Authors, including highly cited cancer researcher, blame “clerical error” for image mixup in paper

The Journal of Experimental Medicine has issued a correction for a 2011 paper by Michael Karin, a prominent cancer researcher at the University of California, San Diego, after learning about a “clerical error” in one of the figures.

According to the notice for the article, “Constitutive intestinal NF-κB does not trigger destructive inflammation unless accompanied by MAPK activation,” Continue reading Authors, including highly cited cancer researcher, blame “clerical error” for image mixup in paper

More shoes drop for Chinese author who made up peer reviewer addresses

Last month, we brought you the story of Guang-Zhi He of the Guiyang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China, an enterprising fellow who got caught faking the email addresses of potential peer reviewers. At the time, Elsevier, who published journals where He published, told us there would be several retractions other than the one we reported on.

Three of those have appeared, in the same journal, Experimental Parasitology, and saying the same thing: Continue reading More shoes drop for Chinese author who made up peer reviewer addresses

A Wnt-er’s tale: Blood pulls second signaling paper from Spanish scientists over image fakery

Blood has pulled a paper 2007 paper from a group of Spanish researchers, one of whom appears to have been manipulating images.

The group’s work became the focus of expressions of concern from the Journal of Clinical Oncology this spring and in 2010.

The article, “Epigenetic regulation of Wnt-signaling pathway in acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” purported to show “a role of abnormal Wnt signaling in ALL and establish a group of patients with a significantly worse prognosis (methylated group)” and earned a commentary on the significance of the findings.

But as the notice explains, the first author lifted and manipulated a figure from a previously published article: Continue reading A Wnt-er’s tale: Blood pulls second signaling paper from Spanish scientists over image fakery

Authors retract prostate cancer-grape seed compound paper for figure presentation error

University of Alabama researchers have retracted a paper claiming that a grape skin seed compound might have anti-prostate cancer effects.

Here’s the notice for “Proanthocyanidins from grape seeds inhibit expression of matrix metalloproteinases in human prostate carcinoma cells, which is associated with the inhibition of activation of MAPK and NFκB”: Continue reading Authors retract prostate cancer-grape seed compound paper for figure presentation error

Retraction six arrives for Ulrich Lichtenthaler

Ulrich Lichtenthaler

Ulrich Lichtenthaler, who has already retracted five papers for statistical irregularities, has retracted a sixth, “The Impact of Accumulating and Reactivating Technological Experience on R&D Alliance Performance,” in the Journal of Management Studies. The notice, which was first reported by the Open Innovation Blog, reads: Continue reading Retraction six arrives for Ulrich Lichtenthaler

South Korean plant compound researcher faked email addresses so he could review his own studies

Hyung-In Moon

Scientists frustrated by the so-called “third reviewer” — the one always asking for additional experiments before recommending acceptance — might be forgiven for having fantasies of being able to review their own papers.

But one Korean scientist, Hyung-In Moon, managed to do just that, through what must have seemed like clever subterfuge at the time. And he got away with it for a while — until he didn’t, as witnessed by this retraction notice for “Larvicidal activity of 4-hydroxycoumarin derivatives against Aedes aegypti,” published in Pharmaceutical Biology, an Informa Healthcare title: Continue reading South Korean plant compound researcher faked email addresses so he could review his own studies

Retraction number five for management professor Ulrich Lichtenthaler

The retraction count for management professor Ulrich Lichtenthaler, whose work has been subject to scrutiny for statistical irregularities, is up to five. Here’s the notice for “Product business, foreign direct investment, and licensing: Examining their relationships in international technology exploitation,” in the Journal of World Business: Continue reading Retraction number five for management professor Ulrich Lichtenthaler

Duplication earns highly cited prostate cancer researcher a correction in JCO

Laurence Klotz, a prominent urologist at the University of Toronto who studies the prostate specific antigen (PSA), has corrected a paper after reusing his own words from an earlier review.

Here’s the correction, from the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO): Continue reading Duplication earns highly cited prostate cancer researcher a correction in JCO

What happens to copies of retracted papers on non-publisher websites (eg PubMed Central)?

One of the important questions when it comes to retractions is, what happens to retracted papers? How do readers find out they’re retracted? There’s evidence they are cited less often, but that when they are cited, the vast majority of the time it’s as if they were never retracted.

So with all of that in mind, Phil Davis, an independent researcher and publishing consultant, set out to find Continue reading What happens to copies of retracted papers on non-publisher websites (eg PubMed Central)?

And then there were 20: Diederik Stapel retraction count keeps growing

Although he’s in no danger of breaking the current record of 172 likely retractions, Diederik Stapel now has 20 to his, um, credit.

The September 2012 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology features these seven: Continue reading And then there were 20: Diederik Stapel retraction count keeps growing