Author objects to retraction of heart study, implies industry played role

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) has retracted a recently published paper that questioned the effectiveness of a treatment for irregular heartbeat, against the last author’s wishes.  Andrea Natale, the study’s last and corresponding author and Executive Medical Director of Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia at Austin, took to social media today to express his frustration in the … Continue reading Author objects to retraction of heart study, implies industry played role

Cancer researcher logs 5th retraction

A cancer researcher has added a fifth retraction to his name — but the notice doesn’t mention any problems with the paper itself.  Rather, the Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia decided to retract the paper because it referenced other papers that had been retracted as a result of data manipulation. The notice doesn’t … Continue reading Cancer researcher logs 5th retraction

Retraction appears for group whose former member was sanctioned by ORI

Researchers whose former colleague was recently reprimanded by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) have retracted a biology paper for duplication. The retraction includes some familiar names: The last author Steven Grant, senior author of the newly retracted study, is also the last author of 11 papers flagged in a report by the ORI in December, 2015. That report … Continue reading Retraction appears for group whose former member was sanctioned by ORI

Former NIH postdoc doctored data

A genetics researcher included falsified data in two published papers, according to a report by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) released today. At the time of the misconduct, Andrew Cullinane was a postdoctoral fellow in the Medical Genetics Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). According to his LinkedIn page, he is now an assistant professor … Continue reading Former NIH postdoc doctored data

Scotland researcher suspended during misconduct probe: report

A prominent researcher in Scotland has been suspended amidst a misconduct investigation at the University of Dundee. According to The Scotsman, the allegations against Robert Ryan center around falsifying data and duplicating figures in his work about molecular bacteriology. As the outlet reports:

Weekend reads: Scientific society vote rigging; why publish in predatory journals; academic apartheid?

The week at Retraction Watch featured a new member of our leaderboard and a discussion of what would happen if peer reviewers didn’t look at results. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

University says no misconduct in campus rape paper

Research integrity officials at Georgia State University say a psychology researcher did not commit misconduct in a controversial 2015 paper in JAMA Pediatrics which challenged the notion that most rapists on college campuses are repeat offenders. GSU launched the inquiry after an outside researcher questioned the validity of data supplied to him by Kevin Swartout. Brenda … Continue reading University says no misconduct in campus rape paper

Weekend reads: Manuscript submission headaches; Trophy Generation goes to grad school; is science fucked?

The week at Retraction Watch featured an inscrutable retraction notice, and a raft of new retractions for a cancer researcher who once threatened to sue us. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

More than half of plant toxicity paper isn’t original, journal says

Plagiarism and duplication can be deadly to a paper in any dose. In the case of a study on the toxicity of nanoparticles to plants, the publisher has presented the precise amount of plagiarism and duplications that ultimately felled the paper. Specifically, according to Nanomaterials, 56% of “Potential Impact of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Exposure to the … Continue reading More than half of plant toxicity paper isn’t original, journal says

Beleaguered plant scientist with 22 corrections avoids 3 more

Cell will not be issuing corrections for three papers co-authored by prominent plant biologist Olivier Voinnet, after readers on PubPeer raised questions about some of the images.  The news may be a welcome relief for Voinnet, based at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, who has recently issued 22 corrections and seven retractions. Ongoing questions about his work have also earned … Continue reading Beleaguered plant scientist with 22 corrections avoids 3 more