A whopper of a retraction.

[NNadir]

I never quite saw one quite like this:

Retraction of “Soft-Matter Nanotubes: A Platform for Diverse Functions and Applications” Toshimi Shimizu, Wuxiao Ding, and Naohiro Kameta Chemical Reviews 2025 125 (16), 8049-8049.

The authors retract this article (DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00509) because the following referenced works have been retracted: 12, 33, 34, 36, 40, 51, 52, 61, 98, 114, 115, 131, 134, 142, 162, 168, 244, 260, 275, 276, 292, 541, 554, and 555. These references are important components of this article, and as a result, the narrative and claims presented can no longer be upheld. As such, the article is being retracted.

The original article was published on February 4, 2020 and was retracted on August 13, 2025.

All the referenced articles were the work of "Dr." Kameta, who has apparently disappeared:

Chemist in Japan up to 40 retractions

"Dr." Kameta has an interesting smile.



The co-authors of the Chemical Reviews article are not implicated.

Wow.

How does something like this go on so long?

Perfect for the age of the orange pedophile, fraud run rampant.

[erronis]

1. I think I see a similarity to "Doctor" Oz there with a dash of rfk.jr.

[NNadir]

2. Good point.

[mike_c]

3. wow!

I used to discuss membership in a "culture of honesty" with my first year biology students. This is the sort of example I gave them, formerly respected scientists disgraced and their careers destroyed. Notwithstanding a great new illustration of the consequences for dishonesty, I'm awfully glad I'm retired now.

[NNadir]

4. You may enjoy going to the website "retraction watch" linked in the OP.

My wife shared it with the graduate students and post docs, even some undergraduates, where she works and they were very appreciative.

Sometimes, of course, really good and important scientists get caught in the crossfire of scientific fraud, like poor Karen Ashe, the Alzheimer's scientist, wounded by the fraud of her post doc, Sylvain Lesne.