Search Results for: pubpeer

Weizmann bans grad students from researcher’s lab over “serious misconduct”

The Weizmann Institute in Israel has barred a biologist from mentoring graduate students, after an investigation uncovered ” a case of serious misconduct that included manipulation of data.” In a letter posted on PubPeer, President Daniel Zajfman describes some of the disciplinary measures taken against an unnamed scientist, including also retracting or correcting all affected papers. Michal Neeman, … Continue reading Weizmann bans grad students from researcher’s lab over “serious misconduct”

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 The 2010 paper, which explored how various iron-based molecules interact with water and ethanol, was withdrawn after the authors uncovered possible duplication in two images.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

“Some experiments were not performed appropriately:” Florida researchers lose two papers

Two molecular biologists have withdrawn two 2015 papers published in the same journal, citing image duplication and manipulation, among other issues. One notice — published in June — explains that, after further investigation, the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) found certain experiments “were not performed appropriately.” The other notice cites “missing data” and notes that … Continue reading “Some experiments were not performed appropriately:” Florida researchers lose two papers

German institute sanctions director after finding him guilty of misconduct

The executive board of the Leibniz Association in Germany has reprimanded the director of its institute on aging for “grossly negligent scientific misconduct.” Besides a written reprimand, the executive board has removed Karl Lenhard Rudolph’s “passive voting rights” in association committees, and excluded the institute under his leadership from receiving funds from a multi-million Euro internal … Continue reading German institute sanctions director after finding him guilty of misconduct

Journal won’t look at allegations about papers more than six years old, nor comment on those from “public websites”

After a paper is published, how long should a journal consider allegations of misconduct? For one journal, that answer is: Six years. We see plenty of journals that retract papers at least 10 years old over concerns regarding misconduct, but in a recent editorial, Molecular and Cellular Biology announced it would pursue allegations made within … Continue reading Journal won’t look at allegations about papers more than six years old, nor comment on those from “public websites”

“Data had been manipulated:” Science Translational Medicine retracts paper

Science Translational Medicine has retracted a paper by researchers based in Switzerland, after an investigation concluded two figures had been manipulated. The investigation occurred at the University of Basel. It’s not clear what prompted it, but the paper has been discussed at length on PubPeer. After the investigation concluded two figure panels included manipulated data, the last … Continue reading “Data had been manipulated:” Science Translational Medicine retracts paper

Weekend reads: ‘Pile of dung’ republished; Diverging views on publishing negative results; Economists share regrets

The week at Retraction Watch featured an unusual warning from the New England Journal of Medicine, and the withdrawal of a paper over a fear of legal threats. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

“There is an injustice in this article”

The editors of a plant biology journal have retracted a 2007 paper because of “an injustice.” According to the notice, the editors of Cytologia found evidence of “apparent figure manipulation,” and decided to retract the paper. This marks the 10th retraction for plant biologist Dibyendu Talukdar. Talukdar, who is first and corresponding author on the 2007 paper and listed at the University of … Continue reading “There is an injustice in this article”