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Don't believe the hype: When that DATA seems just too good

Life lessons from medical science

Look for the retract papers

So authors who fake their data are more likely to get caught out eventually than someone publishing in a predatory journal with little profile in the scientific world.

What is more, the publishers of real journals respond to accusations of wrong doing and will generally retract papers when there is evidence of research misconduct or fraud.

This is not the case with the others – those only interested in grabbing the money.

In the case of GcMAF, to come back to that example, a number of papers have already been retracted (here, here and here) in legitimate journals, none from the predatory journals.

Also, in February this year, the UK’s Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) raided a GcMAF production facility in Milton, Cambridgeshire.

More than 10,000 vials were seized and production stopped. MHRA warned that First Immune are unlicensed medicines in the UK and have not been tested for quality, safety or effectiveness.

MHRA also said while it’s not received any reports of side effects from those having taken this product, it warned against starting treatment with these specific products. The Reg contacted by email one of the people identified as an author of those GcMAF studies, Nobutu Yamamoto.

We asked Yamamoto what scientific research had been conducted to support claims made about GcMAF on cancer, HIV and autism, when the research was conducted, where, by who, and what methods were used. Also, if he had a comment about Cambridgeshire in particular or a comment in general about the danger of manufacture and sale to the public of unlicensed GcMAF-based products?

We hadn't received a response at time of writing.

At the end of the day journals that publish fake and questionable data might be little more than an annoying scam – the scientific equivalent of Nigerian 419 calls and emails – but when you add to that mix the activities of those manufacturing unproven claims, we have a problem that might actually harm people. ®

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