Search Results for: press release

German dep’t head reprimanded for not catching mistakes of co-author Lichtenthaler

The head of a department at WHU — Otto Beisheim School of Management has been charged with “severe scientific misconduct” for not spotting many of the data irregularities of his co-author Ulrich Lichtenthaler, which have ultimately led to 16 retractions. According to a news release describing a WHU investigation (which we had translated using One Hour Translation), … Continue reading German dep’t head reprimanded for not catching mistakes of co-author Lichtenthaler

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

Following criticism, PLOS removes blog defending scrutiny of science

Community blog PLOS Biologue has pulled a post by journalists Charles Seife and Paul Thacker that argued in favor of public scrutiny of scientists’ behavior (including emails), following heavy criticism, including from a group and scientist mentioned in the post. Their reasoning: The post was “not consistent with at least the spirit and intent of our community guidelines.” The … Continue reading Following criticism, PLOS removes blog defending scrutiny of science

Weekend reads: “Unfeasibly prolific authors;” why your manuscript will be rejected; is science broken?

The week at Retraction Watch featured revelations of yet more fake peer reviews, bringing the retraction total to 250. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

EMBO investigation yields two more retractions and three corrections for Voinnet

An investigation into the work of Olivier Voinnet by The EMBO Journal has led to another two retractions and three more corrections for the high-profile plant scientist, now suspended from the CNRS for two years. According to the authors, Voinnet was responsible for some of the errors; all papers have been questioned on PubPeer. The EMBO J, … Continue reading EMBO investigation yields two more retractions and three corrections for Voinnet

Weekend reads: Top science excuses; how figures can mislead; a strange disclosure

The week at Retraction Watch featured a primer on research misconduct proceedings, and some developments in the case of Joachim Boldt, who is now second on our leaderboard. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Fruit fly paper retracted when gene turns out not to code for a protein as claimed

The Journal of Insect Science is retracting a paper on the genetics of a fruit fly after discovering one of the genes the authors sequenced doesn’t appear to code for a protein. The paper, “Molecular phylogeny and identification of the peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata, established in Egypt” was published in 2011, and compared sequences of the Egyptian species to … Continue reading Fruit fly paper retracted when gene turns out not to code for a protein as claimed

Weekend reads: What really happened in that lab?; best excuses for falsifying data and rejecting grants

The week at Retraction Watch featured the correction of a widely covered study claiming to find evidence of the plague and anthrax on New York City subways, and rulings against scientists suing Harvard, a journal, and the CBC. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

NYT journalist: I am not a neutral observer–can I still be a fair reporter?

We present a guest post from Tracy Tullis, author of a recent story in the New York Times that — as we reported — the editors said afterwards they “would not have assigned” to her if they’d known about her “involvement in a cause related to news coverage.” This is her side of the story. … Continue reading NYT journalist: I am not a neutral observer–can I still be a fair reporter?