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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

@elisabethbik.bsky.social

49K followers 32K following 2.3K posts

Science integrity consultant and crowdfunded volunteer, PhD. Ex-Stanford University. Maddox Prize/Einstein F Award winner NL/USA/SFO. #ImageForensics @MicrobiomDigest on X. Blog: ScienceIntegrityDigest.com Support me: https://www.patreon.com/elisabethbik

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 12d

Abstract deadline for the International Research Integrity Conference in Sydney, 16-18 November, is September 29!
researchintegrityconf.com
Speakers: Jennifer Byrne, Cyril Labbé, James Heathers, Ben Mol, Ivan Oransky, David Vaux, Annie Butler, and many more (me!).

Banner from the IRIC website, showing Sydney Harbor seen from the North at sunset, with lots of sail boats on the (blue) water, and Harbour Bridge on the left. In the distance the skyline of downtown.

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 4h

I did find a train that actually went - thank goodness. Last time, we had to take a EUR 200 taxi to make it to the Eurostar.

Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 4h

Arrived in Berlin for the 3rd Young Scientist Cancer Congress.
Hope to see some of you there!
#YS2C

Photo of the Alexanderplatz train station, showing a big rounded structure with glass, and red letters spelling ALEXANDERPLATZ. In the background a cloudy, gloomy sky, with the big Berlin TV tower. It looks like the tower is sprouting out of the train station, but it stands behind it.

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 8h

Fantastic news! And a big congrats! I hope you will keep on swimming against the current and do more great things!

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Reposted by Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

Anna Abalkina @abalkina.bsky.social · 9h

I’m honored to be named one of Tagesspiegel’s “100 Researchers of Berlin” for 2025, featured in today’s category “Swimming against the current.” Grateful to be recognized alongside inspiring researchers who challenge convention and push boundaries

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 10h

The lack of information is so sad. All the app does is tell me that there is a disruption, not which trains will actually go.

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 10h

Last time I was in the Netherlands, and trying to get to London by train, the NS had a big disruption and there were no trains going between Rotterdam and Breda. We had to take a very expensive taxi.

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 10h

Oh great. I am in the Netherlands trying to get to AMS airport and there are no trains going to the airport. The Dutch railways NS app says there are fewer trains, but there is just no train going. No bus bridge offered.

Screenshot from NS, the Dutch Railways app, showing “Disruption” with all trains going from Utrecht to Schiphol (AMS airport)

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 1d

This is quite an interesting way of analyzing these type of repeats. I have no idea why this image got so many. They are not even in the brown parts.

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 1d

Congrats here as well, Charles!

Reposted by Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

Charles Piller @charlespiller.bsky.social · 1d

I’m deeply honored to have been named as the recipient of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. It recognizes my work on scientific integrity for Science Magazine over the last five years. 1/7 tinyurl.com/zz54fzyr

Charles Piller wins 2025 Victor Cohn Prize - CASW

tinyurl.com

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 1d

Another retraction (#10?) for Srikanta Dash at @tulaneu.bsky.social

I reported this to the journal and the university in March 2021 - more than four years ago.
Despite 10 retractions, he is still a full professor at Tulane.

sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Screenshots of two figures from the paper, both are showing green fluorescent cells on a black background. I have added colored boxes to highlight duplications/overlaps.

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 1d

Proofig did not catch any of these, but it did flag a duplication in another figure in the same paper. ImageTwin flagged one of the bigger duplications, so I started looking more carefully and found lots of these by eye, aided by Forensically.

Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 2d

The 2025 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

Cartoon from the Nobel Assembly showing the three prize winners, their names, and “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 2d

Yes! and many more!
But you won an Emoji Award: 🏅
Congrats!

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 2d

An Oncotarget pearl.
Find at least five sets of duplicated areas.
#ImageForensics

Panel from a scientific paper. It shows a photo of a tissue slice, with blue nuclei and here and there some brown staining, with arrows highlighting areas called "SC" or "CA".

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Reposted by Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

Sholto David @sholtodavid.bsky.social · 2d

Recent MDPI paper including diagram of a bacterial cell with a mitochondrion 🤦‍♀️ The authors propose a mechanism for the toxicity of silver nanoparticles: "Ag+ ions in AgNPs bombard the bacterial mitochondria’s electron transport chain, resulting in cell death".

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Reposted by Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 3d

Just posting this. Everyone knows why.

Text of the fourth amendment “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

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Reposted by Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 4d

A baby has died of whooping cough in Mississippi amidst their worst pertussis outbreak in more than a decade.

If you have a loved one with an infant or are near babies a lot, please consider getting a pertussis booster, as is recommended by legitimate science and healthcare professionals.

Mississippi Baby Dies of Whooping Cough Amid Rising Cases

A baby in Mississippi has died of whooping cough for the first time since 2012. The baby was less than two months old—too young for vaccination.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 3d

25 y hahaha I am just an average swimmer.

Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 4d

And, yesterday, we got our flu and Covid shots, one in each arm. So we are also ready for winter!

Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 4d

World-renowned wildlife photographer against the algorithm. Tim Flach and the new challenges he's facing against AI.

www.bbc.com/reel/video/p...

World-renowned wildlife photographer against the algorithm

Tech Now meets British wildlife photographer Tim Flach facing new challenges from AI mimicking his images.

www.bbc.com

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 4d

I went for a nice swim (60 laps, just under 40 min), finished my peer review, did an interview with a journalist, and checked some papers for image duplications. Now I am ready for the weekend!

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Reposted by Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist

Retraction Watch @retractionwatch.com · 4d

We don’t know if it’s the fastest retraction ever, but the speed is nonetheless notable: A journal retracted a paper 22 hours after a sleuth raised concerns about the article.

Journal issues speedy retraction in less than a day for ‘inadvertent mistake’

We don’t know if it’s the fastest retraction ever, but the speed is nonetheless notable: A journal retracted a paper 22 hours after a sleuth raised concerns about the article. On August 9 jus…

retractionwatch.com

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Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 4d

More of this, please!

Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 5d

I think it has two eyes, but one on each side, so all photos just show one eye.