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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · 7d

David Sanders, an image expert and biologist at Purdue University told us it “is indisputable” that the figure “derives from” the Tin Man Syndrome hoax paper. Aside from similarities within the image itself, Sanders pointed to the label in the upper right hand corner.

Retraction Watch @retractionwatch.com · 15d

Just as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first of 14 books in a series, our recent coverage of a paper on “Tin Man syndrome” seems to have sequels.

Second study using ‘Tin Man Syndrome’ X-ray under scrutiny following Retraction Watch inquiry

An altered image posted as an April Fool’s joke (left) was used as a figure (right) in a 2021 paper in Scientific Programming. Just as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first of 14 books in …

retractionwatch.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · 12d

Part of that housing crisis, he said, stems from Purdue University's tuition freeze.
"It's a marketing gimmick. It's not a real approach to student affordability," Sanders said. "In order to pay for it, the universtiy ended up cutting in-state scholarships" www.jconline.com/story/news/l...

High-rise developments in West Lafayette spawn questions of sustainability in a growing city

The city of West Lafayette has seen several new high-rise projects in recent years, but is there an end in sight for luxury builds?

www.jconline.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · 13d

Will Tin Man Syndrome continue to spread?
"David Sanders,an image expert&biologist at Purdue U told us it"is indisputable"that the figure“derives from the Tin Man Syndrome hoax paper""Sanders said the paper has even more flaws.The references are a mess" retractionwatch.com/2025/09/23/s...

Second study using ‘Tin Man Syndrome’ X-ray under scrutiny following Retraction Watch inquiry

An altered image posted as an April Fool’s joke (left) was used as a figure (right) in a 2021 paper in Scientific Programming. Just as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first of 14 books in …

retractionwatch.com

1

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · 20d

Gun violence is bad. Free speech is good. PROVE ME WRONG!

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · 20d

Weird juxtaposition. "Croce also lost a defamation lawsuit against critic David Sanders (Purdue University) who was quoted in Times article/Judge:“discovery has proved existence of about 30 instances of fabrication or duplication” in Croce’s research papers."
www.visiontimes.com/2025/09/17/t...

Trump Announces Plan for $15 Billion Defamation Case Against NYT - Vision Times

On Monday, Sept. 15 U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times.

www.visiontimes.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 5

Yes. That's why I included you on the post.

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 5

A Cuban article on Carlo Croce @OhioState . It doesn't get all the facts correct, but it does include an image of @smutclyde.bsky.social @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social @forbetterscience.bsky.social @elisabethbik.bsky.social www.juventudtecnica.cu/articulos/fr...

Fraudes científicos de este siglo (35): Carlo M. Croce: el timador timado - Juventud Técnica

En 2024 se habían retractado 15 de sus publicaciones sobre oncología, cinco recibieron una ‘expresión de preocupación’ y 23 fueron corregidas.

www.juventudtecnica.cu

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 2

David Sanders, an image expert and biologist at Purdue University who weighed in on the images in our previous story, told us from his experience, “when one finds egregious problems in one article it is probable that other articles from one or more of the authors also violate scientific norms.”

Retraction Watch @retractionwatch.com · Sep 2

A journal has retracted a study on ‘Tin Man Syndrome’ plagiarized from a decade-old April Fools’ joke — which the author now admits was fake.

‘Tin Man Syndrome,’ five other case studies retracted following Retraction Watch coverage

A comparison of the images and an overlay, provided by a sleuth. A journal has retracted a study on ‘Tin Man Syndrome’ plagiarized from a decade-old April Fools’ joke — which the author now admits…

retractionwatch.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

More true than ever. @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Jul 9

“I really feel as if the administration is engaged in reverse alchemy, and it’s turning America’s scientific gold into lead,” says David Sanders, a sleuth and biologist at Purdue University. #research #integrity

Nature @nature.com · Jul 9

Some sleuths fear that the business of cleaning up flawed studies is being weaponized against science itself

go.nature.com/3TwCNXA

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

“Speed is essential, but it’s never too late to take appropriate action,” he says, recalling that “post-publication peer review is just as important as pre-publication peer review, and at least as good.” @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Jul 29

This is what makes David Sanders,known for his investigations into scientific integrity,jump.“The fact that the authors now refuse to acknowledge that the article was based on impossible chemistry,data that didn’t support their conclusions&contamination is appalling.
www.lemonde.fr/article-offe...

La revue « Science » met officiellement fin à la fausse découverte d’une bactérie extraterrestre

Dans un article retentissant publié par la prestigieuse revue scientifique en 2010, une équipe soutenue par la NASA affirmait avoir découvert, sur Terre, une bactérie dotée d’une forme de vie jamais v...

www.lemonde.fr

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

"It seems that the scientists at the NASA Astrobiology Institute remain in denial about the fact the infamous paper & the associated coverage was a tale of catastrophic failure in the institution of science at essentially every level." @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Jul 31

"The paper continues to gain citations...which I would attribute to cringeworthy ignorance, but 1 of the authors of this paper (Voytek) was on stage during the press conference,promoting the "discovery" Why would the authors cite the discredited paper in this uncritical way?"

PubPeer - The Ladder of Life Detection

There are comments on PubPeer for publication: The Ladder of Life Detection (2018)

pubpeer.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

It's incredible that anyone would accept the "shadow biosphere" idea as anything but pseudoscience. @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 4

“It had nothing to do with the shadow biosphere. It had nothing to do with life on other planets, and it had nothing to do with reality,” he said."

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 4

"Purdue University biologist David Sanders said he heard the news on NPR. This was his area of expertise — he’d done work in the relevant area of biochemistry, so he was eager to look into it.
He told me he found a fatal mistake in the scientific paper.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

Another retraction from DRG. @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 5

The other recent retraction from one of the authors, Douglas R. Green @stjude.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

Retraction from Douglas R. Green, former editor of Oncogene, and BFF of Carlo Croce. @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 6

I was recently notified about the following retraction by a friend. It joins another recent retraction from one of the authors, Douglas R. Green,
@stjude.bsky.social and numerous corrections (image duplication, etc.) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Retraction for Martinez et al., Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 alpha (LC3)-associated phagocytosis is required for the efficient clearance of dead cells | PNAS

Retraction for Martinez et al., Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 alpha (LC3)-associated phagocytosis is required for the efficient cl...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by David Sanders

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 6

I was recently notified about the following retraction by a friend. It joins another recent retraction from one of the authors, Douglas R. Green,
@stjude.bsky.social and numerous corrections (image duplication, etc.) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Retraction for Martinez et al., Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 alpha (LC3)-associated phagocytosis is required for the efficient clearance of dead cells | PNAS

Retraction for Martinez et al., Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 alpha (LC3)-associated phagocytosis is required for the efficient cl...

www.pnas.org

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

A fair amount of interest in this article. @forbetterscience.bsky.social

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 24

‪Real story behind retraction of @science.org arsenic-bacteria travesty"Tossed into the mix was the stubborn advocacy by Paul Davies of the existence of “shadow biosphere”on Earth/hypothesis enjoys neither evidence nor rationale" www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/arseni... @sarahscoles.bsky.social‬

The ‘arsenic life’ paper’s retraction is good – but the process was poisonous

The failings of peer reviewers, editors, journalists and authors led to a 15-year struggle to retract an article that should never have been published in the first place. But does the withdrawal of a ...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Sep 1

Leonid, Good to hear from you. I looked for you on Twitter to tag you but couldn't find you. I'm glad to see you here. Yes, there is no question that you highlighted FC. I'll include you in updates. The story about how the EEoC came about is a fascinating one.

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 29

“Purdue has created this situation by massively increasing the student population, by having insufficient housing and parking for the people on campus, and by now cutting its support for public transportation,” Sanders said. www.purdueexponent.org/city_state/p...

Purdue says it worked with city amid parking, bus change debate

The city of West Lafayette has expanded paid parking in phases this summer. Councilman David Sanders said Purdue created the situation while the university said they expanded parking and bus options.

www.purdueexponent.org

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 29

The other IOVS article with an Expression of Editorial Concern "Close examination reveals pixel-wise differences and do not allow us to draw a conclusion of duplication, although we also cannot rule out duplication/cloning." WRONG STANDARD iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx...
@retractionwatch.com

Expression of Concern for: Assessment of Neuroprotective Effects of Glutamate Modulation on Glaucoma-Related Retinal Ganglion Cell Apoptosis In Vivo | IOVS | ARVO Journals

iovs.arvojournals.org

David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 29

Finally, an expression of Editorial Concern for two
IOVS articles about which a number of us have been concerned because of image cloning iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx... Persistence pays.

Expression of Concern for: Retinal Ganglion Cell Apoptosis in Glaucoma Is Related to Intraocular Pressure and IOP-Induced Effects on Extracellular Matrix | IOVS | ARVO Journals

iovs.arvojournals.org

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 28

"But image expert and sleuth David Sanders told us the addendum is “inadequate in multiple senses.” While the correction applied to two proteins, the “problematic” data involve the expression of a third, he said."

Retraction Watch @retractionwatch.com · Aug 25

A 23-year-old paper has received an addendum for “possible inadvertent errors” in the figures. But a sleuth says the update doesn’t address issues with the work.

‘No misconduct here’: Author defends addendum that sleuth says is ‘inadequate’

A 23-year-old paper has received an addendum for “possible inadvertent errors” in the figures. But a sleuth says the update doesn’t address issues with the work. The 2002 paper, which describ…

retractionwatch.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 27

“The argument that an image concerning protein expression somehow justifies thoroughly flawed images of RNA levels is absurd,” Sanders said. “extent & nature of the problems with the figures would,in my opinion, dictate that the article should have been retracted" retractionwatch.com/2025/08/25/n...

‘No misconduct here’: Author defends addendum that sleuth says is ‘inadequate’

A 23-year-old paper has received an addendum for “possible inadvertent errors” in the figures. But a sleuth says the update doesn’t address issues with the work. The 2002 paper, which describ…

retractionwatch.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 24

‪Real story behind retraction of @science.org arsenic-bacteria travesty"Tossed into the mix was the stubborn advocacy by Paul Davies of the existence of “shadow biosphere”on Earth/hypothesis enjoys neither evidence nor rationale" www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/arseni... @sarahscoles.bsky.social‬

The ‘arsenic life’ paper’s retraction is good – but the process was poisonous

The failings of peer reviewers, editors, journalists and authors led to a 15-year struggle to retract an article that should never have been published in the first place. But does the withdrawal of a ...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 22

The graphic used in the NASA press conference shows the arsenic completely replacing the phosphorus in the DNA (8:45) despite the complete absence of evidence for any incorporation of arsenate into the DNA.

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David Sanders @davidsanderssci.bsky.social · Aug 22

the authors were aware of the problem,as illustrated by data in a supplementary table in their paper. But they were so enamored of their hypotheses that they wished it away & doubled down on the rigor of both their results & their interpretation of them www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/arseni...

The ‘arsenic life’ paper’s retraction is good – but the process was poisonous

The failings of peer reviewers, editors, journalists and authors led to a 15-year struggle to retract an article that should never have been published in the first place. But does the withdrawal of a ...

www.timeshighereducation.com

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