And then there were eight: Three more retractions for Alirio Melendez, all in the Journal of Immunology

Alirio Melendez, who has already retracted five papers and was found by one of his former universities to have committed misconduct on more than 20, has three more retractions. Here’s the notice for “Antisense Knockdown of Sphingosine Kinase 1 in Human Macrophages Inhibits C5a Receptor-Dependent Signal Transduction, Ca2+ Signals, Enzyme Release, Cytokine Production, and Chemotaxis,” … Continue reading And then there were eight: Three more retractions for Alirio Melendez, all in the Journal of Immunology

Magnets paper fails to stick as plagiarism leads to retraction

A group engineers from Iran and Singapore have been forced to retract a paper in the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials after the article was found to contain incidents of plagiarism. The article, “Magnetic properties of iron-based soft magnetic composites with MgO coating obtained by sol–gel method,” appeared in April 2010. Sometime later (we’re … Continue reading Magnets paper fails to stick as plagiarism leads to retraction

NUS: Melendez committed “serious scientific misconduct,” but don’t expect to get any details

Alirio Melendez, a former National University of Singapore immunologist whose story we’ve been following here since a retraction in September of last year, committed misconduct on an “unprecedented” scale, according to the university, involving more than 20 papers. Nature’s Richard van Noorden has the scoop: After a 19-month investigation, the National University of Singapore (NUS) … Continue reading NUS: Melendez committed “serious scientific misconduct,” but don’t expect to get any details

Fifth Alirio Melendez retraction offers clues about University of Glasgow misconduct findings

A new retraction — his fifth — in the Journal of Immunology for Alirio Melendez, formerly of the National University of Singapore, the University of Glasgow, and the University of Liverpool, sheds some light on the results of an investigation by one of the universities. Last month, a Glasgow spokesperson told Nature that the university’s … Continue reading Fifth Alirio Melendez retraction offers clues about University of Glasgow misconduct findings

Retraction number four appears in PNAS for work of Alirio Melendez, who has resigned post at U Liverpool

Alirio Melendez, who has had three of his papers retracted amidst suspicions about 70, has had another one retracted, this one in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). And he has also resigned from his post at the University of Liverpool, we have just learned. Here’s the notice:

Third retraction arrives for Alirio Melendez, this one in the Journal of Cellular Physiology

Alirio Melendez, the former National University of Singapore researcher who has already retracted two papers in the midst of an investigation into about 70 of his publications, has had a third retracted a third. Here’s the notice from the Journal of Cellular Physiology:

Second retraction arrives in Alirio Melendez case

Alirio Melendez, whose former employer, the National University of Singapore, is investigating about 70 of his papers, has retracted a second study. Here’s the notice for the 2010 Journal of Molecular Cell Biology paper, “Sphingosine-1-phosphate mediates proliferation maintaining the multipotency of human Adult Bone Marrow and Adipose Tissue-derived Stem Cells:”

70 papers by Alirio Melendez under investigation: report

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is reviewing about 70 papers by Alirio Melendez, a once-promising researcher whom, as we’ve reported, has been forced to retract a paper in Nature Immunology and has another paper in Science subject to an Expression of Concern. The Straits Times, which reported the NUS investigation this weekend, says Melendez’ former team is cooperating: In … Continue reading 70 papers by Alirio Melendez under investigation: report

Science issues Expression of Concern over already-corrected Melendez-Puneet paper

Two weeks ago, we posted on a Nature Immunology retraction by a group that had earlier published a correction to figures in a Science paper. At the time, many readers suggested there was more to this story — and we had the same hunch. Turns out those hunches were right. Today, Science issued an “Expression … Continue reading Science issues Expression of Concern over already-corrected Melendez-Puneet paper

Group retracts Nature Immunology paper for figure irregularities after posting a correction to Science

We’re following the case of a group that recently retracted a Nature Immunology paper for figure irregularities, soon after being forced to correct images in a Science paper for similar reasons. The Nature Immunology paper, “The helminth product ES-62 protects against septic shock via Toll-like receptor 4–dependent autophagosomal degradation of the adaptor MyD88,” has been … Continue reading Group retracts Nature Immunology paper for figure irregularities after posting a correction to Science