Search Results for: stem cell

Data artifact claims two fruit fly papers from leading UK group — who offer model response

A team of researchers led by Daniel St. Johnston, director of the Gurdon Institute at Cambridge and a prominent developmental biologist in the UK, has lost a pair of articles after finding that their data were unreliable. But rather than “correct” the record with subsequent papers, they’ve withdrawn the problematic work. To our mind, this … Continue reading Data artifact claims two fruit fly papers from leading UK group — who offer model response

Fallout from Science’s publisher sting: Journal closes in Croatia

Science‘s John Bohannon has recently revealed the extent of poor or non-existent peer review in some journals that call themselves peer-reviewed, as we reported on here. Now, an open-access publisher based in Rijeka, Croatia, called InTech, has cancelled its journal that was targeted and exposed by Science’s investigation. The journal was going to charge 400 euros to … Continue reading Fallout from Science’s publisher sting: Journal closes in Croatia

Journal withdraws diabetes paper written by apparently bogus authors

Talk about a Trojan Horse. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications has withdrawn a paper it published earlier this year on metabolic proteins linked to diabetes, not because the article was bogus but because the authors appear to have been. The work itself is accurate — indeed, it likely belongs to a Harvard scientist, Bruce Spiegelman, … Continue reading Journal withdraws diabetes paper written by apparently bogus authors

When two words colloid: “copied and manipulated” figures prompt retraction of nanoparticle paper

The journal Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces has retracted a 2011 paper by a group of researchers in India who misappropriated — and then manhandled — a pair of images from a previously published article by other scientists. The paper, “Synthesis and characterization of chitosan and grape polyphenols stabilized palladium nanoparticles and their antibacterial activity,” … Continue reading When two words colloid: “copied and manipulated” figures prompt retraction of nanoparticle paper

Figure error forces retraction of transgenic chickpea paper

The humble chickpea has become one of the world’s most promising cash crops, so it’s no surprise that efforts are underway to make it even more humble, er, profitable, through genetic manipulation. But one group of scientists made hummus out of their approach when they botched what evidently was a key element of a figure … Continue reading Figure error forces retraction of transgenic chickpea paper

That face rings a bell, but where have I published it before?

Irony alert: If you’re going to write a paper about face recognition technology, well, do we really need to go on? A group of researchers in Wuhan, China, evidently didn’t quite realize they were walking into a ridicule trap when they agreed to have their paper, “Face Recognition with Learning-based Descriptor,” published in IERI Procedia. … Continue reading That face rings a bell, but where have I published it before?

University of Utah finds former faculty member guilty of misconduct because of “reckless disregard”

Since last May, we’ve been reporting on a case at the University of Utah involving two retractions and two corrections. When the story first broke, the lab blamed a former worker for inappropriately removing data from the premises, and the university has been investigating. Last month, we reported that Ivana De Domenico, the junior faculty … Continue reading University of Utah finds former faculty member guilty of misconduct because of “reckless disregard”

Leading immunologist retracts paper that duplicated 2004 PNAS study

University of Glasgow professor Foo Yew “Eddy” Liew, a Fellow of the Royal Society, has retracted a paper in Cellular Immunology because it duplicated one of his earlier papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Here’s the notice for “Expression and function of Toll-like receptor on T cells:”

Ants in the past: Journal pulls insect-global warming paper after questions arise over results

A group of ecologists in Germany who published a paper on the potential impact of global warming on ants in the Harz Mountains — northern Germany’s highest range — have retracted the paper after becoming, well, a bit antsy about the validity of their findings. The article, “Diversity of ants across an altitudinal gradient in … Continue reading Ants in the past: Journal pulls insect-global warming paper after questions arise over results

Retraction of 19-year-old Nature paper reveals hidden cameras, lab break-in, evidence tampering

We’ve often found that when some authors refuse to sign retraction notices, there’s a much bigger story than terse notices let on. And a retraction in this week’s Nature of a 19-year-old paper is a shining example of that. Here’s the brief notice for “Oligosaccharide ligands for NKR-P1 protein activate NK cells and cytotoxicity,” a … Continue reading Retraction of 19-year-old Nature paper reveals hidden cameras, lab break-in, evidence tampering