University of Rochester cancer researchers included ‘incorrect images’ in 13 papers, committee finds

A group of cancer researchers at the University of Rochester have now lost three papers over concerns about the data in the articles – issues that evidently did not rise to the level of misconduct, according to the institution. The work came from the lab of Yuhchyau Chen, of the university’s Wilmot Cancer Institute. A … Continue reading University of Rochester cancer researchers included ‘incorrect images’ in 13 papers, committee finds

Widely covered paper on ranitidine-cancer link retracted

A paper linking the use of a wildly popular drug for heartburn to cancer has been retracted after the authors concluded that their widely touted finding appears to have resulted from a hiccup in the way they conducted their testing.  The 2016 article, in Carcinogenesis, has played a minor role in an ongoing class action … Continue reading Widely covered paper on ranitidine-cancer link retracted

Kentucky professor resigns ahead of vote that could have stripped him of tenure

A former endowed professor at the University of Kentucky has resigned from the faculty days before a committee at the institution was scheduled to vote on whether to fire him for misconduct, Retraction Watch has learned.  In 2018, the university began investigating Xianglin Shi, a toxicologist and cancer biologist who that year, as we reported … Continue reading Kentucky professor resigns ahead of vote that could have stripped him of tenure

“Serious non-compliance” prompts retraction of book on social justice in Hawai’i

A publisher retracted a book last year after the home institution of one of the editors, the University of Hawai’i, “identified research protocol violations by two of the editors, which constitute Serious Non-Compliance.” The 2019 book, Voices of Social Justice and Diversity in a Hawai‘i Context, was edited by Amarjit Singh and Mike Devine, of … Continue reading “Serious non-compliance” prompts retraction of book on social justice in Hawai’i

Map shows US typefaces named after cities in their geographic location

For The Statesider, Andy Murdock wondered how many typefaces are named after American locations. Then he put those typefaces on a map. So how many?

The answer is 222. That’s not actually the answer, it’s just where I had to stop, because the more I looked the more I found. What started as a quirky challenge to make a US font map during COVID-19 quarantine days started to edge into obsessive-compulsive territory. I’d wake up in the middle of the night thinking, “Did I check to see if there’s a Boise font?” (I did. There isn’t.) I finally found the limit to how many fonts I could use in one place.

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Litigious OSU cancer researcher earns his 11th retraction

Carlo Croce, the prolific cancer researcher at The Ohio State University (OSU) with a penchant for hiring — and then losing — lawyers to sue those who displease him, has lost an 11th paper to retraction. Croce, who in addition to the 11 retractions also has three expressions of concern and 18 corrections for his … Continue reading Litigious OSU cancer researcher earns his 11th retraction

Four retractions follow misconduct inquiry at U Maryland

The Journal of Virology has retracted three papers, and corrected two others, by a group led by a researcher at the University of Maryland, for problematic images.  The articles, published in 2008 and 2014, describe experiments to assess the immune response to Newcastle disease virus in various animal species.  The studies were led by Siba … Continue reading Four retractions follow misconduct inquiry at U Maryland

Fourth retraction for Haruko Obokata, focus of STAP cell scandal, after Harvard investigation

More than five years after Nature retracted two highly suspect papers about what had been described as a major breakthrough in stem cell research, another journal has pulled a paper about the work.  The scandal over so-called STAP stem cells took down more than just a few articles. The case centered on Haruko Obokata, a … Continue reading Fourth retraction for Haruko Obokata, focus of STAP cell scandal, after Harvard investigation

Group that reused cheese cloth in different experiments up to six retractions

The other day, we reported on the retraction this month of a paper that was laid low by reuse of experimental materials — cheese cloth, to be exact — when fresh were required.  At the time, we asked the senior author, Donghai Wang, of Kansas State University, whether any other articles from his group had … Continue reading Group that reused cheese cloth in different experiments up to six retractions

Two retractions prove fresh is best

To the list of best practices in experimental research, here’s another item to add: Always use fresh cheesecloth when separating biomasses.  We’ll explain. A group of researchers at Kansas State University have retracted their 2018 paper, titled “Corn stover pretreatment by metal oxides for improving lignin removal and reducing sugar degradation and water usage,” in … Continue reading Two retractions prove fresh is best