University President’s Paper to be Retracted?

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, JULO

Last year, virologist Naoki Mori of the University of the Ryukyus in Japan was found guilty of misconduct, having reused Western blot images in multiple publications. He was suspended from the university for 10-months (returning to work this Monday), and so far a total of 20 papers authored by Mori and colleagues have been retracted, according to Retraction Watch. Now, an external investigative committee has found evidence of "fraudulent conduct" in another one of Mori's papers, published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications in 2007. That paper was co-authored by University President Teruo Iwamasa, ScienceInsider reports.

According to local newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo, Iwamasa apologized for his involvement at a press conference yesterday, but denied knowing that the paper contained a duplicated figure. Mori has agreed to retract the paper, ScienceInsider reports, but so far, the journal has not announced a decision. Mori...