Journals join paper chase to root out mistakes

On June 13 the New England Journal of Medicine retracted and republished a landmark study on the Mediterranean diet - and issued five other corrections - after an obscure report last year scrutinized thousands of articles in eight journals published over more than a decade and questioned some of the methods used.

Separately, Cornell University said it was investigating "a wide range of allegations of research misconduct" raised against a prominent food marketing faculty member.

The New England Journal's review did not alter any conclusions and should raise public trust in science, not erode it, said its top editor, Jeffrey Drazen, PhD.