Weekend reads: When peer review fails; gender imbalances in citations; COVID-19 science under scrutiny

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: A paper that took a journal three days to accept … Continue reading Weekend reads: When peer review fails; gender imbalances in citations; COVID-19 science under scrutiny

Failure fails as publisher privileges the privileged

Is too much irony even a thing? Let’s test the principle.  The guest editor of a special issue on failures in public health and related projects has quit the effort because she and her colleagues couldn’t convince the journal to include more researchers from developing countries in the initiative. In a blog post about the … Continue reading Failure fails as publisher privileges the privileged

Weekend reads: A wake-up call?; paper’s author accused of racism; an editor resigns over personal attacks

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: The withdrawal of a COVID-19 scoring tool based on Surgisphere … Continue reading Weekend reads: A wake-up call?; paper’s author accused of racism; an editor resigns over personal attacks

‘How I got fooled’: The story behind the retraction of a study of gamers

In April of this year, Corneel Vandelanotte realized something had gone wrong with a paper he had recently published. First, there was a post about his paper by Nick Brown, a scientific sleuth, questioning the results, ethics, and authors behind the work. That was followed by a comment on PubPeer by Elisabeth Bik, another scientific … Continue reading ‘How I got fooled’: The story behind the retraction of a study of gamers

Prolific anesthesiologist in Japan has two papers retracted

A journal has retracted two case reports by a prolific Japanese anesthesiologist who appears to be embroiled in a misconduct investigation.  The two case studies, in JA Clinical Reports, were written by Hironobu Ueshima and Hiroshi Otake, of  Showa University Hospital in Tokyo. Ueshima has roughly 170 publications to his name, according to Google Scholar, … Continue reading Prolific anesthesiologist in Japan has two papers retracted

NEJM, Lancet place expressions of concern on controversial studies of drugs for COVID-19

[See update on this story.] As controversy swirls around two papers that used data from Surgisphere, the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet have placed expression of concerns on the relevant papers. Here’s the NEJM expression of concern:

Top journal retracts study claiming masks ineffective in preventing COVID-19 spread

One of the world’s leading medical journals has retracted a widely circulated paper published in April that concluded that “both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.” The study, published by the Annals of … Continue reading Top journal retracts study claiming masks ineffective in preventing COVID-19 spread

Weekend reads: Hydroxychloroquine paper earns correction; company allegedly fakes COVID-19 data; why retractions fail

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: A clinical trial about COVID-19 by a convicted felon A … Continue reading Weekend reads: Hydroxychloroquine paper earns correction; company allegedly fakes COVID-19 data; why retractions fail

A journal publishes a critical letter — then says it was a mistake

On Sept. 17, 2019, virologist David Sanders — who recently won a lawsuit brought against him for efforts as a scientific sleuth — wrote a letter to the Journal of Cellular Physiology about a 2004 paper whose images raised his eyebrows. The response a day later from an editorial assistant was a hint of what … Continue reading A journal publishes a critical letter — then says it was a mistake

‘[A] disappointing situation’: Stem cell group retracts with ‘rectitude’ after error

A team of stem cell researchers at the University of Maryland has lost a 2020 paper after failing to correct an error that they’d caught prior to submission. The paper, “Endothelial/mesenchymal stem cell crosstalk within bioprinted coculture,” appeared in Tissue Engineering Part A, a Mary Ann Liebert publication. The senior author of the article was … Continue reading ‘[A] disappointing situation’: Stem cell group retracts with ‘rectitude’ after error