Author with seven retractions makes Thomson Reuters list of top scientists — plus another twist

A cancer researcher who recently retired from MD Anderson Cancer Center —  and also recently lost seven papers from one journal following a multi-year investigation — is one of the world’s top scientists, according to a new ranking. In Thomson Reuters Web of Science’s 2015 list of The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds, Bharat Aggarwal’s name tops the section … Continue reading Author with seven retractions makes Thomson Reuters list of top scientists — plus another twist

Journal retracts 7 papers by MD Anderson cancer researcher long under investigation

An MD Anderson Cancer Center researcher who has been under investigation by the institution for at least several years has had seven papers retracted from a single journal. Bharat Aggarwal told us in 2012 that MD Anderson was investigating his work, but in 2013 threatened to sue us for reporting on the case. Aggarwal is … Continue reading Journal retracts 7 papers by MD Anderson cancer researcher long under investigation

MD Anderson researcher Aggarwal up to six corrections

A highly cited cancer researcher at MD Anderson has notched three major corrections, all associated with problems in figures. One note cites “human error” as the cause. Bharat Aggarwal is the last author on all three papers. He is now up to six corrections, two unexplained withdrawals, and two Expressions of Concern. He’s also threatened to sue us in the past, … Continue reading MD Anderson researcher Aggarwal up to six corrections

Nutrition researcher Chandra loses libel case against CBC

The self-proclaimed “father of nutritional immunology,” Ranjit Kumar Chandra, has lost a libel lawsuit against the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). The suit was in response to a 2006 three-part documentary from the CBC, which examined allegations of fraud against the former Memorial University researcher. After the 58-day trial, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice “ruled … Continue reading Nutrition researcher Chandra loses libel case against CBC

Weekend reads: LaCour loses job offer; new Science data guidelines; Macchiarini grant funding frozen

This week at Retraction Watch saw us report on thousands of retractions from IEEE, which will have a serious effect on retraction record-keeping, a bizarre case of author impersonation, and a look at dentistry in outer space. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

PLOS Genetics investigating paper by Ariel Fernandez

Ariel Fernandez‘s list of papers with editorial asterisks next to them grew again this week. Fernandez has had one paper retracted, two papers subject to Expressions of Concern, including one from Nature, and another put on hold over data concerns. He threatened to sue us for covering one of the Expressions of Concern. Here’s the “Notice … Continue reading PLOS Genetics investigating paper by Ariel Fernandez

Scientist threatening to sue PubPeer claims he lost a job offer because of comments

Last month, PubPeer announced that a scientist had threatened to sue the site for defamation. At the time, all PubPeer would say was that the “prospective plaintiff” is a US researcher” who was “aggrieved at the treatment his papers are getting on our site.” Today, PubPeer revealed the that the prospective plaintiff was Fazlul Sarkar, … Continue reading Scientist threatening to sue PubPeer claims he lost a job offer because of comments

Weekend reads: Reading Nature and Science “very unpleasant,” how to spot fake journals

The week at Retraction Watch featured revelations about the backstory of an expression of concern, and Office of Research Integrity findings in a case that had its beginnings in Retraction Watch comments. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Cell retraction of Alzheimer’s study is second for Tufts neuroscientist

A researcher at Tufts University has retracted a paper in Cell, a year after retracting a study on a similar subject from the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Here’s the notice for “SIRT1 Suppresses β-Amyloid Production by Activating the α-Secretase Gene ADAM10,” a 2010 paper by Tufts’ Gizem Donmez, MIT’s Leonard Guarante — of longevity research … Continue reading Cell retraction of Alzheimer’s study is second for Tufts neuroscientist