Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏

@tomk

Clinical microbiology in LMIC & ID Epidemiology. Concerned about inequities and scientific integrity, yet dyed-in-the-wool optimist. All views my own, but I share because sharing is caring. (he/him/his)

2,242 Following3,272 Followers1,950 Posts

Bluesky

Is this your profile?Claim it and tomk.dirty.social is yours.Claim profile

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 18h

Thanks for the notice! 🙏 You were right, Victor SUNDAY Aigbodion is a male, like most fraudsters🥸. Well, they don't say their pronouns, but it looks like.♂️ His affiliation is University of Nsukka, Nigeria.🇳🇬 Vera Victor-Aigbodion from U Joburg has a much lighter retraction count.😅

Headline of Victor Sunday Aigbodion from University of Nsukka Nigeria. The picture shows a short-haired person wearing shirt, suit, and tie, which suggest a male individual.
Found on the university website: https://engineering.unn.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/10/Dr-Victor.pdf

ENGR. DR. VICTOR SUNDAY AIGBODION
B.Eng(met), M.Sc(met), Ph.D(met), R.COREN, MNSE, MNMS, MASM
Senior Lecturer/Researcher
DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
University of Nigeria, Nsukka Nigeria

Argos author analysis of Vera Victor-Aigbodion from University of Johannesburg, as of 16 Aug 2026
https://www.scitility.com/argos

Author analysis
Vera Victor-Aigbodion
Search retractions by author name
Search results for Vera Victor-Aigbodion - Showing 1 matching authors with entries on our database
Vera Victor-Aigbodion
Works count: 40
Retractions count: 1
Expressions of concern count: 0
Cited by count: 318
HIndex: 10
Randomized controlled evaluation of the effect of music therapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy on social anxiety symptoms - Retracted

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 3d

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 10d

Thinking of making myself a tattoo out of it

Figure 1 of Guest and al., 2025 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17786243

The important dimensions of CAILs across research and education;
The image shows a pentagram/pentagon linking all 5 dimension clockwise from 12 o’clock: Conceptual Clarity is the idea that terms should refer. Critical Thinking is deep engagement with the relationships between statements about the world. Decoloniality is the process of de-centring and addressing dominant harmful views and practices. Respecting Expertise is the epistemic compact between professionals and society.Slow Science is a disposition towards preferring psychologically, techno-socially, and epistemically healthy
practices. The lines between dimensions represent how they are interwoven both directly and indirectly.

Devil pentagram with the 5 icons of important dimensions of CAILs across research and education, as from Guest et al, 2025

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 10d

Polls overestimate support for left-wing parties across 32 countries

Figure 4: Posterior mean polling error by party type and country using polls conducted within 30 days of election day

The graph suggests that the overestimation of left parties is present in most of the 32 countries studied.

https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/mkx4c_v1

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 11d

🤔 I thought the 🧠🪱 guy was supposed to "take on ‘Big Pharma’ while leading HHS"

Screenshot from Fox News webpage https://www.foxnews.com/video/6368780751112

America Reports
February 14, 2025
3:40
CLIP
RFK Jr. will take on ‘Big Food’ and ‘Big Pharma’ while leading HHS
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joins 'America Reports’ to discuss the Senate’s confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead Health and Human Services.

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 13d

🤗 last retraction of V.S. Aigbodion is the very first (out of 36) to be for another reason than image manipulation. They have invented values, but instead of randomizing the decimals, they just picked the next key on the keyboard 🥸. One day, I'll write the "Scientific fraud for dummies" handbook!😆

Webpage announcing retraction of an article by VS Aigbodion in TIJAMT as found on https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00170-026-18827-7

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Retraction Note: Experimental correlation between varying processing parameter and compressive strength of polymer-modified cement mortar composites
Published: 31 July 2026
R. S. Odera, O. D. Onukwuli & V. S. Aigbodion
126 Accesses
The Original Article was published on 17 July 2018

Illustration of repeated patterns of values found in a table in a scientific article.
https://pubpeer.com/publications/E8846CA0D11E1E6A35511C90CB4AD1

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 21d

🦠🇺🇲Measles is not the only threat to the US. But it's definitely threatening them. #IDSky #MedSky www.cnn.com/2026/07/24/h...

Cumulative US measles cases
As of July 25, there have been 1,850 more cases than the average annual total for the past decade.

2,318 cases
2025
2,287 cases
2024
283 cases
2023
63 cases
Note: Data updated on July 25, 2026, at 4 p.m. ET.

Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Graphic: Alex Leeds Matthews and Matt Stiles, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/24/health/us-measles-cases-record?cid=android_app

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· 21d

📖 Un joli florilège d'espèces🐚🐠🦚🐕🫎🐦🕷🦌🪴 ayant donné des cheveux gris à Darwin vulgarisé par la philosophe Vinciane Despret et illustré par Pierre Kroll "Dieu, Darwin, tout et n'importe quoi- Histoires naturelles" Ed. Les Arènes #ConseilLecture #Livredel'Eté

Vinciane Despret
Pierre Kroll
Dieu, Darwin, tout et n'importe quoi
Histoires naturelles
Les Arènes

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jul 17

Sans fautes 🎯

LEGRUGRU IA

Posez votre question à l'Intelligence Artificielle :
"Comment définirais-tu le modèle IA contruit par Legrugru?"
C'est COMPLÈTEMENT CON.
Les résultats IA LEGRUGRU peuvent contenir des erreurs, mais c'est vraiment très très rare.

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jul 16

4️⃣ more #SciRetraction for Ayman Atta, from KSU, EPRI in @mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social! 🤝Team work with @mumumouse2.bsky.social @elisabethbik.bsky.social @nvitiensis.bsky.social @nhwise.bsky.social and other @pubpeer.com commenters ❤️ #ResearchIntegrity 🔍 #ImageForensics #FoSci #ThisImageIsFine

Retracted article in MDPI's molecules, available at https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/6/905

Article
RETRACTED: Effect of Montmorillonite Nanogel
Composite Fillers on the Protection Performance of
Epoxy Coatings on Steel Pipelines
Ayman M. Atta 1,2,*, Ashraf M. El-Saeed 2, Hamad A. Al-Lohedan 1 and Mohamed Wahby 3
1 Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;
hlohedan@ksu.edu.sa
2 Petroleum Application Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Nasr City, Cairo 11727, Egypt;
ashrfelsaied@yahoo.com
3 Arki for advanced construction chemicals Co. Ltd., Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; m.wahby@arkichem.com
* Correspondence: aatta@ksu.edu.sa; Tel.: +966-056-155-7975
Academic Editor: Derek McPhee
Received: 20 April 2017; Accepted: 28 May 2017; Published: 2 June 2017; Retracted: 1 July 2026
Abstract: Montmorillonite (MMT) clay mineral is widely used as filler for several organic coatings.
Its activity is increased by exfoliation via chemical modification to produce nanomaterials. In the
present work, the modification of MMT to form nanogel composites is proposed to increase the
dispersion of MMT into epoxy matrices used to fill cracks and holes produced by the curing exotherms
of epoxy resins. The dispersion of MMT in epoxy improved both the mechanical and anti-corrosion
performance of epoxy coatings in aggressive marine environments. In this respect, the MMT surfaces
self-healing materials for epoxy coatings for steel.
nanomaterials
1. Introduction
RETRACTED
were chemically modified with different types of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid
(AMPS) nanogels using a surfactant-free dispersion polymerization technique. The effect of the
chemical structure, nanogel content and the interaction with MMT surfaces on the surface morphology,
surface charges and dispersion in the epoxy matrix were investigated for use as nano-filler for epoxy
coatings.

Retracted article in MDPI's nanomaterials, available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/8/11/878

Retraction
RETRACTED: Al-Hussain et al. Application of New Sodium
Vinyl Sulfonate–co-2-Acrylamido-2-me[thylpropane Sulfonic
Acid Sodium Salt-Magnetite Cryogel Nanocomposites for Fast
Methylene Blue Removal from Industrial Waste Water.
Nanomaterials 2018, 8, 878
Sami A. Al-Hussain 1
, Ayman M. Atta 2,* , Hamad A. Al-Lohedan 2
, Abdelrahman O. Ezzat 2
and Ahmed M. Tawfeek 2
1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU),
Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; sahussain@imamu.edu.sa
2 Surfactants Research Chair, Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University,
Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; hlohedan@ksu.edu.sa (H.A.A.-L.); ao_ezzat@yahoo.com (A.O.E.);
atawfik@ksu.edu.sa (A.M.T.)
* Correspondence: aatta@ksu.edu.sa; Tel.: +966-056-155-7975
The journal retracts the article titled “Application of New Sodium Vinyl Sulfonate–co2-Acrylamido-2-me[thylpropane Sulfonic Acid Sodium Salt-Magnetite Cryogel Nanocomposites for Fast Methylene Blue Removal from Industrial Waste Water” [1], cited above.
Following publication, concerns were brought to the attention of the publisher concerning the integrity of several figures presented in this article [1].
According to the journal’s standard procedures, the Editorial Office and Editorial
Board conducted an investigation that identified indications of inappropriate editing in
Figures 2, 3 and 5. While the authors collaborated during the investigation and provided
supporting materials, the Editorial Board concluded that the concerns could not be resolved
satisfactorily based on the available information.
Consequently, the Editorial Board has lost confidence in the reliability of the reporte

Retracted article in MDPI's nanomaterials, available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/9/12/1693

Article
RETRACTED: Preparation of pH Responsive
Polystyrene and Polyvinyl Pyridine Nanospheres
Stabilized by Mickering Microgel Emulsions
Ayman M. Atta * , Abdelrahman O. Ezzat, Hamad A. Al-Lohedan, Ahmed M. Tawfeek and
Abdulaziz A. Alobaidi
Surfactant Research Chair, Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O.Box-2455,
Riyadh-11451, Saudi Arabia; ao_ezzat@yahoo.com (A.O.E.); hlohedan@ksu.edu.sa (H.A.A.-L.);
atawfik@ksu.edu.sa (A.M.T.)
* Correspondence: aatta@ksu.edu.sa
Received: 5 November 2019; Accepted: 25 November 2019; Published: 3 December 2019;
Retracted: 16 June 2026

Abstract: New pH-sensitive polystyrene, PS, and poly(4-vinylpyridine), P4-VP, nanospheres were
prepared by using surfactant-free method based on soft microgels (Mickering emulsion). The formation
of stable Mickering cyclohexane/water emulsions was investigated by using soft microgel particles of
poly(acrylamide), PAAm, poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid), PAMPS, and sodium
salt of PAMPS, PAMPS-Na, as stabilizers. The dynamic light scattering (DLS), optical microscopy,
and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the optimum conditions and effects
of surrounding solutions on the microgels characteristics and their corresponding Mickering emulsions.
The cyclohexane/water Mickering emulsions stabilized by softer and neutral charged microgels were
considerably more stable under the same conditions. Furthermore, the stimuli-responsive properties
of PAMPS microgel stabilized cyclohexane/water Mickering emulsions suggest the potential utility in
the preparation of PS and P4-VP nanospheres. The effects of pH changes on the morphology, particle
sizes, and surface charges of PS and P4-VP microgels were evaluated to prove the pH-sensitivity of

Retracted article in MDPI's molecules, available at https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/19/7/10410

Molecules 2014, 19, 10410-10426; doi:10.3390/molecules190710410
This paper has been retracted. A retraction notice was published on 14 July 2026 in Molecules 2026,
31, 2455; doi:10.3390/molecules31142455
molecules
ISSN 1420-3049
www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules
Article
RETRACTED: Preparation of Crosslinked Amphiphilic Silver
Nanogel as Thin Film Corrosion Protective Layer for Steel
Ayman M. Atta 1,2,*, Gamal A. El-Mahdy 1,3, Hamad A. Al-Lohedan 1
and Abdelrahman O. Ezzat 1
1 Surfactants Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University,
P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
E-Mails: Gamalmah2000@yahoo.com (G.A.E.-M.); hlohedan@ksu.edu.sa (H.A.A.-L.);
ao_ezzat@yahoo.com (A.O.E.)
2
Petroleum Application Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Cairo 11727, Egypt
3
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of science, Helwan University, 11795 Helwan, Egypt
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: aatta@ksu.edu.sa;
Tel.: +96-611-467-5998; Fax: +96-611-467-5992.
Received: 6 June 2014; in revised form: 9 July 2014 / Accepted: 14 July 2014 /
Published: 17 July 2014; Retracted: 14 July 2026

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jul 16

Hi @spottingthespot.bsky.social ! I don't think that JRX at Saveetha and this Seychelles guy are the same person. There is no mention of Saveetha on that Linked'In profile, and the picture and the profile don't match with that of the 'professor' displayed on the Saveetha website.

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jul 15

🧫 Blood culture bottles are more compatible with non-proprietary automates than one assumes 😄 Good news for low- and middle-income countries! 🌏 Great job of @itmantwerp.bsky.social #IDSky #MicroSky #MedSky #MedicalMicrobiology #ClinicalMicrobiology #GlobalHealth www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Yield heatmap for Blood culture bottles–automat combinations showing excellent yield for most combinations, excepted Autobio bottles on Mindray automat (not compatible). Lowest yield is DL-Biotech bottles on Autobio automat (98% yield).
Figure 2 from Breine et al. Lancet microbe 2026 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanmic.2026.101438

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jun 29

Apparemment, SPF a bien prévenu que ces chiffres étaient préliminaires et sous-estimés, mais peut-être que le message n'est pas bien passé dans la presse. Bulletin hebdo mortalité attendu demain.

Screenshot du communiqué de presse de Santé Publique France:

"Des données partielles qui sous-estiment le nombre total de décès
En effet, cette surveillance réactive des décès est basée sur la remontée des certificats électroniques de décès. Elle n’est pas exhaustive et permet d’enregistrer habituellement environ 60% de la mortalité nationale. La couverture du système est encore hétérogène selon les régions et surtout selon le type de lieu de décès : elle enregistre 25% de la mortalité survenant à domicile, 45% de ceux en EHPAD et près de 80% en établissement hospitalier. Les tendances observées doivent donc être interprétées avec prudence car les données sont sous estimées, en particulier dans les zones et pour les lieux de décès les moins couverts par le dispositif comme les décès à domicile. La mortalité sera en conséquence plus élevée que ces premières données."

https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/presse/lepisode-caniculaire-exceptionnel-marque-par-une-augmentation-des-deces

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jun 24

Jeune fille Hopper #ironème

Edward Hopper - Sunlight in a Cafeteria (1958)

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jun 23

Belle revue de presse! 👏 (un peu effrayante, tout de même) Salutations de Hanoï 🇻🇳, aussi en situation de canicule

AccuWeather 23 juin 2026 15:00 Hanoï, Vietnam
Temp 40℃, RealFeel 46℃

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jun 23

Ouille! 🦠 l'épidémie d'Ebola #Bundibugyo est loin de se terminer 🇨🇩 Elle prend pied au Nord Kivu, où la situation est moins favorable à cause de la sécu et d'une infrastructure sanitaire plus fragile: suivi des contacts plus faible, mortalité plus élevée. 💀 Pas bon.😰

N cas confirmés Ebola, RDC 2026 (jusqu'au 21 Juin)
Le graphique montre une augmentation progressive jusqu'à environ 175 cas en semaine 23, puis 150 cas en semaine 24, et 240 cas en semaine 25.
https://insp.cd/sitrep-n38-mvb_21-06-2026/

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jun 23

Ouch! 🦠 Ebola #Bundibugyo not receding, yet.🇨🇩 The disease gains traction in North Kivu province, where the situation is more difficult bc of security and weaker health infrastructure: lower follow-up rate of contacts, higher mortality. 💀 Not good.😰

Weekly N confirmed Ebola cases, DRC 2026 (until 21 Jun)
Bar chart shows steady increase until approx 175 cases on week 23, then 150 cases on week 24, and 240 cases on week 25.

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Jun 2

Seriously @pubpeer.com ? The antivax, hydroxychloroquine-and-dietary-complements supporter, conspiracy guy roughly says we're a Big-Pharma-paid rabid hounds pack bc we just report CoI, and your moderator congratulates him!!?!? What the 🐸? 👉poke @lonnibesancon.bsky.social pubpeer.com/publications...

PubPeer comment:
Alexis Lacout
comment accepted June 2026

It is quite reassuring to see that there is no substantive comment, just as there is no comment on Raoult’s latest study with 30,000 patients, which definitively proved the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, after the earlier, less perfect studies, and the PRINCIPLE study carried out urgently by the team of Gautret et al.

It would seem that there is a coalition of people who may have other conflicts of interest, commissioned and paid to cause harm, and to promote vaccines, which could not have been promoted in the presence of an effective treatment.

It is a delight to see these reactions, like a swan song, before the truth becomes entirely clear to everyone throughout the world.

[Moderator: we would normally not accept such a comment, but sometimes a beautiful response causes us to relent.]

Available on: https://web.archive.org/web/20260602143528/https://pubpeer.com/publications/5C180D034B11F9D54E5D54327F3288

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 28

I know this place. I've been there. It's a Palestinian refugees camp. 😢 Refugees AND bombed. Nice combo. Gaza playbook. 😡🤮 www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

Photo from the Guardian showing bombing on a Palestinian refugees camp near Tyre, Lebanon

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/may/28/middle-east-crisis-trump-us-iran-war-lebanon-israel-strikes-latest-news-live?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-6a180a6e8f085ed9af25522c#block-6a180a6e8f085ed9af25522c

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 28

I'm laughing my a** out at my desk, and my colleagues must wonder why 😂 www.epicfurious.com DEIyatollah made my day🌈🙏🤣 and I've not finished the game, yet

Image of a vintage fight game with Iranian mollah with a rainbow turban vs a tiny Trump. Text says: "DEIyatollah emerged!"
From: https://www.epicfurious.com/

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 21

unless you're speaking of this kind of key...

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 14

🔉💬I need to know your opinion. Saw this 🚲/🗑 on the street in Hanoi, #Vietnam, today. Is this #StreetArt ?

Picture of a bike with hundreds of pieces of plastic and rubbish attached to it. Hanoi, 2026.

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 11

"The Art of the Deal", also available in Persian/Farsi🤭

Cover of Trump's book "the art of the deal" in Persian/Farsi, from
https://shopipersia.com/product/the-art-of-the-deal-book-by-donald-trump-and-tony-schwartz-farsi/

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 7

Ayman Atta, from 🇸🇦KSU and 🇪🇬EPRI made it to @retractionwatch.com 's learderboard, snatching 2️⃣1️⃣st place... and keeps climbing as he just has been retracted his 41st paper! 📈🏆 🤝Team work with @nvitiensis.bsky.social @mumumouse2.bsky.social and other sleuths #ImageForensics 🕵️‍♂️ #ScientificIntegrity

$Diffractograms present repetitive patterns (rectangles) and other unexpected observations such as ‘floating pixels’ and ‘overhangs’ (blue arrows) suggesting manual editing of the images, from an article by Ayman Atta and colleagues, as reported on PubPeer https://pubpeer.com/publications/11400C39B6683CAEAB0CF73BFDF518$

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· May 7

Study this chart, President DJT.

Bar chart of "Length of Wars 42 Days after Beginning"
Afghanistan war, Iraq war, Vietnam war, US civil war, WWII, Korean War, War of 1812, and "Iran Excursion" all lasted 6 weeks [of course]
tomk@eurosky.social

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Apr 22

Some people dump themselves in the trash bin of History. Examples:

Protestors at the Little Rock state capitol carry signs reading, "Race Mixing is Communism" and "Stop the Race Mixing March of the Anti-Christ." The 1959 rally protested the integration of Little Rock schools.
John T. Bledsoe/Library of Congress
https://allthatsinteresting.com/anti-civil-rights-movement-gallery#29

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Apr 20

This is just an example. doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

Fig. 1. Isolation guidelines for respiratory virus infections in comparison to experimental evidence on transmission routes. Isolation guidelines for all respiratory viruses discussed in this review from National (Working Group Infection Prevention (WIP) [108], from the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)), European (‘The Blue Book’ [109]), American (‘The Red Book’ [110] and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) [3]) and International (UpToDate [111]) organizations are shown on the X-axis, together with the experimental evidence on transmission routes (Table 2). The categories on the Y-axis are the different transmission routes (contact, droplet or aerosol), the absence of guidelines for infection prevention (‘No guideline’), or the limited availability of experimental data (‘Lim. exp. data’). The information shown for influenza virus reflects the guidelines on seasonal influenza virus. Closed squares (■): isolation guidelines for the respective respiratory virus. Open squares (□): guidelines are only for children ≤6 years old. Open circles (○): data from stability experiments only. Open triangles (▵): specific CDC guidelines for Healthcare Professionals [115] (not the isolation guideline [3] used in this review).

The figure shows that MERS, SARS, AV, Flu are presented as transmitted by droplets in most references. MV, PIV, RSV, and RV are also sometimes presented as such.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2018.01.001

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Apr 10

New batch of retractions from @plos.org journals for Didier Raoult and his team for ethics concerns, including more 'helicopter' studies in the #Senegal villages of Dielmo and Diop Retractions count now 5️⃣0️⃣ (I think)🎂 #ResearchIntegrity #Decolonize science 🧪

Screenshot of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Retraction: Coxiella burnetii in Humans and Ticks in Rural Senegal
The PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Editors
Published: April 9, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0014195

The PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Editors retract this article [1,2] due to concerns about compliance with the PLOS Human Subjects Research policy.

The Materials and Methods section in [1] reports that the study involved blood samples collected in 2008 and breast milk samples collected in 2009, as well as saliva and stool samples (collection period not reported). The ethics approval statement reported in this article states that the project was approved by the National Ethics Committee of Senegal and Local Ethics Committee (Marseille, France), but does not report approval reference numbers.

Screenshot of PLoS One

Retraction: Low-dose chest CT for diagnosing and assessing the extent of lung involvement of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia using a semi quantitative score
The PLOS One Editors
Published: April 9, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0346849

The PLOS One Editors retract this article [1,2] due to concerns about compliance with the PLOS Human Subjects Research policy.

Following the publication of the article and Expression of Concern [1,2], PLOS investigated concerns pertaining to the reported ethical approval and the article’s adherence to PLOS One’s research ethics policies.

Specifically, concerns were raised that the study involved human participants but the article did not report Comité de Protection des Personnes (CPP) ethics approval, and the ethics approval number N°:2020–0012 cited in [1] was also reported in [3] despite apparent differences in the reported study period and sample sizes.

Screenshot of PLoS One

Retraction: Eukaryote Culturomics of the Gut Reveals New Species
The PLOS One Editors
Published: April 6, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0346536

The PLOS One Editors retract this article [1,2] due to concerns about compliance with the PLOS Human Subjects Research policy.

The Materials and Methods section in [1,2] reports sampling of stool specimens from individuals from Polynesia, Amazonia, Senegal, and India, but the article does not clarify when these samples were collected. The ethics approval reported in the article refers to agreement #09–022 issued by the Ethics Committee of the Institut Fédératif de Recherche 48 (IFR48), Marseilles, France. The article does not report prospective, local ethics approval from institutions or agencies in Polynesia, Amazonia, Senegal, or India. Furthermore, PLOS noted that the ethics approval number #09–022 was also reported in at least 247 other studies despite apparent differences in the aims and objectives, study locations, study populations, age ranges, methodologies, types of samples collected, and types of consent described in these studies. S1 File contains a summary of articles citing ethics approval number #09–022 of which PLOS is aware.

Screenshot of PLoS One

Retraction: Molecular detection of eukaryotes in a single human stool sample from Senegal
The PLOS One Editors
Published: April 7, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0346619

The PLOS One Editors retract this article [1,2] due to concerns about compliance with the PLOS Human Subjects Research policy.

The Abstract and the Materials and Methods section in [1] report that the study involved stool samples obtained from a volunteer in Senegal. The ethics approval statement reported in this article states that both this study and the assent procedure were approved by the National Ethics Committee of Senegal (CNERS) and the Ethics Committee of the Institut Fédératif de Recherche IFR 48, Faculty of Medecine, Marseille, France (agreement number N° 09–022). PLOS notes that agreement number N° 09–022 was also reported in at least 247 other studies despite apparent differences in the aims and objectives, study locations, study populations, age ranges, methodologies, types of samples collected, and types of consent described in these studies. S1 File contains a summary of articles citing ethics approval number N° 09–022 of which PLOS is aware.

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Apr 10

Nouveau batch de rétractions dans @plos.org pour Didier Raoult et son équipe pour des problèmes éthiques, dont des études 'hélicoptère' dans les villages de Dielmo et Diop au #Senegal Le décompte de rétractions est 5️⃣0️⃣ (si je ne m'abuse)🎂 #IntégritéScientifique #Décoloniser la science 🧪

Thomas Kesteman🦠🧫🔬🌏@tomk· Apr 5

📣The [faked] PREVENT-TAHA8 trial paper was #retracted from @bmj.com after 5 long months 😅 🤝 well done @deevybee.bsky.social @steamtraen.eu @sophieehill.bsky.social @wjst.de @ioanaacristea.bsky.social @gidmk.bsky.social P.T. Wilmhurst and anonymous @pubpeer.com users #ResearchIntegrity 🔍 #FoSci