Search Results for: press release

Karolinska requests retraction of 2014 Macchiarini paper

It has been a tough couple of years for surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, once lauded for pioneering a groundbreaking procedure to transplant tracheas. After a series of documentaries prompted his former employer, Karolinska Institutet (KI), to reopen a misconduct investigation against him, KI has today released one verdict regarding a 2014 Nature Communications paper: guilty. KI said … Continue reading Karolinska requests retraction of 2014 Macchiarini paper

High-profile Science paper retracted for misconduct

Science has retracted a high-profile immunology paper after a probe concluded the corresponding author had committed misconduct. The paper — which initially caught media attention for suggesting a protein could help boost the immune system’s ability to fight off tumors — has been under a cloud of suspicion since last year, when the journal tagged … Continue reading High-profile Science paper retracted for misconduct

Spam me once, shame on you. (Academic) spam me 3000 times…?

Every year, academics get thousands of spam emails inviting them to submit manuscripts or attend conferences — but don’t bother asking to “unsubscribe” for Christmas. Spoiler alert, for those of you planning to read the rest of this post: It doesn’t make much of a difference. That’s according to the conclusions of a study published … Continue reading Spam me once, shame on you. (Academic) spam me 3000 times…?

Diabetes researcher loses prestigious professorship

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has announced today that it is withdrawing a professorship it awarded leading diabetes researcher Kathrin Maedler in 2014. In recent years, Maedler — based at the University of Bremen in Germany — has faced questions about her work, including allegations of duplication and image manipulation. So far, she has issued one retraction, … Continue reading Diabetes researcher loses prestigious professorship

PubPeer wins appeal of court ruling to unmask commenters

PubPeer is having a good day. In a new ruling, a trio of judges on the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a 2015 decision mandating the site reveal the identity of anonymous commenters after a scientist sued them, claiming they cost him a job offer. The judges stated that Fazlul Sarkar, the scientist suing the commenters, … Continue reading PubPeer wins appeal of court ruling to unmask commenters

Scientific publisher hacked, affecting 65 papers

A publisher in the Netherlands has retracted 13 published studies and withdrawn 52 that were under consideration (but not yet published) after learning that someone illegally accessed its workflows to add fake authors and manipulate text. According to Seyyed Mohammad Miri, the founder, CEO, and managing director of Kowsar Publishing, the 13 retracted papers all included extra authors … Continue reading Scientific publisher hacked, affecting 65 papers

New funding for researcher who sued to stop retractions (and now has 8)

A diabetes researcher with eight retractions — despite his attempts to block some in court — has received a new batch of research funding. According to a release from public funding agency Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), Mario Saad is among 33 researchers who will receive funding from partnerships between … Continue reading New funding for researcher who sued to stop retractions (and now has 8)

Prominent researcher in Scotland resigns after misconduct finding upheld

A rising star in the field of infectious disease has resigned from the University of Dundee in Scotland after the university upheld the findings of an investigation concluding that he committed misconduct. Earlier this year, Robert Ryan was suspended amidst the investigation, which focused on data doctoring in several publications. We’ve now been forwarded an … Continue reading Prominent researcher in Scotland resigns after misconduct finding upheld

We are judging individuals and institutions unfairly. Here’s what needs to change.

The way we rank individuals and institutions simply does not work, argues Yves Gingras, Canada Research Chair in the History and Sociology of Science, based at the University of Quebec in Montreal. He should know: In 1997, he cofounded the Observatoire des sciences et des technologies, which measures innovation in science and technology, and where he … Continue reading We are judging individuals and institutions unfairly. Here’s what needs to change.