Search Results for: sting

New feature aims to draw journals into post-publication comments on PubPeer

When a paper is challenged on PubPeer, is a journal paying attention? A new feature recently unveiled by the site makes it easier to find out. The Journal Dashboards allow journals to see what people are saying about the papers they published, and allows readers to know which journals are particularly responsive to community feedback. … Continue reading New feature aims to draw journals into post-publication comments on PubPeer

Author of controversial Science fish-microplastics paper committed “intentional” misconduct, says Uppsala

An investigation at Uppsala University has found the authors of a retracted Science paper — which explored the threat of human pollution on fish — guilty of misconduct.   The decision, published yesterday, states that both authors—Peter Eklöv and Oona Lönnstedt—“violated the regulations on ethical approval for animal experimentation,” and Lönnstedt, the paper’s corresponding author, … Continue reading Author of controversial Science fish-microplastics paper committed “intentional” misconduct, says Uppsala

”Definitely embarrassing:” Nobel Laureate retracts non-reproducible paper in Nature journal

A Nobel Laureate has retracted a 2016 paper in Nature Chemistry that explored the origins of life on earth, after discovering the main conclusions were not correct.   Some researchers who study the origins of life on Earth have hypothesized that RNA evolved before DNA or proteins.  If true, RNA would have needed a way … Continue reading ”Definitely embarrassing:” Nobel Laureate retracts non-reproducible paper in Nature journal

Caught Our Notice: What if you find out a paper relied on expired herbal supplement?

Title: Exploration of inhibitory mechanisms of curcumin in lung cancer metastasis using a miRNA- transcription factor-target gene network What Caught Our Attention: The researchers were studying how curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric, can inhibit lung cancer metastases. But upon learning that the primary material had been expired at the time of testing (and … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: What if you find out a paper relied on expired herbal supplement?

Scientist to chemistry journal: “Plse retract this ms ASAP”

The presence of allegedly obvious manipulations in a 2017 chemistry paper has prompted a reader outcry. Over the last couple of days, a user on PubPeer and others on Twitter have accused the paper of containing clear duplications; the paper was already corrected in August, in which one scientist alleges the authors replaced “an obviously … Continue reading Scientist to chemistry journal: “Plse retract this ms ASAP”

Caught Our Notice: 1,376 words of overlap in paper by food researcher Brian Wansink

Title: Change Their Choice! Changing Behavior Using the CAN Approach and Activism Research What Caught Our Attention: Food researcher Brian Wansink has had a rough time lately. After researchers began scrutinizing his work, he has racked up five retractions and multiple corrections. (We’re counting one retracted paper twice, as Wansink first retracted and replaced it with a … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: 1,376 words of overlap in paper by food researcher Brian Wansink

Weekend reads: Clinical trials in hotel rooms; dressing as a pirate; reducing replication-related stress

The week at Retraction Watch featured the temporary removal of the director of the U.S. HHS’ Office of Research Integrity, a mass resignation of an journal’s editorial board, and a court injunction against OMICS. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Editorial board of public health journal resigns in protest

The editorial board of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health resigned today in protest over ongoing battles involving the new editor and its handling of recent withdrawals. We’ve covered the board’s gripes with the journal and publisher, which date back to the spring, and include appointing a new editor with industry ties without … Continue reading Editorial board of public health journal resigns in protest

Publisher issues first retractions for fake peer review, starts new checking policy

The publisher Frontiers has retracted four papers in three of its journals after discovering they had been accepted with fake peer reviews. The problem of fake reviews has been on the research community’s radar since at least 2014, and several major publishers—including Springer, SAGE and BioMed Central—have retracted hundreds of papers accepted via fake peer … Continue reading Publisher issues first retractions for fake peer review, starts new checking policy

Caught Our Notice: “Profoundly sorry” researcher retracts Alzheimer’s-DDT paper

Title: Immune response cytokines as potential biomarkers for DDT induced neurodegeneration What Caught Our Attention:  Does exposure to pesticides such as DDT influence the onset of Alzheimer’s? Hard to say, especially after a researcher retracted a recent paper purporting to find a link in mice, a few months after a press release was issued about the … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: “Profoundly sorry” researcher retracts Alzheimer’s-DDT paper