Prevalence of Problematic Papers in Non-Coding RNA Research

This study examines the prevalence of problematic papers in the rapidly growing field of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) research. Analysis of 153,826 ncRNA papers during 2000-2023 reveals that around 1.79% have been retracted and an additional 5.68% have raised concerns on PubPeer. The number of problematic papers has steadily increased, peaking in 2019 when the concerning and retraction rates reached nearly 10.8% and 3.7%, respectively. These unreliable papers have been widely disseminated, accumulating hundreds of thousands of citations in academic literature, patents, clinical trials, and policy documents, posing a significant threat to research integrity and public health. The main issues identified include image manipulation, data falsification, fake peer reviews, and ethical lapses. The findings call for urgent, comprehensive scrutiny of ncRNA publications and broader reforms to address systemic problems driving the proliferation of problematic research.