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Posts by Charles Piller

Thanks to Stephen J. Dubner, Dalvin Aboagye, and colleagues for having me on a great Freakonomics episode about Alzheimer's and my book Doctored. freakonomics.com/podcast/why-...

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“Game-changer” breast cancer study retracted as Indiana researcher out of his post A group of cancer researchers whose work has been questioned by sleuths has been hit with their third retraction in less than a year.   Today, Science Translational Medicine (STM) withdre…

“Game-changer” breast cancer study retracted as Indiana researcher out of his post - findings by @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social retractionwatch.com/2026/04/15/g...

5 days ago 3 1 0 0
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For readers in the UK and Commonwealth nations - Doctored is now out in paperback bit.ly/4clbKIL

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Judge tosses lawsuit over controversial Paxil ‘Study 329’ A judge has dismissed a legal challenge aimed at forcing Elsevier to retract a long-criticized study that concluded the antidepressant Paxil was safe and effective for teens. The 2001 paper, publis…

A monumental head-scratcher: Why won't the journal just retract the study? Judge tosses lawsuit over controversial Paxil ‘Study 329’ retractionwatch.com/2026/04/02/j...

1 week ago 4 1 0 0
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Lecture: Investigating Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in Alzheimer's Research A Talk and Discussion With Investigative Reporter Charles Piller - Knight Science Journalism @MIT Join Charles Piller, a correspondent for Science and investigative reporter, as he discusses his book “Doctored,” an examination into how unscrupulous researchers, government enablers, and Pharma exec...

If you’re in the Boston area, please join me on April 16 for my talk about the tragedy of fraudulent or false Alzheimer’s research – and the response to my book “Doctored.” Talk and reception sponsored by MIT Knight Science Journalism. ksj.mit.edu/event/lectur...

3 weeks ago 3 1 0 0
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RETRACTED: Cognitive effects of cell-derived and synthetically derived Aβ oligomers This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has …

Another paper supporting discredited Alzheimer’s research by Sylvain Lesné on amyloid-beta *56 is retracted – 4 years after it was detected (and the journal alerted) by Matthew Schrag – and verified by @elisabethbik.bsky.social shorturl.at/N0Xqg My investigation from 2022 shorturl.at/qe8Oe

3 weeks ago 29 10 2 1
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Judge upholds 15-year debarment against scientist who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch iStock An appeals judge has recommended the U.S. Health and Human Services uphold a proposed 15-year debarment for a scientist accused of research misconduct more than a decade ago.  In a May …

Judge upholds 15-year debarment against scientist who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch retractionwatch.com/2026/03/26/a...

3 weeks ago 1 0 0 0
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Can a wealthy family change the course of a deadly brain disease? Inspired by the loss of their mother, they have poured millions into studying a key protein behind frontotemporal dementia. But all has not gone according to plan

Fascinating look at efforts by a wealthy family to change the course of a deadly brain disease | Science | AAAS via @jennieerinsmith.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

1 month ago 18 4 0 1
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A medical journal says the case reports it has published for 25 years are, in fact, fiction A Canadian journal has issued corrections on 138 case reports it published over the last 25 years to add a disclaimer: The cases described are fictional. Paediatrics & Child Health, the journal…

I find it hard to be shocked by such admissions, but this one is pretty intense: A medical journal says the case reports it has published for 25 years are, in fact, fiction via @katetravis.bsky.social retractionwatch.com/2026/03/03/c...

1 month ago 4 2 0 0

For more background, see @charlespiller.bsky.social 's reporting in Science here: www.science.org/content/arti...

2 months ago 13 1 0 1
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A collage of three problems highlighted on the relevant PubPeer thread. Each screenshot shows a figure from a scientific paper with photos of tissues (beige with brown cellular structures) and fluorescent cells (black background, green or red fluorescent structures). We have highlighted certain panels that overlap with boxes of the same color.

A collage of three problems highlighted on the relevant PubPeer thread. Each screenshot shows a figure from a scientific paper with photos of tissues (beige with brown cellular structures) and fluorescent cells (black background, green or red fluorescent structures). We have highlighted certain panels that overlap with boxes of the same color.

Another #retraction for former National Institute on Aging division director Eliezer Masliah today.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
pubpeer.com/publications...
Combined work by @mumumouse2.bsky.social , @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social, Matthew Schrag, @charlespiller.bsky.social and me.

2 months ago 36 10 2 1
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This glass wafer could back up your phone—and last 10,000 years Laser-written patterns on glass could store data for millennia at a time

This glass wafer could back up your phone—and last 10,000 years - this might be what I've been waiting 20 years for! www.latimes.com/archives/la-... | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

2 months ago 2 0 0 0
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STAT wins fourth Polk Award for reporting on impact of Trump on health STAT has won its fourth Polk Award in five years for documenting the Trump administration’s shakeup of the FDA, scientific research, and public health.

More well-deserved honors for STAT - Polk Award for reporting on impact of Trump on health www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/s... via @statnews.com

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
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UnEDXpected Peaks Over the past couple of days, I have been reviewing a series of Materials Science papers, all co-authored by the same group of researchers from the Universities of Lahore, Chakwal, and Sargodha in …

UnEDXpected Peaks - New and fascinating data explorations from @elisabethbik.bsky.social scienceintegritydigest.com/2026/02/09/u...

2 months ago 6 2 0 0
CASW Connector Chat: Tips and Tools for Investigative Science Reporting
CASW Connector Chat: Tips and Tools for Investigative Science Reporting YouTube video by CASW ScienceWriting

Thanks to the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing @sciencewriting.bsky.social for hosting me for a webinar on investigative reporting on science, with the great @lizagross.bsky.social Here's the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvxz...

2 months ago 3 1 0 1
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Court challenge could chill reporting of research fraud, say whistleblower attorneys utah778/iStock The U.S. government recently announced a record $6.8 billion in False Claims Act settlements and judgments in 2025, the most in a single year since the law’s enactment 163 years ago.…

Court challenge could chill reporting of research fraud, say whistleblower attorneys retractionwatch.com/2026/02/11/f...

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Controversial Danish vaccine research group faces new allegations Researchers say they couldn’t find complete data for 10 trials that together enrolled tens of thousands of children in Guinea-Bissau

Controversial Danish vaccine research group faces new allegations | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Inside the quest to make a safer football helmet New energy-absorbing designs and materials have revolutionized the iconic safety device

Inside the quest to make a safer football helmet | Science | - great pre-Superbowl examination by Adrian Cho - AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

2 months ago 15 2 0 1
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Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance and Tragedy in Alzheimer’s Research with Charles Piller
Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance and Tragedy in Alzheimer’s Research with Charles Piller YouTube video by TeachEthnobotany

Thanks so much to Cassandra Quave for a great conversation on her podcast Foodie Pharmacology about my book “Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s” – now also out in paperback. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVpf...

2 months ago 2 0 0 0
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Alzheimer's Research Fraud: Charles Piller on Doctored Investigative journalist Charles Piller exposes Alzheimer’s research fraud and the hidden misconduct that delayed cures and reshaped modern science.

Thanks to John R Miles for a great conversation about my book "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's" on his podcast Passion Struck passionstruck.com/charles-pill...

2 months ago 3 0 0 0
Doctored (2025) by Charles Piller – IMMPress Magazine

New review of my book, "Doctored," which was just released in paperback, from a publication of the University of Toronto www.immpressmagazine.com/doctored-202...

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
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To hear some of the reporting details and conclusions of my book, "Doctored," about misconduct in Alzheimer's research, please check out my new interview with Melanie Avalon. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3...

3 months ago 6 1 0 0
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Science journalists: Please join me in conversation with @lizagross.bsky.social on Jan 29 about deep dives into scientific research -- come with questions and ideas to share. Sponsored by @sciencewriting.bsky.social

3 months ago 4 1 0 1
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Alzheimer’s drug developers accuse clinical trial sites of faking data T3D Therapeutics alleges that contract researchers delivered “medically impossible” results on its candidate drug

Nice piece in @science.org by @charlespiller.bsky.social on clinical trial firms: www.science.org/content/arti... (Warning—quotes me) Even gives me the last sentence: "Greely says..'Will you ever know [if trial results are being doctored]? Certainly not if you never look.'”

3 months ago 2 2 2 0
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Excited that a box of the paperback edition of my book, “Doctored” just arrived. On sale everywhere on Jan 13. www.simonandschuster.com/books/Doctor...

3 months ago 3 0 1 0
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Exclusive: Have scientists found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA? Inside the decadeslong quest to reveal the genes of a genius—and revolutionize art authentication

🧪 EXCLUSIVE 🧪 from @science.org: Scientists have swabbed a 500-year-old drawing attributed to Leonardo da Vinci—and may have found a piece of his DNA. www.science.org/content/arti...

Yes, really. A quick thread:

3 months ago 50 24 6 10
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Alzheimer’s drug developers accuse clinical trial sites of faking data T3D Therapeutics alleges that contract researchers delivered

My latest story: Alzheimer’s drug developers accuse clinical trial sites of faking data | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

3 months ago 24 10 2 2
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Another Masliah retraction.

pubpeer.com/publications...

cc: @mumumouse2.bsky.social @elisabethbik.bsky.social @charlespiller.bsky.social and Matthew Schrag.

3 months ago 14 6 0 0
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Cheers to 2025: In which Retraction Watch turned 15, and The Center For Scientific Integrity really became a center We always enjoy our annual review of the year at Retraction Watch, and 2025 is no exception. But we’re more excited about what lies ahead than what we already accomplished.  We’re on track for…

2025: In which Retraction Watch turned 15, and The Center For Scientific Integrity really became a center retractionwatch.com/2025/12/30/c...

3 months ago 4 1 0 0
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Opinion | Reflecting on yet another year of scientific fraud at the University of Minnesota Allegations a scientist doctored images in a paper on Alzheimer’s. Rachel Hardeman's resignation. An investigation into a pediatrician's reports of child abuse. The U saw a number of scientific scanda...

Opinion | Reflecting on yet another year of scientific fraud at the University of Minnesota via @carlelliott.bsky.social "Deny wrongdoing, stonewall reporters, punish dissenters and wait for it all to blow over." www.startribune.com/umn-professo...

3 months ago 9 6 0 1