http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/another-win-for-transparency-jbc-takes-a-step-forward-adding-details-to-some-retraction-notices/

Brazil is well known to suffer of chronic impunity.

I’m working on USP and the people of my lab are really choked by this accusation. Personally, i don’t know Cury. Heard he is a great guy and heard he is a great villain (to use mild terms), so i really don’t know who is right (please don’t call me a infiltrate agent of his lawyers, i’m trying my best to be impartial and do a high level discussion, ok?). Maybe the accusation is true, maybe not, i will let that to court decide, but you can be certain this will be investigated. I say that for 2 reasons:

1-Everyone has great friends, but also great nemeses too and they never forgive or forget (i know some of Cury and they are nasty piece of work).

2-USP and others 3th world university won’t risky his names because one or two scientists, even the famous ones. The trust in us is already poor, the funding is ridiculous. The name of our institution is all we got to bring the associations so needed by ours labs. Not so long ago we had a professor fired, accused by plagiary by one of his students.

Besides, everyone is talking just about Cury and forgetting about the students. Can be just me, but i believe my PhD is 1000 times more important to me than to my professor. If my results are a mess, i will have much more to lose, because he have another 6 or 7 students and i had spent 3-5 years of life on this study (try guess who have more motive to fraud).

Its a shame but several labs (not just here) have the habit of use something called “trem da alegria” (translate like “train of happiness”?), where 8 or more people sign the article as autors (how many times you see a research where 6 PhD and 2 professors reeeeally participate equally). In those cases its really common several them don’t even read the paper (what is really frustrating if you are the only guy who actually work on the project). Its wrong? Of course it is. As wrong as fraud? I don’t know. I just hope the people finally start to ready the papers where their names are placed. I, for one, don’t put my hands on fire for nobody, be they co-works or friends, and don’t allow my name be put on papers i don’t actually work (don’t matter what my adviser say).

So, i just wanted to say this kind of discussion is really important, because it moves things, bring the media attention e get people to investigate. You all can be certain this will have severe repercussion on the future associations of this professor, if the accusation proved truth (and even if declared innocent, because doubt never vanishes…).

Off topic, but no less important:
Brazil is a country with continental proportions. When you say things like “we know how science is done on those parts” is a really sad mistake from your part, Hibby. If you don’t believe all the people on USA or Europe are the same, don’t accuse me of be a frauder or whatever. You don’t know me or my co-works (and certainly don’t know all the 10 million of people who live just in my city) to say those things. The prejudice and the generalization are two of the worsts enemy’s in the pursuit of truth. (Sorry by that Ivan, don’t mean like a personal attack and tried be polite. Just believe this was a important point to share with all, including for future discussions.)

Really sorry for the strange English, good discussion for all