By Gary Schwitzer
The BMJ reports:
“More than one in ten (13%) UK-based
scientists or doctors have witnessed colleagues intentionally altering
or fabricating data during their research or for the purposes of
publication, while 6% say they are aware of possible research misconduct
at their institution that has not been properly investigated, reveals a
BMJ survey published today which attracted over 2,700 responses.
…Dr Fiona Godlee, BMJ Editor in Chief,
said: “While our survey can’t provide a true estimate of how much
research misconduct there is in the UK, it does show that there is a
substantial number of cases and that UK institutions are failing to
investigate adequately, if at all. The BMJ has been told of junior
academics being advised to keep concerns to themselves to protect their
careers, being bullied into not publishing their findings, or having
their contracts terminated when they spoke out.”
A summary of the report has been posted online, downloadable as a pdf file.
Meantime, Reuters reports:
“A University of Connecticut researcher
(Dipak K. Das, who directed the university’s Cardiovascular Research
Center) who studied the link between aging and a substance found in red
wine has committed more than 100 acts of data fabrication and
falsification, the university said on Wednesday, throwing much of his
work into doubt.
…Although many scientists have been
skeptical of various claims made about resveratrol, it has garnered
significant commercial interest. British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline
bought Sirtris, a company that worked on the compound, in 2008 for $720
million but later discontinued work on one version of a drug that mimics
its activity because of disappointing results.
A Las Vegas resveratrol maker called
Longevinex has promoted Das’ research, and he appears in a lengthy video
touting the nutrient as the next aspirin.
Das also shared a 2002 patent on the use
of another compound in grape skins called proanthocyanidin to prevent
and treat heart conditions.
Other scientists have taken notice of
Das’ work, citing 30 of his papers more than 100 times each, according
to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge. Last year, he won an award
from the International Association of Cardiologists.”