Top Science Scandals of 2011
A list of this year’s most high-profile retractions and controversies in science, Science is no stranger to controversy. This year, some high profile scientists have been accused of widespread misconduct, while other headline-grabbing research has been retracted after technical errors or sloppy techniques were pointed out by critics.The scientific field may deal with aftershocks of the misconduct or retraction for years.Here are five of the biggest science scandals of the year, as well as updates on some of the juiciest scandals of years past.
More than 100 retractions expected
The work of Diederik Stapel, who headed the Institute for Behavioral Economics Research at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, epitomizes the old saying that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Stapel routinely came out with counterintuitive findings that seemed to capture human nature, peppering the headlines of media outlets around the world. But at least 30 of Stapel’s papers were retracted after evidence of massive data fabrication was uncovered, and many scientists expect that number to continue to grow. In total, more than 100 published papers could be affected by the fraud. Among the most novel of his findings to be retracted: that thoughts of meat make people surly, and that a chaotic environment makes people more likely to stereotype.
Mouse virus and chronic fatigue
The link between a mouse leukemia virus and chronic fatigue syndrome made waves when it was first announced in 2009. But after several labs failed to recreate the link, the paper, which was cited 200 times, was retracted. The story took a turn for the dramatic when Whittemore Peterson Institute director Judy Mikovits, who led the retracted 2009 study, refused to hand over key lab notebooks. She allegedly had an underling take the notebooks, then skipped town to California. She has been arrested on counts of felony theft, jailed overnight, and is now awaiting trial.
Short-lived longevity paper
Boston University biostatistician Paolo Sebastiani retracted a splashy paper identifying 19 genes associated with extreme longevity in centenarians. Within days of publication, critics wondered whether the strong correlation they found was due to an error in the sequencing chip the team used. After reworking their data to eliminate the source of error, the researchers found that the magnitude of the correlation was less impressive, and Science ultimately retracted the paper, which was cited 25 times in just a year. The researchers have resubmitted the revised findings to another journal.
Arsenic-based life
In late 2010, NASA researcher Felisa Wolfe-Simon and colleagues reportedly uncovered a species of bacteria in Mono Lake that not only survived in unusually high levels of arsenic and low levels of phosphorus, but also appeared to incorporate arsenic into its DNA backbone. However, critics were soon questioning the results, citing poor DNA extraction techniques and a supposedly phosphate-free growth medium which actually did contain phosphate. Science published 8 technical comments about the work in May, though the paper, which has been cited 26 times, has yet to be retracted.
Climate change-up
A controversial climate change paper was retracted when it was found to contain passages lifted from other sources, including Wikipedia. The paper, published by climate change skeptic Edward Wegman of George Mason University in Computational Statistics and Data Analysis in 2008, showed that climatology is an inbred field where most researchers collaborate with and review each other’s work. But a resourceful blogger uncovered evidence of plagiarism, and the journal retracted the paper, which was cited 8 times, in May.
