Catching up: PLoS Pathogens apologizes for retracting XMRV ...

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind in Retraction Land, thanks to a big study of retractions in PNAS and a lot of resulting press coverage. So we didn?t have a chance to update readers on an ongoing story and discussion involving the PLoS journals.

As ScienceInsider was first to report last week, the editor of PLoS Pathogens, Kasturi Haldar, has now apologized for retracting a paper allegedly showing a link between the XMRV virus and prostate cancer without having contacted the second of two corresponding authors. Retraction Watch readers may recall that Haldar told us on September 19:

The authors were contacted by email on August 27th regarding our decision, and were asked to comment on the retraction text and suggest changes. We did not receive a reply, and decided to move forward with the retraction in conjunction with the PLOS ONE publication yesterday, September 18th.

Here?s part of Haldar?s blog post on the matter, posted on September 28:

PLOS Pathogens communicates with authors through the corresponding author. This is our standard practice. We invited commentary through the corresponding author with whom we communicated during manuscript submission and review. The email address was and is current: the individual is an advisory member of our editorial board. We have apologized for not contacting the second corresponding author. Our expectation was that the first would discharge responsibilities to all remaining authors. We have since corresponded with all authors.

ScienceInsider reported that the Robert Silverman, the corresponding author who wasn?t contacted by the journal, thought a correction would have been enough, while Joe DeRisi, the other corresponding author, felt differently:

On Saturday, DeRisi posted a response to the retraction, in which he said he agreed with it. But whether he received the 27 August e-mail, and if so, why he failed to respond or to alert his co-authors, remains unclear. (DeRisi did not respond to multiple emails and voice messages from ScienceInsider.) Silverman says he cannot comment on DeRisi?s inaction; ?Suffice it to say we have not been in contact for a long time,? he says. As to the journal?s apology, ?I accept it, and I really appreciate it,? he says.

The discussion over the retraction had already prompted Haldar and PLoS editorial director for medicine Virginia Barbour to write a post explaining their retraction policy. Some of the language in that post drew heavy criticism from Retraction Watch readers and others, to which Barbour replied saying one particular phrase ? ?If a paper?s major conclusions are shown to be wrong we will retract the paper? ? has been ?pulled out of the blog and over/misinterpreted.? In the second half of the September 28 blog post, Barbour reiterates that PLoS is ?not making a new policy here.?

Related: Ivan and Barbour discuss retractions with Nature?s Richard van Noorden on the BBC?s Material World.?

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Source: http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/catching-up-plos-pathogens-apologizes-for-retracting-xmrv-prostate-cancer-paper-before-contacting-a-corresponding-author/

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Proud to be a part of Teachers & Social Media ? Teaching the Teacher

Image used under creative commons licence

It?s been a long time in the making but Teachers & Social Media has finally been launched. As I alluded to back in February, I was asked by Teachers Council to sit on the?reference group?for the project. ?It?s been really interesting to be involved in the development of this resource but what?s been the hardest has been?not blogging and tweeting about the project.

Bloggers love to share and keeping this experience quiet has taken a fair bit of willpower.

But now that the site has been launched, I am relatively free to write on the topic.

To say I was surprised to get an email asking me if I was interested in contributing to the project was a bit of an understatement. After all being a first year teacher what could I have to offer? However, I have rambled and ranted about social media use a lot on this blog. So what I lack in teaching experience, I more than make up in?opinions on the subject teachers? use of Social Media. It felt really?satisfying?to know that my work my actually influence people?s thinking on this topic.

Although the experience was ?great to be part of there were multiple times where I wondered why on earth I add extra workload into my first year of teaching. And yes there ?were some emails that sat in my inbox for waaaay too long while projects in the classroom took my attention. Nevertheless, I?m proud of what the awesome people at Teachers Council have produced and happy to be associated with the final outcome.

My participation in the project got me thinking.

Does being connected help get you?recognized?

This is a difficult subject to writing about without being labelled as being?smug, arrogant,?conceited?, or even all three but here goes.

Because the more I think about it, I simply wouldn?t have had the?opportunity?to be part of this project if I didn?t have a social media presence. I?m sure the cynics out there would go ?well duh it?s a social media reference group of course they need a few social media junkies.?

But when I look back on my experience of finding a teaching job, something that is really tough in today?s market, my social media presence meant I secured a?permanent?position relatively quickly.

When I look at so many of the ideas that I?ve implemented in the classroom, they?ve come through social media.

When I look at the submission project in?particular?so much of what made the project effective, simply wouldn?t have happened without me being out there participating in social media.

I see such an immense value in being connected to not only other members of the global profession but also to wider society. And these connections have opened up?opportunities not just for me but more importantly for my students.

Popular media stories of teachers using social media are almost always all bad. Career-ending tweets and the ever-present concerns about?cyber-bullying.? I?m not saying that these issues aren?t serious and shouldn?t be worthy of consideration.?However this fear is also ?holding back?innovation. Because being connected is an opportunity for me as a teacher to learn and maintain relevance with the ever-changing world.

Perhaps the Teachers & Social resource might actually change the course of our conversations in social media in education away from the risk of being connected towards more the risks in not being connected.

On the way home of my student submitters remarked, that the experience is something that the wanted to mention when they apply for a job.

To me this was a bit of a?eureka?moment.

Could social?media?have the potential to bridge that often-maligned gap between ?school learning? and the ?real world?? Could ?the networks and knowledge that students develop when completing projects become the?launching?pad for a great career?

I?m not sure of the answer to that question but in the mean time being involved with this particular project has formed a great entry to show how I am meeting the Registered Teacher Criteria.

Source: http://traintheteacher.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/proud-to-be-a-part-of-teachers-social-media/

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SpaceX set to launch with cargo for International Space Station

The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center Sunday evening.?From the space station crew's standpoint, some of the most precious cargo could well be ice cream.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / October 7, 2012

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule attached on a rollout demonstration test in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Tuesday. On Sunday night, the private space company will attempt to launch another capsule full of food, clothes and science experiments for the astronauts at the space station.

Jim Grossmann/NASA/AP

Enlarge

The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday evening ? kicking off a series of at least 12 resupply missions NASA has ordered up under a $1.6-billion contract with Space Exploration Technologies, based in Hawthorne, Calif.

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The mission, utilizing SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket topped with the company's cargo-carrying Dragon capsule, follows on the heels of a successful test flight to the space station in May.

During that mission, Dragon delivered just over 1,000 pounds of cargo that NASA officials said wouldn't represent a significant set-back for the space-station program if something went wrong during the mission. This time, Dragon is carrying 882 pounds (nearly a ton when packaging is included) of more-precious cargo: experiments and hardware for the US, European, and Japanese laboratories; additional components needed to maintain the station; and crew supplies.

IN PICTURES: Launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket

From the space station crew's standpoint, some of the most precious of all the cargo could well be ice cream Dragon is bringing up ? not the freeze-dried kind, but real ice cream, kept in a new lab freezer Dragon will deliver. It's part of a shipment of "bonus food" the space agency periodically sends. The freezer is designed to preserve samples from biology and life-science experiments running on the station for return to Earth.

Indeed, Dragon's ability to return cargo to Earth is unique among the unmanned cargo craft the station's international partners provide. NASA's space shuttles were the only other vehicles able to do this. But NASA flew its final shuttle mission in July 2011, and the orbiters now are museum pieces.

All of the other cargo craft operating, as well as the capsule a second US company is building to supply commercial cargo service for NASA, become trash incinerators once they leave the station. They and the refuse they carry burn up on reentry.

Dragon is slated to return to Earth with 1,673 pounds of cargo, including components from the station's life-support system that failed and were replaced with on-orbit spares.

"It's good to be able to have that capability back," says Michael Suffredini, NASA?s space-station program manager. It saves money when hardware needs to be repaired and sent back to the station, and it allows engineers to examine the components to figure out why they failed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ybo6_jbFs8M/SpaceX-set-to-launch-with-cargo-for-International-Space-Station

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Logitech Announces Newest Harmony Remote

Although I’ve tried and / or reviewed universal remote controls in the past, I have yet to actually adopt one for my own home theater setup. I think the time has come though and the new Harmony Touch remote from ?Logitech might be the one to do it for me. The Harmony Touch features a [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/10/08/logitech-announces-newest-harmony-remote/

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Romney leads by four points in post-debate survey

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pew-romney-leads-4-post-debate-survey-200329539--politics.html

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gulftoday.ae | Cellphone can ruin your relationship: Research

LONDON: New research has found mobile phones can damage personal relationships merely with their presence no matter they are being used or not.

According to psychologists who conducted the experiments at Essex University, mobile phones automatically trigger thoughts about wider social networks, reducing the level of empathy and understanding in face-to-face conversations, ?Daily Mail? reported.

The two studies found if a mobile was visible during a conversation it caused people to feel less positive towards the person with whom they were talking.

The findings suggest fiddling with one's cellphone or simply leaving it in view during a romantic dinner or a meeting with a friend could be a serious social faux pas.

"In both studies we found evidence mobiles can have negative effects on closeness, connection, and conversation quality," said lead researcher Andrew Przybylski.

The studies were the first designed to check the effects of a mobile phone being present on face-to-face communication.

Indo-Asian News Service

Source: http://gulftoday.ae/portal/e1746c91-c8de-4a00-83e5-31e745f76db9.aspx

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49ers set franchise yards record, beat Bills 45-3

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? One of the most prolific passing performances of Alex Smith's eight-year career again put the Buffalo Bills on the wrong end of a San Francisco 49ers record.

Smith threw for a season-high 303 yards and three touchdowns, Frank Gore ran for 106 yards and a score, and the 49ers amassed a franchise-record 621 yards in blowing by the Bills 45-3 on Sunday.

Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis each eclipsed 100 yards receiving to back Smith from the start. The 2005 No. 1 overall pick threw TD passes of 43, 28 and 10 yards and surpassed 300 yards passing for only the third time in his career.

Rian Lindell kicked a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter before San Francisco (4-1) scored the final 42 points to hand Buffalo (2-3) its second straight embarrassing loss.

San Francisco's previous best was 598 yards in a 34-31 loss to Buffalo on Sept. 13, 1992.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 126 yards and an interception, and the Bills rushed for only 89 yards, most with the game well out of hand once again.

The Bills allowed 45 second-half points and 580 total yards in an embarrassing 52-28 home loss to New England last week. Beginning a two-week road trip, Buffalo's baggage also traveled to the West Coast.

Since taking a 21-7 lead against the Patriots last week, Buffalo has been outscored 90-10. The Patriots and 49ers combined to gain 1,178 yards. And with the 49ers shredding the New York Jets last week, they've outscored opponents 79-3 the past two weeks.

With the Bills unable to slow anybody down on defense, San Francisco abandoned its usually conservative game plan to deliver a scintillating show in the air.

Smith completed 18 of 24 passes and won for the first time when he threw for 300 yards. He also had a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the first half, when he threw for 237 yards ? a career best for a half.

The longest completion Smith had in the first four weeks was for 29 yards. In the first half alone, he completed a 53-yarder to Davis that set up a field goal by David Akers, a 43-yard touchdown to Kyle Williams and hooked up with Crabtree for 36 yards.

Williams took the back-shoulder pass from Smith, spun away from a defender and ran the final 10 yards free into the end zone. Williams fell to his knees, raised his arms and nodded to the sun-splashed crowd at Candlestick Park after giving the 49ers a 10-3 lead.

Every time the Bills blew an opportunity ? and they blew plenty ? the 49ers capitalized.

Backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick fumbled on an end-around and Buffalo took over at its own 17. Two plays later, Patrick Willis stripped Scott Chandler, San Francisco recovered and Smith floated a 28-yard touchdown to Crabtree to put the 49ers in front 17-3 with 24 seconds to go before the half.

A holding penalty on Jairus Byrd wiped out a punt return Leodis McKelvin took for a touchdown in the first quarter. The offense failed to score any points after McKelvin returned a kickoff 59 yards. And after a 12-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly 6 minutes stalled in the second quarter, Lindell kicked a 31-yard tying field goal for Buffalo's first score.

Smith led another touchdown drive that featured Kaepernick gaining 15 yards on a sweep and ended one play later when Gore dove over the pile for a TD that extended San Francisco's lead to 24-3.

Chris Culliver intercepted an underthrown pass by Fitzpatrick just shy of the goal line to end Buffalo's best chance to reach the end zone all afternoon.

Smith also tossed a 10-yard TD pass to Mario Manningham, Kaepernick ran 16 yards for a score and Anthony Dixon added a 3-yard run for the final touchdown.

Bills defensive end Mario Williams wore a small stabilizer on his left wrist instead of the brace he sported the first four weeks. He grabbed at his wrist after a short catch by Davis in the second quarter, never had a sack and was a complete non-factor against the 49ers offense.

Then again, so were most of his teammates.

Buffalo, which snapped an eight-game road losing streak with a Week 3 win at Cleveland, started a string of four of its next five on the road with another setback. The Bills will practice in Arizona next week to get ready for the Cardinals instead of traveling back East, similar to what the 49ers just did staying in Ohio between games at Minnesota and New York.

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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/49ers-set-franchise-yards-record-beat-bills-45-233837282--spt.html

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