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Largest Ever Research Integrity Survey Flounders As Universities Refuse to Cooperate
Continued Post-retraction Citation of a Fraudulent Clinical Trial Report, 11 years After It Was Retracted for Falsifying Data
Continued Post-retraction Citation of a Fraudulent Clinical Trial Report, 11 years After It Was Retracted for Falsifying Data

Fraud by Numbers: Metrics and the New Academic Misconduct
UCLA professor of Law and Communication Mario Biagioli dissects how metric-based evaluations are shaping university agendas.

China's Research-misconduct Rules Target 'paper Mills' That Churn out Fake Studies
China's Research-misconduct Rules Target 'paper Mills' That Churn out Fake Studies
China’s science ministry is set to introduce its most comprehensive rules so far for dealing with research misconduct. The measures, which come into effect next month, outline what constitute violations and appropriate punishments. But critics say that enforcement will continue to be a problem.

Top Officials at Russian Universities Embroiled in Plagiarism Scandal
Top Officials at Russian Universities Embroiled in Plagiarism Scandal
It's been described as the 'tip of the iceberg' when it comes to unethical practices in Russian academia.
Signs of 'citation Hacking' Flagged in Scientific Papers
An algorithm developed to spot abnormal patterns of citations aims to find scientists who have manipulated reference lists.

Ex-ERC Head Loses Paper over Image Duplication
Science Advances article on diabetes drug co-authored by Mauro Ferrari retracted after readers spot irregularities

An Epidemic of False Claims
Competition and conflicts of interest distort too many medical findings

Weekend Reads: Retracted COVID-19 Papers; a Coronavirus Study Kept Under Wraps; Harvard and Jeffrey Epstein
Weekend Reads: Retracted COVID-19 Papers; a Coronavirus Study Kept Under Wraps; Harvard and Jeffrey Epstein
Before we present this week's Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads…

Greek Scientist Found to Have De-frauded European Research Council
OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency, this week confirmed an unnamed Greek scientist de-frauded the European Research Council (ERC) of roughly €190,000. "A complex fraud involving a Greek scientist and her network of international researchers has been uncovered by investigators," OLAF said.

Revealed: Quarter of All Tweets About Climate Crisis Produced by Bots
Draft of Brown study says findings suggest 'substantial impact of mechanized bots in amplifying denialist messages'.

Spider Biologist Denies Suspicions of Widespread Data Fraud in His Animal Personality Research
Spider Biologist Denies Suspicions of Widespread Data Fraud in His Animal Personality Research
Behavioral ecologists are in turmoil as dozens of research papers involving an expert on social spiders draw scrutiny.

Putin Wanted Russian Science to Top the World. Then a Huge Academic Scandal Blew Up.
Putin Wanted Russian Science to Top the World. Then a Huge Academic Scandal Blew Up.
Eight years ago, President Vladimir Putin decreed that Russia must become a leading scientific power. That meant at least five top-100 Russian universities by 2020, and a dramatic increase in the number of global citations of Russian scientific papers. Now a group at the center of Putin’s aspirations, the Russian Academy of Sciences, has dropped a bombshell into the plans. A commission set up by the academy has led to the retraction of at least 869 Russian scientific articles, mainly for plagiarism.
How to Tackle Academic Misconduct Among China's Top Scientists
Preventing unethical behaviour requires regulatory and institutional reforms, as well as lead researchers remaining close to work done in their name, says Futao Huang

Russian Journals Retract More Than 800 Papers After 'Bombshell' Investigation
Russian Journals Retract More Than 800 Papers After 'Bombshell' Investigation
Academy commission's probe of domestic journals causes "conflict and tension".

Automated Hacking, Deepfakes Are Going to Be Major Cybersecurity Threats in 2020
Automated Hacking, Deepfakes Are Going to Be Major Cybersecurity Threats in 2020
Artificial intelligence used to carry out automated, targeted hacking is set to be one of the major threats to look out for in 2020, according to a cybersecurity expert.

Head of Ancient-DNA Lab Sacked for ‘serious Misconduct’
Alan Cooper was dismissed as the leader of a prestigious genomics centre, following an investigation.

Research Integrity Papers Among Top 10 Most Shared in 2019
Altmetric list of scholarship getting the most online attention shows that authenticity in science, and society more generally, is major theme of the year.

Why Sexual Harassment Needs Tougher Punishment
Grant and funding withdrawals should be considered in cases of sexual harrassment, say researchers.
China's CRISPR Babies: Read Exclusive Excerpts from the Unseen Original Research
China's CRISPR Babies: Read Exclusive Excerpts from the Unseen Original Research
He Jiankui's manuscript shows how he ignored ethical and scientific norms in creating the gene-edited twins Lulu and Nana.

Chinese Students Paid to Rort Australian Universities As Government Tackles Cheating
Chinese Students Paid to Rort Australian Universities As Government Tackles Cheating
Most agencies claim a 100 per cent pass rate with zero risk of being found out. New laws are being drafted to target contract cheating in Australia.
We're All 'P-Hacking' Now
An insiders' term for scientific malpractice has worked its way into pop culture. Is that a good thing?

More South Korean Academics Caught Naming Kids As Co-Authors
The practice was probably used to improve the children's chances of securing a university place.

German University Finds 'severe' Misconduct by Researcher Who Promoted Questionable Cancer Blood Test
German University Finds 'severe' Misconduct by Researcher Who Promoted Questionable Cancer Blood Test
Court prevents publicity for investigations into Heidelberg University Hospital cancer test scandal

University Finds Dozens of Papers by Late - and Controversial - Psychologist Hans Eysenck "unsafe"
University Finds Dozens of Papers by Late - and Controversial - Psychologist Hans Eysenck "unsafe"
Hans Eysenck More than two dozen papers by a controversial psychologist who died in 1997 are "unsafe."

Repairing an Institutional Reputation Tarnished by Fraudulent Publishing
Repairing an Institutional Reputation Tarnished by Fraudulent Publishing
Given the reality of fraudulent publishers and their deceptive practices, will institutions consider more strongly guiding author choice of publishing venue in order to protect institutional reputation?

Harvard and MIT Leaders Acknowledge Deeper Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Than Previously Known
Harvard and MIT Leaders Acknowledge Deeper Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Than Previously Known
Presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology acknowledged in separate announcements this week that their connections to financier Jeffrey Epstein went deeper than previously revealed, further entangling the elite institutions with a donor who was a convicted sex offender.
A Publisher Wants to Destigmatize Retractions. Here's How
It's no secret that retractions have a stigma, which is very likely part of why authors often resist the move - even when honest error is involved.
