PubPeer Selections: Feedback within a day; “worst examples of data;” endocrinology papers questioned
PubPeer won a near-complete victory in a court case last week. Here’s another installment of PubPeer Selections:
Search Results for: images
Sun sets on Sun Yat-sen University cell bio paper
Researchers at Sun Yat-sen University in China have lost a paper in the Journal of Cell Science for “inappropriate figure manipulations,” which they blame entirely on the first author. According to the notice, three figures were “inappropriately modified” — cells or nuclei were moved, and the edges of cell images were trimmed. The researchers place the … Continue reading Sun sets on Sun Yat-sen University cell bio paper
PLoS ONE mega-correction, but no retraction, for researcher who sued diabetes journal
PLoS ONE has just issued a 12-figure correction on a paper by Mario A. Saad, who sued the American Diabetes Association unsuccessfully in an attempt to prevent it from retracting four papers in its flagship journal Diabetes. The corrections include taking out Western blots copied from another Saad paper, as well as several figures where the bands … Continue reading PLoS ONE mega-correction, but no retraction, for researcher who sued diabetes journal
Heart journal issues expression of concern after fraud report
The American Heart Association’s journal Circulation has issued an expression of concern for a paper about the molecular underpinnings of arrhythmias that was co-authored by a biomedical engineer who committed fraud on a massive scale. According to an investigation by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), former Vanderbilt engineer Igor Dzhura faked nearly 70 images and drastically over-estimated … Continue reading Heart journal issues expression of concern after fraud report
David Vaux: Nature’s decision to add double-blind peer review is good, but could be better
David Vaux, a cell biologist at the Walter + Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, explains how Nature could do more to remove bias from the peer review process. He previously wrote about his decision to retract a paper. Last week, Nature announced that they are to offer authors of papers submitted to … Continue reading David Vaux: Nature’s decision to add double-blind peer review is good, but could be better
Judge denies motion by researcher to quash Diabetes expressions of concern
American Diabetes Association 1, Mario Saad 0. As reported by the National Law Journal, a federal judge in Boston has denied Saad’s requests to stop the ADA’s flagship journal, Diabetes, from publishing expressions of concern about four of Saad’s papers, and to prevent the journal from retracting the studies. Saad filed suit against the ADA on … Continue reading Judge denies motion by researcher to quash Diabetes expressions of concern
Weekend reads: Why some scientists lie, the state of academic integrity in Iran, Nature goes double-blind
The week at Retraction Watch featured Matlab miscoding and a look at how often a retracted paper was cited. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Several chem journals neutralize papers from Brazil group over figure fraud
Several journals have retracted or corrected papers from a group at State University of Maringá in Brazil over what one chemistry journal calls “fraudulent use” of figures previously published by the authors. Química Nova, which is retracting a 2013 paper, issued a notice that taps an additional eight articles with Angelica Lazarin as the corresponding author … Continue reading Several chem journals neutralize papers from Brazil group over figure fraud
RW cited in scientist’s $8 million suit against university
Maybe the polar vortex is to blame (chilling effect, and all), but it must be lawsuit season! First it was Mario Saad, who sued the American Diabetes Association to prevent them from retracting his papers in flagship journal Diabetes. Now Rakesh Kumar is getting in on the action. According to George Washington University student paper the GW Hatchet, … Continue reading RW cited in scientist’s $8 million suit against university
Figure dupe sinks cell bio paper
Tulane researchers Tong Wu and Chang Han, who have been anonymously accused of figure duplication in the past, have now finally lost a paper for that reason. The frequent plagiarism tipster Juuichi Jigen (a pseudonym) set up a blog in 2012 alleging that the pair inappropriately reused images in six other papers, though none of those … Continue reading Figure dupe sinks cell bio paper