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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent

Genetics journal retracts 18 papers from China due to human rights concerns

a view of an alleged former detention centre, known as Yengisheher-2, in Shule County in Kashgar in China's northwestern Xinjiang region
Some of the retracted papers were based on research drawing on DNA samples from Xinjiang and Tibet, where human rights are under threat. Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

A genetics journal from a leading scientific publisher has retracted 18 papers from China, in what is thought to be the biggest mass retraction of academic research due to concerns about human rights.

The articles were published in Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine (MGGM), a genetics journal published by the US academic publishing company Wiley. The papers were retracted this week after an agreement between the journal’s editor in chief, Suzanne Hart, and the publishing company. In a review process that took over two years, investigators found “inconsistencies” between the research and the consent documentation provided by researchers.

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