Authors retract PNAS paper questioned on PubPeer after original films can’t be found

PubPeer leads the way again: The authors of a paper about Parkinson’s disease in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) have retracted it, several months after a commenter highlighted the exact issue that led to the article’s demise. The paper, originally published in September 2013, was called into question by a commenter on … Continue reading Authors retract PNAS paper questioned on PubPeer after original films can’t be found

Data questions prompt retraction of PLOS ONE cardiovascular paper

PLoS One has retracted a 2013 article on atherosclerosis in mice over concerns about the integrity of the data. The paper, “The Effect of Soluble RAGE on Inhibition of Angiotensin II-Mediated Atherosclerosis in Apolipoprotein E Deficient Mice,” came from a group of researchers in South Korea. It purported to show that:

A PNAS expression of concern appears — and so does its revealing backstory

When retraction notices and expressions of concern appear, particularly those that are opaque, we try our best to find out what’s behind them, whether it’s better explanations or the steps that led to moves. Today, we have one story in which we’ve been able to learn a lot more than usual. In April, Bas van … Continue reading A PNAS expression of concern appears — and so does its revealing backstory

Two-timing sinks papers on ships in journal shaken by major scandal

When we heard about this retraction, we were forced to ask: Are there any articles left in Journal of Vibration & Control? The publication was forced to retract 60 papers by the same author in July, after he was caught exploiting a technological loophole to review his own papers. Now, papers on loading cargo ships … Continue reading Two-timing sinks papers on ships in journal shaken by major scandal

Crystal confusion leads to retractions for optics researchers

A mistaken molecular structure has led to a retraction and a withdrawal for group in India studying optical crystals. Here’s the notice for “Crystal growth and spectroscopic characterization of Aloevera amino acid added lithium sulfate monohydrate: A non-linear optical crystal” in Spectrochimica Acta Part A:

University of Maryland duo notches third retraction

A pair of researchers at the University of Maryland have retracted a third paper. Here’s the unhelpful Journal of Biological Chemistry notice for “Inhibitor of Nrf2 (INrf2 or Keap1) protein degrades Bcl-xL via phosphoglycerate mutase 5 and controls cellular apoptosis,” by Suryakant Niture and Anil Jaiswal:

Cell retraction of Alzheimer’s study is second for Tufts neuroscientist

A researcher at Tufts University has retracted a paper in Cell, a year after retracting a study on a similar subject from the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Here’s the notice for “SIRT1 Suppresses β-Amyloid Production by Activating the α-Secretase Gene ADAM10,” a 2010 paper by Tufts’ Gizem Donmez, MIT’s Leonard Guarante — of longevity research … Continue reading Cell retraction of Alzheimer’s study is second for Tufts neuroscientist

UT-Southwestern cancer research group notches ninth retraction

A research team at the University of Texas-Southwestern that has retracted eight papers for image manipulation has retracted another, this one in Lung Cancer. Here’s the notice for “Aberrant methylation of Reprimo in lung cancer,” published by Adi Gazdar’s group:

Yogurt to be kidding me: Five articles plagiarized in one retracted paper

After typing up 96 citations, researchers from the National Institute for Digestive Diseases, I.R.C.C.S. “S. de Bellis,” in Bari, Italy, apparently ran out of steam for the last five, earning themselves a retraction for plagiarism in a literature review of the effects of probiotics on intestinal cancer. Here’s the notice for “Intestinal Microbiota, Probiotics and … Continue reading Yogurt to be kidding me: Five articles plagiarized in one retracted paper

PLOS ONE retracts breast cancer genetics paper after claim of misappropriated data

PLOS ONE has retracted a 2012 article by a group of breast cancer researchers after another scientist — a leading U.S. oncologist — objected that the data came from his lab. The paper, “GREB1 Functions as a Growth Promoter and Is Modulated by IL6/STAT3 in Breast Cancer,” came from a team composed of researchers at … Continue reading PLOS ONE retracts breast cancer genetics paper after claim of misappropriated data