Search Results for: nature

Weekend reads: Pollution of COVID-19 research; climate papers lead to reassignment; time to publish less?

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. The week at Retraction Watch featured: “The most horrific time of my career.” What do you … Continue reading Weekend reads: Pollution of COVID-19 research; climate papers lead to reassignment; time to publish less?

‘Deeply unfair’: First author of newly retracted paper on weight and honesty speaks out

The first author of a highly controversial — and now retracted — paper linking body weight to integrity calls the journal’s decision to pull the article “a bitter surprise” and its handling of the article after publication “deeply unfair.” The article, “Dishonesty is more affected by BMI status than by short-term changes in glucose,” was … Continue reading ‘Deeply unfair’: First author of newly retracted paper on weight and honesty speaks out

“Confrontation is an important element of physics progress:” Paper on black holes retracted

A Springer Nature journal has retracted a 2019 article by a Slovenian physicist who claims that both Creationism and Big Bang theory are wrong, and that black holes are the engines driving the universe. The paper, in Scientific Reports, was titled “Mass-energy equivalence extension onto a superfluid quantum vacuum,” and was written by Amrit Srečko … Continue reading “Confrontation is an important element of physics progress:” Paper on black holes retracted

“The most horrific time of my career.” What do you do when you realize years of your published work is built on an error?

In September 2019 Nicola Smith, a molecular pharmacologist in Australia, faced a brutal decision. She’d realized that she’d made a mistake — or rather, failed to catch a mistake in her group’s research before the crippling error was published — in two academic articles which were the culmination of years of work. And she could … Continue reading “The most horrific time of my career.” What do you do when you realize years of your published work is built on an error?

Journal becomes “victim of an organized rogue editor network”

We’re not accustomed to seeing journal article titles that end in exclamation points. But that’s what a title did earlier this month: “The Journal of Nanoparticle Research victim of an organized rogue editor network!” The journal, a Springer Nature title, wrote the editors, “has been attacked in a new way by a sophisticated and organized … Continue reading Journal becomes “victim of an organized rogue editor network”

A look back at retraction news in 2020 — and ahead to 2021

Like everyone else, it seems, we here at Retraction Watch are more than ready to put 2020 to bed. It was a bittersweet year to celebrate our tenth anniversary and reflect on what we’ve learned. But the work never stops, so as we’ve done every year since 2010, we’ll take a look at the most … Continue reading A look back at retraction news in 2020 — and ahead to 2021

List of retracted COVID-19 papers grows past 70

As Retraction Watch readers may know, as part of keeping our database of retractions up to date, we’ve been publishing a running list of COVID-19 papers that have been retracted. That list has been steadily growing since the end of April, but yesterday the number jumped from 45 to 72, so we thought we’d walk … Continue reading List of retracted COVID-19 papers grows past 70

Psychology journal retracts two articles for being “unethical, scientifically flawed, and based on racist ideas and agenda”

A psychology journal has retracted a pair of decades-old articles by a now-deceased psychologist with noxious views about race and intelligence after the editors concluded that his work was “unethical, scientifically flawed, and based on racist ideas and agenda.” The author, J. Philippe Rushton, was affiliated with the University of Western Ontario, where he was … Continue reading Psychology journal retracts two articles for being “unethical, scientifically flawed, and based on racist ideas and agenda”

Weekend reads: $1.5 million payout after failure to disclose conflicts; systematic review retractions; entire class penalized for cheating

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 year-ed tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Publisher retracts 14 papers by doctor who ran afoul … Continue reading Weekend reads: $1.5 million payout after failure to disclose conflicts; systematic review retractions; entire class penalized for cheating

Weekend reads: Prof sues journal, school after demotion following retraction; researcher fired after questioning why school rejected grant; the authors who like ‘publish or perish’

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. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Legal researcher up to 23 retractions for false affiliations, plagiarism … Continue reading Weekend reads: Prof sues journal, school after demotion following retraction; researcher fired after questioning why school rejected grant; the authors who like ‘publish or perish’