Search Results for: nutrition

‘Prompt and decisive’: Editor says obesity study will be retracted after critique

In February, David Allison came across a study with a familiar problem.  The authors of the study purported to show an educational program helped women lose weight, but they had not directly compared the treatment and control groups. Instead, they’d used a statistically invalid method to compare changes within the groups.  Allison, the dean at … Continue reading ‘Prompt and decisive’: Editor says obesity study will be retracted after critique

Weekend reads: ‘The band of debunkers’; a superconductor retraction request; ‘the banality of bad-faith science’

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: We also added The Retraction Watch Mass Resignations List. Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to well over 350. There are more than 43,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘The band of debunkers’; a superconductor retraction request; ‘the banality of bad-faith science’

Exclusive: Former Tufts researcher suspended from animal work after abuse

A researcher and former faculty member at Tufts School of Medicine in Boston has been banned from working with animals for a year following repeated cases of abuse under his supervision, according to documents obtained by an animal-rights group. In an Oct. 26, 2022, letter to the federal Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, the university … Continue reading Exclusive: Former Tufts researcher suspended from animal work after abuse

When journals don’t meet their ethical guidelines, will anyone hold them accountable?

Public attention to the use of animals in research is on the rise, and with good reason. As scientists, we have a responsibility to avoid using animals in our work whenever possible. Not only does this prevent needless suffering and waste of resources, it also leads to better science, because findings from animal experiments often … Continue reading When journals don’t meet their ethical guidelines, will anyone hold them accountable?

Weekend reads: Errors in clinical trials; GPT-3 and scientific papers; paleontologist accused of faking data

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to 278. There are more than 37,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. And have you seen our leaderboard of authors with the most … Continue reading Weekend reads: Errors in clinical trials; GPT-3 and scientific papers; paleontologist accused of faking data

Exclusive: Cancer researcher sues med school for retaliation after research misconduct finding

A breast cancer researcher at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn has sued the university for sex discrimination and retaliation after an institutional investigation found she committed research misconduct.  Stacy Blain, an associate professor in the departments of pediatrics and cell biology at Downstate, has alleged that the university violated the Equal Pay Act by paying her … Continue reading Exclusive: Cancer researcher sues med school for retaliation after research misconduct finding

Exclusive: OSU investigation finds dishonesty and “permissive culture of data manipulation” in cancer research lab

A university investigation found an emeritus professor had committed research misconduct after reviewing dozens of allegations, culminating in a recommendation to retract 10 papers and revoke his emeritus status.  The Ohio State University investigated 20 manuscripts by the cancer research group of Samson Jacob after the university received allegations in 2017 of image manipulation stretching … Continue reading Exclusive: OSU investigation finds dishonesty and “permissive culture of data manipulation” in cancer research lab

Meet the hijacked journal that keeps rising from the ashes

Have you heard about hijacked journals, which take over legitimate publications’ titles, ISSNs, and other metadata without their permission? We recently launched the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker, and will be publishing regular posts like this one to tell the stories of some of those cases. In early 2021, unknown hijackers stole the domain of … Continue reading Meet the hijacked journal that keeps rising from the ashes

Cornell food marketing researcher who retired after misconduct finding is publishing again

Brian Wansink, the food marketing researcher who retired from Cornell in 2019 after the university found that he had committed academic misconduct, has published two new papers.  The articles, in Cureus and the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, appear to use data that are at least a decade old. Wansink’s only coauthor … Continue reading Cornell food marketing researcher who retired after misconduct finding is publishing again

Kale ‘miracle food’ paper retracted for being ‘word salad’

Kale may be a superfood, but for one paper on the vegetable, Twitter proved to be its Kryptonite. We’ll explain. Last November, Food Science & Nutrition published an article titled “Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) as miracle food with special reference to therapeutic and nutraceuticals perspective.” How miraculous? As the authors, from Government College University … Continue reading Kale ‘miracle food’ paper retracted for being ‘word salad’