Truth-Challenged
Anti-Pesticide
Researchers
Are LUNATIC-LIARS !
They LIE … and LIE
… and LIE … and LIE
Overview
The U.S. Office of Research Integrity finds Federally-Funded Pesticides Researcher GUILTY OF FAKING DATA.
At University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Anti-Pesticide Neuro-Scientist Mona Thiruchelvam FAKED CELL COUNTS in two grant applications and a number of papers that claimed to show how the pesticides paraquat, maneb, and atrazine might somehow affect parts of the brain involved in Parkinson’s Disease.
When the case was passed to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity ( ORI ) for oversight review, agents used FORENSIC COMPUTING SOFTWARE to determine that MANY OF THE FILES, DESPITE HAVING DIFFERENT FILE NAMES AND DATES, WERE IDENTICAL IN CONTENT.
Consequently, Thiruchelvam has agreed to retract two of her papers.
Thiruchelvam LEFT University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and is now BARRED FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL GRANTS FOR SEVEN YEARS.
Moreover, arguing that the whole line of experiments by Thiruchelvam may have been POINTLESS AND BADLY DESIGNED, without regard to data quality issues.
For example, Thiruchelvam ‘s injecting of paraquat directly into the fetal brain tissue of mice was unlikely to do their neural development much good, but that experiment NEVER PROVIDED ANY USEFUL INFORMATION about either pesticides or Parkinson’s Disease.
Anti-Pesticide RESEARCHERS will say ANYTHING in order to get their PAY-OFFS, including FAKING DATA and POINTLESS AND BADLY DESIGNED RESEARCH.
GUILTY OF FAKING DATA
The U.S. Office of Research Integrity ( ORI ) has found that a neuroscientist who studied the effects of pesticides on a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease MADE UP DATA.
On June 29th, 2012, the ORI found that Mona Thiruchelvam FAKED CELL COUNTS in two grant applications and a number of papers that claimed to show how the pesticides paraquat, maneb, and atrazine might affect parts of the brain involved in Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
According to The Scientist ―
A collaborator at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey ( UMDNJ ) first brought the matter to the attention of university research integrity officials a few years after Thiruchelvam joined the university in 2003, when he realized she was PUBLISHING CELL DENSITY DATA WITHOUT USING HIS LAB as she had done before.
An initial inquiry was launched, for which Thiruchelvam provided the name of a researcher in California who she said had provided her with data.
The witness, who Thiruchelvam said by that point had moved to England, was called and confirmed the story, but further investigation by University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey revealed that this was a FALSE WITNESS.
When investigators got a hold of the actual person Thiruchelvam had named, they learned she still resided in California and that she DENIED PROVIDING ANY DATA to Thiruchelvam.
[ Thiruchelvam ] produced 293 data files she said were the product of a confocal microscope system manufactured by the company Micro Bright Field ( MBF ).
When University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey investigators gave Micro Bright Field the data to interpret, the company concluded that the FILES WERE CORRUPTED and couldn’t be verified as real or false.
However, when the case was passed to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity ( ORI ) for oversight review, agents used FORENSIC COMPUTING SOFTWARE to determine that MANY OF THE FILES, DESPITE HAVING DIFFERENT FILE NAMES AND DATES, WERE IDENTICAL IN CONTENT.
The Scientist : Magazine of Life Sciences is a professional magazine intended for life scientists. The Scientist covers reviews of widely noticed research papers, informing its audience of current research, updates to technology, updates to career information, profiles of scientists achieving notoriety, as well as other columns and reports of interest to its audience.
Consequently, Thiruchelvam has agreed to retract two papers ―
• Rodriguez, V.M., Thiruchelvam, M., & Cory-Slechta, D.A. “Sustained Exposure to the Widely Used Herbicide, Atrazine: Altered Function and Loss of Neurons in Brain Monamine Systems.” Environ Health Perspect. 113(6):708-715, 2005, cited 36 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge
• Thiruchelvam, M., Prokopenko, O., Cory-Slechta, D.A., Richfield, E.K., Buckley, B., & Mirochnitchenko, O. “Overexpression of Superoxide Dismutase or Glutathione Peroxidase Protects against the Paraquat + Maneb-induced Parkinson Disease Phenotype.” THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 280(23):22530-22539, 2005, cited 74 times
The Journal of Biological Chemistry paper had already been the subject of a correction in 2008 in which co-author Eric Richfield was REMOVED.
When Richfield was asked why his name was taken off the paper, he DECLINED TO COMMENT.
It is not clear if Richfield is the collaborator referred to in The Scientist story.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry usually prints unhelpful one-line retraction notices saying only whether the study has been retracted by the author or editor, and claims that any other information is confidential.
Given that The U.S. Office of Research Integrity ( ORI ) has given the reasons for this retraction in the Federal Register, we shall see what The Journal of Biological Chemistry publishes.
Thiruchelvam LEFT University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in February 2010, according to The Scientist, and is now BARRED FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL GRANTS FOR SEVEN YEARS.
That’s a longer ban than typically seen in Office of Research Integrity cases.
COMMENT
Some interesting background on this matter in three brief editorials in Toxicological Sciences 100: 1-3 (2007), 103: 217-218 (2008), and 103: 222-223 (2008), arguing that the whole line of experiments may have been pointless and badly designed, without regard to data quality issues.
For example, injecting paraquat directly into fetal brain tissue is unlikely to do neural development much good, but that result doesn’t really tell us anything very useful about either pesticides or Parkinson’s.
For the original copy of this Force Of Nature Report, go to the following link …
NORAHG has archived more information on The Pesticide Truths Web-Site …
THE PESTICIDE TRUTHS WEB-SITE
ENVIRO-TERRORISTS UNMASKED – WRONG FOR OVER 50 YEARS ! ( Web-Page )
MYTH-BUSTING – CANCER, THE MYTH OF ( Web-Page )
MYTH-BUSTING – CANCER, THE MYTH OF – CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY – NO DIRECT PROOF PESTICIDES CAUSE CANCER ( Web-Page )
MYTH-BUSTING – PESTICIDE BANS – THE MYTHS ABOUT ANTI-PESTICIDE PROHIBITION ( Web-Page )
POSITIVE WAVES – PLANET'S GREAT CONSERVATIONISTS ( Web-Page )
THE COMPLETE LIBRARY OF REPORTS & REFERENCES ( Web-Page )