Homeo, 5G and Covid-19 (via Retraction Watch)
Two papers have been retracted: one for advocating homeo in the treatment of infection by COVID-19 and the other for blaming COVID-19 on 5G.
https://retractionwatch.com/2020/07/27/blaming-overflow-of-manuscripts-and-obviously-biased-reviewers-journal-will-retract-homeopathy-covid-19-paper/
Excerpts below:
Blaming overflow of manuscripts and obviously biased reviewers, journal will retract homeopathy-COVID-19 paper.
A public health journal will be retracting a paper that argued for the adoption of homeopathy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to the editor in chief.
We reported on Saturday that the Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice, a Springer Nature title also known by its German name, Zeitschrift für Gesundheitswissenschaften, had published Homeopathy combat against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on June 5.
At the time, we had not yet heard from Joachim Kugler, the journals editor, about how this might have happened. Today, Kugler told Retraction Watch:
You are tipping the finger in an open wound. Over the last weeks, we experienced an overflow of manuscripts, esp. with regard to COVID-19. The paper was reviewed by two reviewers who were obviously biased. Unfortunately, our quality control was not properly working, so the manuscript got accepted. We are now discussing with the publishers to retract this article soon.
In any case, I will write an editorial note.
https://retractionwatch.com/2020/07/26/paper-blaming-covid-19-on-5g-technology-withdrawn/
Paper blaming COVID-19 on 5G technology withdrawn
A paper which argued that 5G cellphone technology could lead to infection with the novel coronavirus has been retracted, but not before scientific sleuth Elisabeth Bik wondered whether it was the worst paper of 2020.
The article, 5G Technology and induction of coronavirus in skin cells, came from a group from Italy, the United States and Russia, and appeared in the Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents. The journal is published by Biolife, which asserts that its peer reviewed but has not responded to a request for comment.
The abstract is now marked WITHDRAWN on PubMed and the paper has disappeared from the journals website. The abstract has been preserved here. According to the authors:
In this research, we show that 5G millimeter waves could be absorbed by dermatologic cells acting like antennas, transferred to other cells and play the main role in producing Coronaviruses in biological cells.
The authors of the paper clearly have a problem with 5G but also with math.
The rest is at those links.