Scotland researcher suspended during misconduct probe: report

A prominent researcher in Scotland has been suspended amidst a misconduct investigation at the University of Dundee. According to The Scotsman, the allegations against Robert Ryan center around falsifying data and duplicating figures in his work about molecular bacteriology. As the outlet reports:

7th retraction for Ohio researcher who manipulated dozens of figures

A pharmacology researcher at Ohio State University has added his seventh retraction, four years after a finding of misconduct by the U.S. Office of Integrity (ORI). An analysis of the work of Terry Elton determined that he had falsified and/or fabricated Western blots in eighteen (18) figures and in six (6) published papers.  In 2012, the ORI … Continue reading 7th retraction for Ohio researcher who manipulated dozens of figures

Five more retractions for researcher who sued PubPeer commenters brings tally to 18

A cancer researcher who tried to sue PubPeer commenters for criticizing his work has earned five more retractions, bringing his total to 18.  All of the new retractions for Fazlul Sarkar, formerly based at Wayne State University in Michigan, appear in the International Journal of Cancer. All cite an institutional investigation, and relate to issues with images. … Continue reading Five more retractions for researcher who sued PubPeer commenters brings tally to 18

Doing the right thing: Authors pull psych review after finding inaccuracies

Two psychology researchers are retracting a meta-analysis after discovering errors they believe may affect the conclusions. We’re giving this a “doing the right thing” nod, as last author Pankaj Patel of Villanova University in Pennsylvania contacted us about his plan to retract the paper, and resubmit for publication once he and co-author Sherry Thatcher — at the University … Continue reading Doing the right thing: Authors pull psych review after finding inaccuracies

Meet the researcher with 13 retractions who’s trying to sue PubPeer commenters: Fazlul Sarkar

Fazlul Sarkar has not had a good month: In the last few weeks, he has earned 13 retractions across four journals, the latest in the fallout from a string of legal cases that have pitted him against one of science publishing’s major players. Sarkar gained attention in 2014 when he sued anonymous commenters of PubPeer for defamation, and … Continue reading Meet the researcher with 13 retractions who’s trying to sue PubPeer commenters: Fazlul Sarkar

Journal flags two papers by prominent diabetes researcher, more questioned on PubPeer

Diabetes has issued two expressions of concern (EOCs) for papers co-authored by leading diabetes researcher Kathrin Maedler, adding to her previous count of one retraction and three corrections. Both papers were questioned on PubPeer, alongside several others co-authored by Maedler, who is based at the University of Bremen in Germany. As we previously reported, PubPeer comments have … Continue reading Journal flags two papers by prominent diabetes researcher, more questioned on PubPeer

Seven retractions for prominent cancer researcher brings total to 18

A cancer researcher has earned seven more retractions following an investigation into his work by his former employer, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, bringing his total to 18 retractions. Bharat Aggarwal‘s name will be familiar to some readers, as he has threatened to sue Retraction Watch for reporting on his case. All of the new retraction notices, issued … Continue reading Seven retractions for prominent cancer researcher brings total to 18

Beleaguered plant scientist with 22 corrections avoids 3 more

Cell will not be issuing corrections for three papers co-authored by prominent plant biologist Olivier Voinnet, after readers on PubPeer raised questions about some of the images.  The news may be a welcome relief for Voinnet, based at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, who has recently issued 22 corrections and seven retractions. Ongoing questions about his work have also earned … Continue reading Beleaguered plant scientist with 22 corrections avoids 3 more

UK doctor banned from practice after fabricating data in grant applications

A prominent cancer researcher in England has been banned from practicing medicine and has lost his funding from a UK charity after being found to have fabricated data in grant applications. The moves against the researcher, Thorsten Hagemann, come after investigations by the General Medical Council, akin to a U.S. state medical board, and Hagemann’s former … Continue reading UK doctor banned from practice after fabricating data in grant applications

Cell Press dismisses fraud allegations in high-profile genetics papers

Cell Press has dismissed accusations of image manipulation in two well-cited papers.  In June 2015, we reported that the publisher was investigating anonymous allegations of more than a dozen instances of manipulation of images in the papers published in Cell and Molecular Cell in 1999 and 2001, respectively.  After assessing the original high-resolution versions of images from the laboratory notebook of … Continue reading Cell Press dismisses fraud allegations in high-profile genetics papers