“The article must be retracted:” Journal pulls prostate cancer study

A 2016 paper exploring the biology of prostate cancer has been retracted due to figure manipulation. According to the retraction notice, a reader contacted the journal Clinical Cancer Research in late 2016 with concerns that similar bands appeared multiple times in two images. The editors asked the paper’s corresponding author, Shahriar Koochekpour, about the issue … Continue reading “The article must be retracted:” Journal pulls prostate cancer study

Toronto wife-husband research team lose bid to re-open labs

A pair of Canadian scientists may be running out of options to save their laboratories, which have been permanently closed based on findings of research misconduct. Sylvia Asa, once the head of the largest hospital diagnostic laboratory in Canada, and her husband and collaborator Shereen Ezzat, have spent almost five years fighting allegations of research misconduct … Continue reading Toronto wife-husband research team lose bid to re-open labs

Work by group at Australian university faces scrutiny

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

Months after neuroscientist flagged errors, Nature journal corrects them — and more

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

What a report into scientific misconduct reveals: The case of Frank Sauer

Oct. 3, 2011, was the beginning of the end for Frank Sauer’s tenure at the University of California, Riverside. On that day, an anonymous emailer contacted Sauer’s institution with accusations that the biochemist had cooked his research in at least eight papers over a 16-year period. Sauer was found to have doctored images in studies … Continue reading What a report into scientific misconduct reveals: The case of Frank Sauer

Science journal flags cancer paper under investigation for image manipulation

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

Ex-Wayne State scientist, ORI square off in court

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

Diabetes researcher who sued to prevent retractions now has 13

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

Nature Chemistry issues its first retraction

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

Nature retracts paper by stem cell scientist appealing her dismissal

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