The rate of article retractions in the biomedical and life-sciences literature has risen tenfold in the last 35 years. Most retractions are due to fraud, plagiarism and other misconduct, said a study published online Oct. 1 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The proliferation of journals and the intense competition for research grants and academic tenure may be contributing to the growing problem, experts said. Along with continuing concerns about researchers’ financial relationships with industry, the rise of scientific misconduct adds yet another reason for practicing physicians to scrutinize carefully what they read in medical journals, they added.

My latest. Read the whole shebang.