Search Results for: pubpeer

Got the blues? You can still see blue: Popular paper on sadness, color perception retracted

A paper published in August that caught the media’s eye for concluding that feeling sad influences how you see colors has been retracted, after the authors identified problems that undermined their findings. The authors explain the problems in a detailed retraction note released today by Psychological Science. They note that they found sadness influenced how people see blues and yellows … Continue reading Got the blues? You can still see blue: Popular paper on sadness, color perception retracted

Mega-correction to several images in gastric cancer study

A journal has issued a rather large correction — what we call “mega-correction” — to a 2014 paper on a gastric cancer biomarker that fixes problems with several of the study’s figures. The authors write that despite the corrections, “the results and conclusions put forth in the article remain unchanged.” The paper, “TMEFF2 Deregulation Contributes to Gastric Carcinogenesis … Continue reading Mega-correction to several images in gastric cancer study

University investigating duplicated images in retracted paper

The authors of a Cell Metabolism paper are pulling it after discovering blot images that “appear more than once in independent and unrelated experiments.”  Just how the duplication occurred in the 2009 paper — about transcription of mitochondrial DNA — remains a mystery, the authors note: …the reasons for the errors are still under investigation… Meanwhile, … Continue reading University investigating duplicated images in retracted paper

Weekend reads: FDA nominee authorship questions; low economics replication rates

The week at Retraction Watch featured a mysterious retraction from PLOS ONE, and a thoughtful piece by a scientist we’ve covered frequently on where we went wrong in that coverage. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Cochrane withdraws review on zinc for colds for data concerns

The Cochrane Library has withdrawn a 2013 systematic review on zinc’s ability to fight the common cold. Cochrane often marks reviews “withdrawn” once new evidence emerges that renders them out of date — but in this case, the review was flagged while the editors investigate issues “regarding the calculation and analysis of data.” Here’s the notice.

Investigation ends in 6th retraction for Voinnet

A sixth paper co-authored by plant researcher Olivier Voinnet has been retracted by PLOS Pathogens “following an investigation into concerns.” The investigation found “several band duplications” in one figure provided by fifth author, Patrice Dunoyer, who took it from “the Master thesis of a former student working under his supervision, without the prior consultation or consent … Continue reading Investigation ends in 6th retraction for Voinnet

Weekend reads: STAP saga over once and for all?; plagiarizing prof gets tenure

The week at Retraction Watch featured the appeal of a modern-day retraction, and a look at whether a retraction by a Nobel Prize winner should be retracted 50 years later. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

PLOS Genetics updates flagged paper with expression of concern

PLOS Genetics has upgraded a notice on a paper to an expression of concern, raising the count for author chemist Ariel Fernandez to one retracted paper, and three expressions of concern. The journal published “Protein Under-Wrapping Causes Dosage Sensitivity and Decreases Gene Duplicability” in 2008. In 2013, Fernandez corrected it, claiming that the work was not actually funded … Continue reading PLOS Genetics updates flagged paper with expression of concern

Fourth retraction for Einstein oncologist due to image manipulations

Two papers on a potential cancer drug have been retracted following an investigation that found “inappropriate manipulation of bands in gels.” This makes four retractions by our count for Roman Perez-Soler, an oncologist at the Einstein College of Medicine, and for co-author Yi-He Ling, whose current affiliation is unknown. Their previous two retractions, which we reported on in … Continue reading Fourth retraction for Einstein oncologist due to image manipulations

5th retraction for Voinnet follows correction, EoC to PLOS Genetics paper

After correcting a paper due to problematic figure panels, researchers led by high-profile biologist Olivier Voinnet have now retracted it, after “further analysis of the paper revealed flaws in the interpretation of” another figure. PLOS Genetics published the retraction notice September 3 for the 2013 paper on the molecular details of embryonic stem cells in mice. First author Constance Ciaudo and Voinnet … Continue reading 5th retraction for Voinnet follows correction, EoC to PLOS Genetics paper