, both published by Elsevier … Continue reading Author under fire has eight papers retracted, including seven from one journal

How often do scientists who commit misconduct do it again?

When someone has to retract a paper for misconduct, what are the odds they will do it again? And how can we use that information to stop repeat offenders? Those are the questions that  Toshio Kuroki of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Akira Ukawa of RIKEN set out to tackle in … Continue reading How often do scientists who commit misconduct do it again?

In what appears to be a first, researcher sanctioned twice by ORI

Here’s something we haven’t seen before: The U.S. Office of Research Integrity has issued a second notice for a former researcher at the National Institutes of Health, after determining she withheld information during the first investigation. Last year, the ORI sanctioned Brandi M. Baughman — formerly at the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences … Continue reading In what appears to be a first, researcher sanctioned twice by ORI

What if we could scan for image duplication the way we check for plagiarism?

Paul Brookes is a biologist with a passion for sleuthing out fraud. Although he studies mitochondria at the University of Rochester, he also secretly ran a science-fraud.org, a site for people to post their concerns about papers. Following legal threats, he revealed he was the author and shut the site in 2013 — but didn’t … Continue reading What if we could scan for image duplication the way we check for plagiarism?

Ohio State just released a 75-page report finding misconduct by a cancer researcher. What can we learn?

Today, the Ohio State University (OSU) announced that Ching-Shih Chen, who resigned from a professorship there in September, was guilty of “deviating from the accepted practices of image handling and figure generation and intentionally falsifying data” in 14 images from eight papers. Chen had earned more than $8 million in Federal grants, and his work … Continue reading Ohio State just released a 75-page report finding misconduct by a cancer researcher. What can we learn?

Stem cell paper falsification leads to firing; Nobelist also penalized

Kyoto University has “punitively dismissed” a researcher found guilty of falsifying nearly all of the figures in a 2017 stem cell paper.   According to an announcement Wednesday, the university fired the paper’s corresponding author, Kohei Yamamizu, after determining he had fabricated and falsified data in all but one figure in the 2017 Stem Cell Reports … Continue reading Stem cell paper falsification leads to firing; Nobelist also penalized

Caught Our Notice: Duplicates, errors prompt two retractions for same author

Titles: 1) Angiopoietin-Like 4 Confers Resistance to Hypoxia/Serum Deprivation-Induced Apoptosis through PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 Signaling Pathways in Mesenchymal Stem Cells 2) Novel Mechanism of Inhibition of Dendritic Cells Maturation by Mesenchymal Stem Cells via Interleukin-10 and the JAK1/STAT3 Signaling Pathway What Caught Our Attention: In the span of 48 hours, PLOS ONE retracted two papers … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: Duplicates, errors prompt two retractions for same author