Search Results for: images

Researcher logs three retractions for image duplications — two of which with familiar co-authors

A researcher in Brazil is taking responsibility for accidentally mixing up images in three papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.  The corresponding author on the three papers told us the mistake happened because the studies were conducted simultaneously, and relied on one computer. There’s a side note to these retractions: The co-author list on … Continue reading Researcher logs three retractions for image duplications — two of which with familiar co-authors

Journal issues three notices for plant biologist, two citing manipulation

Researchers have retracted a paper from a plant journal after a probe found problems with several figures. According to the new retraction notice in The Plant Cell, some figures in the paper were manipulated, as well as “inappropriately duplicated and reused from a previous publication.” The authors assert that they believe the conclusions remain valid. … Continue reading Journal issues three notices for plant biologist, two citing manipulation

Researchers retract two well-cited papers for misconduct

A scientist in Germany has lost two papers that were collectively cited more than 500 times, after an investigation at her former university found her guilty of scientific misconduct. The probe into Tina Wenz by the University of Cologne in Germany, her former employer, recommended that six of her papers — which have induced some chatter on … Continue reading Researchers retract two well-cited papers for misconduct

UCLA lab pulls two papers — one by author who admitted to misconduct

A lab at the University of California, Los Angeles has retracted two papers for duplicated images. These retractions — in the Journal of Immunology — represent the second and third retractions for the lab head; he lost another paper after one of his former students confessed to manipulating images. Although Eriko Suzuki admitted to her actions … Continue reading UCLA lab pulls two papers — one by author who admitted to misconduct

“A sinking feeling in my gut:” Diary of a retraction

When an ecologist realized he’d made a fatal error in a 2009 paper, he did the right thing: He immediately contacted the journal (Evolutionary Ecology Research) to ask for a retraction. But he didn’t stop there: He wrote a detailed blog post outlining how he learned — in October 2016, after a colleague couldn’t recreate … Continue reading “A sinking feeling in my gut:” Diary of a retraction

Sleuthing out scientific fraud, pixel by pixel

When it comes to detecting image manipulation, the more tools you have at your disposal, the better. In a recent issue of Science and Engineering Ethics, Lars Koppers at TU Dortmund University in Germany and his colleagues present a new way to scan images. Specifically, they created an open-source software that compares pixels within or … Continue reading Sleuthing out scientific fraud, pixel by pixel

18 tips for giving a horrible presentation

Too many of us have sat through too many bad presentations. And no one wants to give one, either. Someone who’s seen his fair share of bad talks is David Sholl, of the Georgia Institute of Technology. In this helpful video, “The Secrets of Memorably Bad Presentations,” he presents some tongue-in-cheek advice on how to … Continue reading 18 tips for giving a horrible presentation

How a researcher’s request to correct one paper turned into 19 retractions

Last year, a cancer researcher wrote to the Journal of Biological Chemistry, asking to correct one of his papers. The journal responded by requesting the raw data used to prepare his figures. Then, in a follow-up request, it asked for raw data behind the figures in 20 additional published articles. And when all was said and … Continue reading How a researcher’s request to correct one paper turned into 19 retractions

Nature Cell Biology retracts hotly debated cancer paper

Last week, we learned a 2016 paper heavily discussed on PubPeer might be retracted — today, we learned that Nature Cell Biology has indeed pulled the paper, citing inappropriate image modifications. As we reported last week, a comment on PubPeer flagged as coming from an author said they had requested a retraction. A representative of National … Continue reading Nature Cell Biology retracts hotly debated cancer paper

Details of investigative report into Sarkar released by ACLU

We knew that Wayne State University had investigated allegations of misconduct against Fazlul Sarkar, the scientist who is suing PubPeer commenters over criticisms of his work. We knew The Scientist had obtained a copy of the report, which concluded he had engaged in widespread misconduct, and he should retract more than 40 papers. And now, thanks … Continue reading Details of investigative report into Sarkar released by ACLU