Search Results for: duplication

Journal retracts nanoparticles paper for duplicating figures

A paper on nanoparticles that target cancer cells has been retracted for duplicating figures from three other papers. The articles all share a first author: Manasmita Das, based at the time of the research at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER). According to her LinkedIn profile, … Continue reading Journal retracts nanoparticles paper for duplicating figures

Labor pains study brought into this world twice

A group of authors published two articles about one study on pain during childbirth, so one journal is retracting it. This may seem like a standard case of salami slicing — but this one comes with a nearly 600-word commentary co-authored by the editors of the two journals in question. The commentary lays out — … Continue reading Labor pains study brought into this world twice

Do scientists need audits?

If audits work for the Internal Revenue Service, could they also work for science? We’re pleased to present a guest post from Viraj Mane, a life sciences commercialization manager in Toronto, and Amy Lossie at the National Institutes of Health, who have a unique proposal for how to improve the quality of papers: Random audits of … Continue reading Do scientists need audits?

“There was no effort to commit fraud,” says EMBO awardee under investigation

A recent recipient of an early career award now under investigation by granting agency EMBO told us today that last week’s retraction in Nature Genetics stemmed solely from an “embarrassing error,” and she hopes to republish the data in a new paper. Last week was rough for Sonia Melo: Nature Genetics retracted one of her papers, … Continue reading “There was no effort to commit fraud,” says EMBO awardee under investigation

You’ve been dupe’d: Data so nice, you see them twice

Last Friday we resurrected a previous feature of Retraction Watch, compiling five retractions that appeared to be simple acts of duplication. This week, we spotlight another five unrelated retractions which, as we said last week, cover duplications in which the same – or some of the same – authors published the same – or some of the same – … Continue reading You’ve been dupe’d: Data so nice, you see them twice

EMBO takes back Voinnet’s award, investigates other awardee who just lost a Nature Genetics paper

EMBO has taken back an award given to beleaguered plant biologist Olivier Voinnet in 2009, and is investigating a recent grantee who had a paper retracted from Nature Genetics yesterday. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) “promotes excellence in the life sciences” in Europe, in part by awarding prizes to promising young scientists. Voinnet and Sonia Melo earned their awards by … Continue reading EMBO takes back Voinnet’s award, investigates other awardee who just lost a Nature Genetics paper

Sharing data is a good thing. But we need to consider the costs.

Last week, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors proposed requiring authors to share deidentified patient data underlying the published results of clinical trials within six months of publication. The proposal has earned much support but also some concerns – for example that other scientists might poach the findings, acting as the New England Journal of … Continue reading Sharing data is a good thing. But we need to consider the costs.

You’ve been dupe’d: Meet authors who like their work so much, they publish it twice

When our co-founders launched the site in 2010, they wondered whether there would be enough retractions to write about on a regular basis. Five+ years and three full-time staffers later, and we simply don’t have the time to cover everything that comes across our desk. In 2012, we covered a group of duplication retractions in a … Continue reading You’ve been dupe’d: Meet authors who like their work so much, they publish it twice

Lawsuit against Ole Miss for rescinded Sarkar job offer dismissed; briefs filed in PubPeer case

We recently obtained court documents showing that, in September, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by cancer researcher Fazlul Sarkar against the University of Mississippi after it rescinded a job offer after reviewing concerns raised about his research on PubPeer. Sarkar’s connection to PubPeer will be familiar to many readers — he has also taken the site … Continue reading Lawsuit against Ole Miss for rescinded Sarkar job offer dismissed; briefs filed in PubPeer case

Three expressions of concern added to cancer researcher’s notice list

Questions about data and conclusions in papers by a cancer researcher at the University of Maryland have led to three expressions of concern in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The notices follow four retractions — two for image duplications and two for unknown reasons — for Anil K. Jaiswal. The three papers under notice are all on mechanisms … Continue reading Three expressions of concern added to cancer researcher’s notice list