Search Results for: author ban

Cell Press investigating possible image manipulation in influential yeast genetics paper

Cell Press is looking into anonymous allegations that a pair of influential papers on gene activation in yeast may contain more than two dozen instances of image manipulation, according to a spokesperson for the journal. The accusations first appeared in March on PubPeer, where they triggered a small avalanche of comments, including one asserting “unambiguous … Continue reading Cell Press investigating possible image manipulation in influential yeast genetics paper

Chip slip: Irreproducibility erases computer memory paper

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have retracted a paper in Nanoscale about an experimental computer chip after they were unable to recreate their published results. “We retract this article to avoid misleading readers and intend to undertake further tests to confirm our previous results,” they write in the notice. The scientists are working … Continue reading Chip slip: Irreproducibility erases computer memory paper

Third retraction for GWU biologist as university seeks to dismiss his $8 million lawsuit

Cancer biologist Rakesh Kumar has chalked up another retraction, this time for “identical,” “duplicated,” and “replicated” figures and images. It comes on the heels of a flurry of motions in Kumar’s $8 million lawsuit against his employer, George Washington University, for breach of contract and emotional distress because it removed him as department chair last year and … Continue reading Third retraction for GWU biologist as university seeks to dismiss his $8 million lawsuit

Teflon toxicity paper fails to stick

An advanced online paper on prenatal toxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), an industrial chemical used to make waterproof coatings and Teflon, is being retracted due to “some minor errors.” High blood levels of PFOA have been tied to kidney disease in humans, as well as several cancers in animal models. The majority of the U.S. … Continue reading Teflon toxicity paper fails to stick

Unhappy medium: Penn State website retracts article touting student psychic

Onward State, an alternative student news website for Penn State University, has pulled an article about a student psychic for promoting “one of the most fraudulent, predatory practices around.” The psychic has been given her own reality TV show on ABC Family (an oxymoron if ever there was one). The newspaper had reported the news … Continue reading Unhappy medium: Penn State website retracts article touting student psychic

Stats error has chilling effect on global warming paper

It turns out a 2014 paper that found a surprising pattern of plant migration in response to global warming was not so surprising after all — it’s been retracted by the authors due to a mistake in the statistical analysis. Most studies on migrating populations have found that species around the globe move north to escape the rising … Continue reading Stats error has chilling effect on global warming paper

Concurrent submission and publication squashes nano paper

A group of materials researchers at Solapur University in India have lost a paper because they submitted an identical manuscript to two journals. Both journals published the paper, though only one has retracted it. Taylor and Francis journal Journal of Experimental Nanoscience retracted the 2012 paper in February this year; the notice doesn’t explain the delay, or how … Continue reading Concurrent submission and publication squashes nano paper

You can’t make this stuff up: Plagiarism guideline paper retracted for…plagiarism

This could be an April Fools’ joke. But it isn’t. In what can only be described as an ironic twist, the Indian Journal of Dermatology is retracting a paper that presents guidelines on plagiarism for…wait for it… Plagiarism. Here’s the notice:

“Not faithful” figures kill apoptosis paper

A paper on apoptosis in mice has been retracted by Infection and Immunity after a reader tipped them off that several figures were “not faithful representations of the original data.” When the journal, published by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), contacted the authors at Anhui Medical University in Hefei, China, they claimed they couldn’t provide the … Continue reading “Not faithful” figures kill apoptosis paper