Overview
- Researchers reviewed 608 animal studies and found 243 with problematic images, including duplicated Western blots and reused tissue micrographs presented as different conditions.
- The team combined the ImageTwin matching tool with manual checks and documented image reuse both within single papers and across unrelated fields such as Alzheimer’s disease and lung cancer.
- So far, 19 papers have been retracted and 55 corrected, yet publishers have taken no editorial action on roughly 65% of the flagged studies.
- Nearly 90% of the flagged papers listed corresponding authors at Chinese institutions, and the authors suggest paper mills may help explain the post‑2014 publication surge and cross‑paper reuse patterns.
- Loma Linda University is reviewing the work of John H. Zhang, and journals’ responses vary widely, with some issuing expressions of concern or corrections that still contain image issues.