Search Results for: nature

A big Nature study on a tiny dinosaur is being retracted

A paper on a pocket-sized winged “dinosaur” is being retracted after new unpublished findings cast doubt on the authors’ characterizations of their discovery. The study, “Hummingbird-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Myanmar,” was published in Nature on March 11, 2020. Many news outlets, including the New York Times, Newsweek and National Geographic, picked up … Continue reading A big Nature study on a tiny dinosaur is being retracted

Duke group retracts Nature journal paper

A Nature journal is retracting a 2018 research letter about the genetics of flower patterns over concerns about the reliability of the data.  The letter, “Two genetic changes in cis-regulatory elements caused evolution of petal spot position in Clarkia,” appeared in Nature Plants and was written by a team of researchers at Duke University, including … Continue reading Duke group retracts Nature journal paper

Figure “anomalies” prompt Harvard group to retract Nature paper

A group of researchers based at Harvard Medical School have retracted their 2019 paper in Nature after a data sleuth detected evidence of suspect images in the article.  The move comes ten months after the journal first heard from the sleuth, Elisabeth Bik. The paper, “Fatty acids and cancer-amplified ZDHHC19 promote STAT3 activation through S-palmitoylation,” … Continue reading Figure “anomalies” prompt Harvard group to retract Nature paper

Nature retracts study touted as step toward treatments for bone diseases

A Nature study that could have provided a “potential therapeutic target for osteoporosis and bone metastases of cancer” has been retracted. Since being published in 2014 by researchers at UT Southwestern, MD Anderson and elsewhere, “miR-34a blocks osteoporosis and bone metastasis by inhibiting osteoclastogenesis and Tgif2” has been cited more than 200 times, according to … Continue reading Nature retracts study touted as step toward treatments for bone diseases

Nature paper on cancer retracted after years of scrutiny

Following five years of criticism, a group of researchers based at Stanford and elsewhere have retracted a 2006 paper in Nature for “image anomalies.”  The notice for “Lysyl oxidase is essential for hypoxia-induced metastasis” reads:

Authors retract Nature paper on dramatic increases in streamflow from deforestation

The authors of a 2019 Nature paper on hydrology have retracted it after commenters pointed out a slew of errors with the work.  The article, “Global analysis of streamflow response to forest management,” was written by Jaivime Evaristo, of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, in The Netherlands, and Jeffrey McDonnell, of … Continue reading Authors retract Nature paper on dramatic increases in streamflow from deforestation

Harvard group retracts Nature paper

A group of researchers based at Harvard University have retracted an influential 2017 letter in Nature after a change in lab personnel led to the discovery of errors in the analysis.  The article, “Microglia-dependent synapse loss in type I interferon-mediated lupus,” emerged from a collaboration including scientists at Harvard Medical School, the Rockefeller University in … Continue reading Harvard group retracts Nature paper

A ‘stress test’ for journals: What happened when authors tried to republish a Nature paper more than 600 times?

Journal stings come in various shapes and sizes. There are the hilarious ones in which authors manage to get papers based on Seinfeld or Star Wars published. There are those that play a role in the culture wars. And then there are some on a massive scale, with statistical analyses. That’s how we’d describe the … Continue reading A ‘stress test’ for journals: What happened when authors tried to republish a Nature paper more than 600 times?

Nature paper on ocean warming retracted

Nature is retracting a 2018 paper which found that the oceans are warming much faster than predicted by previous models of climate change. The article, “Quantification of ocean heat uptake from changes in atmospheric O2 and CO2 composition,” appeared at last October but quickly drew the attention of an influential critic who said the analysis … Continue reading Nature paper on ocean warming retracted

Nature walks back mentorship prize for Spanish scientist with nine retractions

Nature is rescinding an award to a Spanish researcher whose group has at least nine retractions for problems with their published images.  The journal in 2017 gave Carlos López-Otín, of the University of Oviedo, its mid-career achievement mentoring prize for Spanish scientists — along with a physicist from Barcelona — citing:  the ability of these … Continue reading Nature walks back mentorship prize for Spanish scientist with nine retractions