Plant biologists from China have retracted a 2013 paper in The Plant Cell after discovering that some of the plant material used was “inadvertently contaminated.” According to the retraction notice, the authors believe the contamination affects the main conclusion of their paper.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry has added an expression of concern to a 2003 paper that arose from the PhD thesis of a once-prominent — and controversial — science journalist in Australia. The first author of the paper is Maryanne Demasi, a journalist whose reporting created unintentional headlines in recent years. In 2013, she produced … Continue reading Controversial Australian journalist’s paper flagged by journal
The Annals of Emergency Medicine has republished a controversial paper it withdrew earlier this year which compared the cost of emergency care at different types of facilities. Because the paper drew heavy criticism when it was originally released, the journal has published a revised version, along with several editorials and discussions between the authors and … Continue reading Journal republishes withdrawn paper on emergency care prices, amid controversy
Facing a volley of criticism for publishing an essay that called for a return to colonialism, a journal editor has defended his decision to print the article. “The Case for Colonialism,” published Sept. 8 in Third World Quarterly (TWQ), was written by Bruce Gilley, a professor of political science at Portland State University. For an … Continue reading Article defending colonialism draws rebuke, journal defends choice to publish
The week at Retraction Watch featured a post on just how much an authorship costs if you want to buy one, anger over charges to use a common research tool, and the revocation of a PhD from a once-rising star scientist. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
A project to identify studies doomed by problematic reagents has triggered three more retractions, bringing the total to five. Jennifer Byrne, a scientist at the University of Sydney, who developed the the idea of double-checking the nucleic acid sequences of research materials — thereby ensuring studies were testing the gene in question — told Retraction … Continue reading Project to “fact check” genetic studies leads to three more retractions. And it’s just getting started.
Got $300? Then you can be added as an author to a paper — even if you had no role in the research. That’s right — some journals are willing to add authors to papers they didn’t write, often for a fee. This realization comes from one of the many sting experiments we’ve witnessed over … Continue reading Authorship for sale: Some journals willing to add authors to papers they didn’t write
The University of Copenhagen has stripped Milena Penkowa of her doctoral degree, after determining she had covered up problems with her research. According to a release issued today by the university, Penkowa falsified documents to allay suspicions that she had not performed some animal experiments as she’d reported. This development is the latest in a … Continue reading Copenhagen revokes degree of controversial neuroscientist Milena Penkowa
Earlier this year, the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center teamed up to write a letter. Addressed to the editorial office at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), the letter, parts of which have been published in a retraction notice, contained information concerning two papers on genetic … Continue reading UCSF, VA investigations find “clear evidence” of misconduct in cancer papers
“Common wisdom,” according to the authors of a new piece in Nature, “assumes that the hazard of predatory publishing is restricted mainly to the developing world.” But the authors of the new paper, led by David Moher of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, found that more than half — 57% — of the 2,000 articles … Continue reading Predatory journals: Not just a problem in developing world countries, says new Nature paper