Search Results for: sting

Weekend reads: Frustration over unpaid peer review; NIH axes research grants; publishers sue Meta

Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up past 500. There are more than 57,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains more than 300 titles. And have you seen our leaderboard of authors with the most retractions lately … Continue reading Weekend reads: Frustration over unpaid peer review; NIH axes research grants; publishers sue Meta

Osaka misconduct investigation leads to four retractions, with more likely

A microbiologist formerly of Osaka University has lost four papers, with at least one more retraction pending, after an institutional investigation found fabrication and falsification of data in his published research.  The investigation found evidence of manipulated results in seven of the papers examined. The university published the notice of its completed inquiry, along with … Continue reading Osaka misconduct investigation leads to four retractions, with more likely

Guest post: Should Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment be retracted?

Philip G. Zimbardo passed away in October 2024 at age 91. He enjoyed an illustrious career at Stanford University, where he taught for 50 years. He accrued a long list of accolades, but his singular and enduring contribution to scholarship was the Stanford Prison Experiment, a simulation carried out in the university’s psychology department in … Continue reading Guest post: Should Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment be retracted?

Was nonsense ‘vegetative electron microscopy’ phrase a Farsi typo?

A gibberish phrase that caught the attention of science sleuths after it slipped into several journals might trace its origin to a typo in Farsi rather than questionable use of AI, as we reported earlier this month. Nearly two dozen scientific papers, including some in journals from major publishers, mysteriously refer to “vegetative electron microscopy” … Continue reading Was nonsense ‘vegetative electron microscopy’ phrase a Farsi typo?

Exclusive: U.S. federal research integrity teams take hits with departures 

Amid efforts by the Trump administration to “put an end to fraudulent and wasteful spending” and “enhance” accountability, two key offices charged with investigating fraud and holding scientists and institutions accountable for federal spending have seen top leadership depart. At the National Science Foundation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the changes start at the top: … Continue reading Exclusive: U.S. federal research integrity teams take hits with departures 

Guest post: If you’re going to critique science, be scientific about it

Editor’s note: This post responds to a Feb. 13 article in The Atlantic, “The Scientific Literature Can’t Save Us Now,” written by Retraction Watch cofounders Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky. The contentious issue of what — and more importantly who — to believe, when it comes to medical science, is at a critical moment. Watchdog … Continue reading Guest post: If you’re going to critique science, be scientific about it

IQ paper gets expression of concern as misconduct fallout continues

The authors of a paper on how incentives influence IQ have requested an expression of concern after a recent retraction altered the results of their study.  On January 20, we reported that a paper by embattled researcher and child psychologist Stephen Breuning was retracted decades after an investigation found evidence of scientific misconduct. Breuning’s papers … Continue reading IQ paper gets expression of concern as misconduct fallout continues

When a sleuth gets hired by a publisher: A Q&A with Nick Wise

Nick Wise had a prolific start to his sleuthing journey. In July 2021, the fluid dynamics researcher started looking for tortured phrases in published papers, and has since had a hand in at least 1,000 retractions. He also helped identify unique phrases for the Tortured Phrases Detector, a function of the Problematic Paper Screener that … Continue reading When a sleuth gets hired by a publisher: A Q&A with Nick Wise

ICYMI: Second paper by Nobel laureate Thomas Südhof retracted

A 2017 paper coauthored by Nobel laureate Thomas Südhof has been retracted.  The article, “Conditional Deletion of All Neurexins Defines Diversity of Essential Synaptic Organizer Functions for Neurexins,” was published in Neuron in May 2017 and has been cited 145 times, according to Clarivate’s Web of Science.  The retraction notice, issued February 11, states: We, … Continue reading ICYMI: Second paper by Nobel laureate Thomas Südhof retracted

Two papers coauthored by a dean retracted, with a third in question

Two papers on a novel approach for flood prediction have been retracted for “substantial overlap” between the works. The authors, including Debopam Acharya, dean of the School of Computing at DIT University in Uttarakhand, India, are contesting both retractions. The articles, published in 2023, are “FLOODALERT: an internet of things based real-time flash flood tracking … Continue reading Two papers coauthored by a dean retracted, with a third in question