Search Results for: press release

UCSF, VA investigations find “clear evidence” of misconduct in cancer papers

Earlier this year, the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center teamed up to write a letter. Addressed to the editorial office at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), the letter, parts of which have been published in a retraction notice, contained information concerning two papers on genetic … Continue reading UCSF, VA investigations find “clear evidence” of misconduct in cancer papers

Publisher flags paper on same-sex parenting after neo-Nazi group cites it

A publisher has issued an expression of concern (EoC) about a study that claimed children with same-sex parents were at greater risk of depression and abuse, after posters using statistics from the paper to support a homophobic message appeared in Australia and the US. On Aug. 21, several news websites reported that these posters were … Continue reading Publisher flags paper on same-sex parenting after neo-Nazi group cites it

Researcher who shot dean after being fired for misconduct sentenced to 28 years in prison

A former researcher at Mount Sinai’s medical school has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for shooting the dean that fired him. On the morning of Aug. 29, 2016, Chao, 50, attacked Dennis Charney, dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with a shotgun outside a deli in suburban New York. … Continue reading Researcher who shot dean after being fired for misconduct sentenced to 28 years in prison

Third retraction for former rising star found guilty of misconduct

A once-prominent researcher in the field of infectious disease — who was found guilty of misconduct last year— has had a third paper retracted, a 2006 article in PNAS. Last year, the University of Dundee in Scotland found that Robert Ryan had committed research misconduct, which included misrepresenting clinical data and duplicating images in a … Continue reading Third retraction for former rising star found guilty of misconduct

“The data have spoken:” Controversial NgAgo gene editing study retracted

The author of a 2016 paper describing a potentially invaluable lab tool has retracted it, following heavy criticism from outside groups that could not reproduce the findings. The paper had already been tagged with an Expression of Concern by the journal, Nature Biotechnology, which included data from multiple groups casting doubt on the original findings. Although … Continue reading “The data have spoken:” Controversial NgAgo gene editing study retracted

Author admits to manipulating more than a dozen images in 2013 paper

A former graduate student at the University of Hong Kong confessed to making “inappropriate modifications” to several figures in a 2013 paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC). According to the retraction notice, the authors identified issues in 13 images while reviewing the data; the paper’s first author, Yingying Lu, copped to manipulating the … Continue reading Author admits to manipulating more than a dozen images in 2013 paper

After investigation that started at least 5 years ago, retired ob-gyn prof agrees to 5 years of supervision

A now-retired professor tweaked the findings in seven figures of a 2007 paper, according to a new finding of misconduct released yesterday by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity. The subject of the findings isn’t a stranger to our readers: We’ve already reported on nine retractions for Nasser Chegini, a former professor of obstetrics and … Continue reading After investigation that started at least 5 years ago, retired ob-gyn prof agrees to 5 years of supervision

Weekend reads: Subscription journals doomed?; Are scientists most often wrong?; “Buxom grapefruits”

The week at Retraction Watch featured an update on a Harvard lab whose PI is subject to a restraining order by one of his grad students, and the retraction of a paper that used male-only pronouns. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

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

Are there foxes in Tasmania? Follow the poop

Stephen Sarre, based at the University of Canberra in Australia, has made a career out of collecting and analyzing poop. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Part of his work is designed to answer a multi-million dollar question: Is Tasmania home to foxes, a pest that carries rabies and other diseases … Continue reading Are there foxes in Tasmania? Follow the poop