Agriculture researcher up to 15 retractions for fake peer review

Christos Damalas, an agriculture researcher at Democritus University of Thrace, has had more papers retracted from Elsevier journals for fake peer review reports, giving him a total of 15. The three most recent retractions appear, as did some previously, in Science of the Total Environment. Damalas also had papers retracted from Chemosphere and Land Use … Continue reading Agriculture researcher up to 15 retractions for fake peer review

A building consultant rigs peer review

The construction industry in New York City is notorious for rigged bids, but rigged peer review?  A Queens, NY, building consultant has lost four papers for forging — or having had forged — the peer reviews of his manuscripts. (For background on how this works, read this.) Faruque Hossain’s articles appeared in a variety of … Continue reading A building consultant rigs peer review

Weekend reads: COVID-19 and peer review; blaming a spell-checker for plagiarism; the fastest retracting country

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. Sending thoughts to our readers and wishing them the best in this uncertain time. The week … Continue reading Weekend reads: COVID-19 and peer review; blaming a spell-checker for plagiarism; the fastest retracting country

A snake bites once, but its picture is used twice

For some people, a venomous snake is a venomous snake — and evidently, some of those people include journal editors.   The authors of a 2019 case report describing the unfortunate case of an African farmer killed by the bite of a lethal snake have lost the article because the mug shot of the reptilian culprit … Continue reading A snake bites once, but its picture is used twice

Weekend reads: Why coronavirus papers need a warning label; scientists correct the record

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. Sending thoughts to our readers and wishing them the best in this uncertain time. The week … Continue reading Weekend reads: Why coronavirus papers need a warning label; scientists correct the record

A German vocabulary lesson: Paper retracted because an “individuelle Heilversuche” is not a clinical trial

A co-editor of the Journal of Neurology has retracted a 2018 paper he helped write because the way the paper was written misled readers about the nature of the research.  The article, “Menière’s disease: combined pharmacotherapy with betahistine and the MAO-B inhibitor selegiline—an observational study,” purported to describe the effects of a combination treatment to … Continue reading A German vocabulary lesson: Paper retracted because an “individuelle Heilversuche” is not a clinical trial

Weekend reads: Coronavirus meets scientific publishing; publish or perish loses in court; retractions in cancer research

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. Sending thoughts to our readers and wishing them the best in this uncertain time. The week … Continue reading Weekend reads: Coronavirus meets scientific publishing; publish or perish loses in court; retractions in cancer research

Researcher loses PhD after investigation finds he faked data

Researchers in Singapore have lost a 2011 paper in Gene Therapy after an institutional investigation found that some of their data had been fabricated by a PhD student on the project. Most of the authors were affiliated with the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, a unit of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).  … Continue reading Researcher loses PhD after investigation finds he faked data

Cleveland Clinic heart researchers earn two expressions of concern

A team of heart researchers at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio has received expressions of concern for two papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, which says the images in the articles appear suspect.  The papers, both of which appeared in 2004, come from the lab of Subha Sen, a highly-funded scientist who has received millions … Continue reading Cleveland Clinic heart researchers earn two expressions of concern