Category Archives: data issues
Journals stamp expressions of concern on 15 papers from Anversa’s cardiac stem cell lab
More than four and a half years after questions were first raised about work in a cardiac stem cell lab at Harvard and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a year and a half after the Brigham and Partners Healthcare paid $10 million to settle allegations of fraud in the lab’s data, a month after Harvard … Continue reading Journals stamp expressions of concern on 15 papers from Anversa’s cardiac stem cell lab
Posted by in cardiology retractions, circulation, circulation research, data issues, harvard, united states
In a first, U.S. CDC retracts, replaces study about suicide risk in farmers
In a first for the CDC, the agency’s premier scientific publication has retracted a 2016 article on suicide, five months after a news story pointed out serious errors in the paper. The article, initially published as “Suicide Rates by Occupational Group — 17 States, 2012,” had purported to find that farmers were at particularly high … Continue reading In a first, U.S. CDC retracts, replaces study about suicide risk in farmers
Posted by in data issues, psychiatry, united states
Data mishap forces retraction of paper on gun laws, domestic killings
The authors of a 2018 paper on the effects of gun laws on domestic violence have retracted the article after discovering errors in their analysis and replaced it with a clean version. The new study shows that some gun laws — particularly ones that keep firearms out of the hands of violent offenders, even if … Continue reading Data mishap forces retraction of paper on gun laws, domestic killings
Posted by in data issues, oxford university press, public health/safety, united states
Caveat scriptor: How a journal editor unraveled the mystery of the overlapping bad data
Caveat scriptor—writer beware. That’s the moral of a recent editorial in the Saudi Journal of Anesthesia, prompted by the retraction in that journal of a 2014 paper with bum data. The editorial was written by John Loadsman, an anesthesiologist in Sydney, Australia, and editor of the journal Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, who played a role … Continue reading Caveat scriptor: How a journal editor unraveled the mystery of the overlapping bad data
Posted by in anesthesia retractions, data issues, duplication retractions
As China cracks down on faked drug trial data, US FDA abandons disclosure rule
The FDA has walked away from a 2010 rule that would have forced drug makers to disclose fabricated data to regulators. As Bloomberg Law reported last week, the FDA has withdrawn the proposed rule, “Reporting Information Regarding Falsification of Data,” which would require sponsors to report information indicating that any person has, or may have, … Continue reading As China cracks down on faked drug trial data, US FDA abandons disclosure rule
Posted by in data issues
Caught Our Notice: Gorilla paper in the mist? Journal flags ape hormone paper
Title: Biologically validating the measurement of oxytocin in western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) urine and saliva using a commercial enzyme immunoassay What Caught Our Attention: Quite frankly, anything with “gorilla gorilla gorilla” in the title will catch our eye, even if it is just the scientific name of the western lowland gorilla. In this … Continue reading Caught Our Notice: Gorilla paper in the mist? Journal flags ape hormone paper
Paper used to support WHO guidelines on preventing infections “has no scientific validity”
A surgery journal retracted a 2014 paper last month after discovering that the study has “no scientific validity.” Mario Schietroma and his coauthors, based at the University of L’Aquila in Italy, reported that giving patients high concentrations of oxygen during and after colorectal surgery significantly reduced their risk of infections. Although the authors reported significant … Continue reading Paper used to support WHO guidelines on preventing infections “has no scientific validity”
Cancer biologist retracts five papers
A cancer researcher based at The Ohio State University has retracted five papers from one journal, citing concerns about figures. The notices for all five papers state the Journal of Biological Chemistry raised questions about some figures, and the authors were not able to supply raw data in all instances. Four of the notices say … Continue reading Cancer biologist retracts five papers
Child took wrong compound for over a year after “communication error”
A journal is retracting a paper after it discovered researchers gave a child the wrong supplement for more than a year. Rhiannon Bugno, managing editor for Biological Psychiatry, told Retraction Watch the mix-up did not put the patient at risk. However, the mistake was enough for the journal’s editor, John Krystal, of Yale University, to … Continue reading Child took wrong compound for over a year after “communication error”
Data in biofuel paper “had either been grossly misinterpreted or fabricated”
A biology journal has retracted a 2011 paper after the University of California, Los Angeles determined that the data in three figures “cannot be supported.” In February, the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology retracted the paper, which explores efforts to engineer bacteria to convert plant biomass into biofuel. Claudia Modlin, assistant director of UCLA’s Office … Continue reading Data in biofuel paper “had either been grossly misinterpreted or fabricated”