In March, an editor at PLOS ONE noticed something odd among a stack of agriculture manuscripts he was handling. One author had submitted at least 40 manuscripts over a 10-month period, much more than expected from any one person. The editor told the ethics team at the journal about the anomaly, and they started an … Continue reading Exclusive: PLOS ONE to retract more than 100 papers for manipulated peer review
Kyoto University is recommending retraction for five papers by a former botany researcher there after an institutional inquiry turned up evidence of fraud. The investigation of Lianwei Peng, who left the school in May 2011, found 11 images had been manipulated in the papers, according to a press release. The corresponding author on all five … Continue reading Japanese university recommends five retractions after investigating botany researcher
A UPenn professor now has six papers with a correction, expression of concern, or retraction in two PLOS journals after one published an extensive correction to a 2018 paper. The correction adds to two retractions and three expressions of concern for papers in PLOS Pathogens and PLOS ONE with Erle Robertson, a microbiology professor and … Continue reading Extensive correction adds to five flagged papers for UPenn professor
A group of nanotechnology researchers in Iran is up to nine retractions after losing four papers in a go for problematic figures. The work was led by Abolfazl Akbarzadeh, a medicinal chemist at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, who has spent time as a visiting professor at Boston University and UCLA. Commenters on PubPeer including … Continue reading Nanotech group up to nine retractions
A group of nutrition researchers in Canada led by the prominent diabetes scientist Emile Levy has lost three papers in PLOS ONE over concerns about the integrity of the data. The concerns were raised nearly eight years ago by Elisabeth Bik, early in her career as a data sleuth. In May 2014, Bik told us, … Continue reading 8 years after three papers are flagged — and after losing original correspondence — PLOS ONE retracts
Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Cancer researcher faked data for 24 images in work funded by nine NIH grants: Federal watchdog The author of a retracted paper learns to be careful what he wishes for Journals acknowledge that a … Continue reading Weekend reads: Should open access advocates vilify publishers?; authorship for sale, $5,000; is economics just ‘bafflegab?’
A researcher at the center of questions about a biotech’s controversial experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s disease has lost five papers in PLOS One. The journal says it is retracting the articles, by Hoau-Yan Wang and colleagues, over concerns about the integrity of the data and the images in the papers. Wang does not agree with … Continue reading Five studies linked to Cassava Sciences retracted
Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: The 21-year-old apology – and retraction from JAMA Harvard eye researchers have eight papers retracted for lack of ethical approval Einstein duo faked data in 16 federal grant applications: ORI So what happened with … Continue reading Weekend reads: Concussion researcher faces more scrutiny; ‘Mendel the fraud?’; seeking redemption after misconduct finding
Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Authors request retraction of study in Nature journal and look into four more papers Study on teen pot use goes up in smoke, then reappears UNC-Chapel Hill vice chancellor resigns post after admitting to … Continue reading Weekend reads: Journals’ Russia bans; a chronic fatigue syndrome retraction; a Twitter retraction notice feature?
The Journal of Neuroscience has slapped expressions of concern on a pair of papers linked to the maker of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. As we and others have reported, Cassava Sciences has been under intense scrutiny lately. In August, the law firm Labaton Sucharow – who is representing Cassava short sellers – … Continue reading Two expressions of concern arrive for papers linked to beleaguered biotech Cassava