David Sanders

“It had nothing to do with the shadow biosphere. It had nothing to do with life on other planets, and it had nothing to do with reality,” he said."

Too Many Scientific ‘Discoveries’ Get Discredited From Martian microbes to arsenic-based life, the breakthroughs that often steal the show later turn out to be wrong.

"Purdue University biologist David Sanders said he heard the news on NPR. This was his area of expertise — he’d done work in the relevant area of biochemistry, so he was eager to look into it.
He told me he found a fatal mistake in the scientific paper.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Thanks.

"It seems that the scientists at the NASA Astrobiology Institute remain in denial about the fact the infamous paper & the associated coverage was a tale of catastrophic failure in the institution of science at essentially every level." Thanks to @gcabanac.cpesr.fr for directing me to this comment.

"The paper continues to gain citations...which I would attribute to cringeworthy ignorance, but 1 of the authors of this paper (Voytek) was on stage during the press conference,promoting the "discovery" Why would the authors cite the discredited paper in this uncritical way?"

NeveuM.HaysLE.Voytek,MaryA.New,MH SchulteMD The Ladder of Life Detection Astrobiology 2018,18,1375-1402."This paper cites the infamous "arsenic life" paper w/o even hinting at the credibility of "arseno-DNA"/discussing it in the context of the critical work that followed" pubpeer.com/publications...

What ethical universe does Laxman occupy? If, as in this case, an article was published due to gross negligence by the journal, then it has an obligation to retract it and correct the literature. @elisabethbik.bsky.social @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social @charlespiller.bsky.social @retractionwatch.com

Retraction of Controversial Arsenic-Life Paper Stirs Debate Among Scientists Science retracted a 2010 study that claimed bacteria could use arsenic for growth. Some scientists support the decision, while others find it harsh.

With regard to retraction of the obviously erroneous arsenic bacteria article from Science. Sunil Laxman stated,"This is severe editorial overreach, because correcting the literature is not the job of a journal.” The statement by Laxman is absurd. www.the-scientist.com/retraction-o...

Corrigendum to: An early ‘classical’ swine H1N1 influenza virus shows similar pathogenicity to the 1918 pandemic virus in ferrets and mice [Virology, volume 393/2 (2009) 539, 338 - 345

Principal Deputy Director of NIH Matthew Memoli/Taubenberger corrigendum.
An image duplication (different magnifications) previously unacknowledged is attributed to a "typographical error." @RetractionWatch @MicrobiomDigest @Thatsregrettab1
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“Speed is essential, but it’s never too late to take appropriate action,” he says, recalling that “post-publication peer review is just as important as pre-publication peer review, and at least as good.”

and undermines their claim to be legitimate scientists,” he says. He welcomes this retraction, which he had publicly called for on several occasions. Google Translate

La revue « Science » met officiellement fin à la fausse découverte d’une bactérie extraterrestre Dans un article retentissant publié par la prestigieuse revue scientifique en 2010, une équipe soutenue par la NASA affirmait avoir découvert, sur Terre, une bactérie dotée d’une forme de vie jamais v...

This is what makes David Sanders,known for his investigations into scientific integrity,jump.“The fact that the authors now refuse to acknowledge that the article was based on impossible chemistry,data that didn’t support their conclusions&contamination is appalling.
www.lemonde.fr/article-offe...

Glowing reviews on 'arseniclife' spurred NASA's embrace Glowing peer reviews greased the skids for the 'arseniclife' debate, investigation shows.

Dan Vergano showed the inadequacy of the peer review for the original Science article. www.usatoday.com/story/tech/c...

Why one biologist says it’s not too late to retract the “arsenic life” paper David Sanders An anniversary has prompted this reconsideration of the revolution in biochemistry that wasn’t: the “arsenic bacteria.” Just over 10 years have passed since an infamous Dec. 2, 2010, …

Why the article should have been retracted long ago. retractionwatch.com/2021/01/21/w...

Research-integrity sleuths say their work is being ‘twisted’ to undermine science Some sleuths fear that the business of cleaning up flawed studies is being weaponized against science itself.

“It’s the people who are contaminating the literature, and the journals and institutions that are not taking adequate responses” who are undermining science, says Sanders. “Not the people who are authentically digging up problems in the scientific literature.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The article should have been retracted long ago. Here is why.
retractionwatch.com/2012/07/09/d...

After 15 years of controversy, Science retracts ‘arsenic life’ paper Science has retracted a 2010 paper describing a strain of bacteria that purportedly substituted arsenic for phosphorus, an element present in all known life. Science/AAAS Fifteen years after publis…

Another perspective on the retraction of the arsenic bacteria paper. retractionwatch.com/2025/07/24/s...

Why one biologist says it’s not too late to retract the “arsenic life” paper David Sanders An anniversary has prompted this reconsideration of the revolution in biochemistry that wasn’t: the “arsenic bacteria.” Just over 10 years have passed since an infamous Dec. 2, 2010, …

More on why the arsenic bacteria paper was retracted and should have been retracted long ago. retractionwatch.com/2021/01/21/w...

Why the arsenic bacteria paper was retracted and should have been retracted long ago. retractionwatch.com/2012/07/09/d...

After 15 years of controversy, Science retracts ‘arsenic life’ paper Science has retracted a 2010 paper describing a strain of bacteria that purportedly substituted arsenic for phosphorus, an element present in all known life. Science/AAAS Fifteen years after publis…

As I said previously, "Some people have a hard time understanding the criteria for retraction and have psychological challenges that prevent them from acknowledging the truth." retractionwatch.com/2025/07/24/s...

Sanders said a retraction of the paper“was always warranted if “a fundamental error undermines a substantial part of an article or a major conclusion.”"the case demonstrates the importance&quality of postpublication review: “Timeliness is critical,but it is never too late to take the proper action.”

“The problem was not that later research undermined the conclusions,” Sanders said. “The problem was that the evidence presented in the article was not supportive of the conclusions from the start and that all the results were based on the fact that the arsenate was contaminated with phosphate.”

"Many scientists, including David Sanders, a biologist
at Purdue U, who has previously argued for the paper’s retraction in posts for Retraction Watch, believe the paper’s results were simply the result of contamination of the authors’ materials. He told us he was “glad” to see the retraction"

Microbiome company CEO who linked COVID vaccine to bacterial decline now has four retractions A gastroenterologist and microbiome researcher who has promoted hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as COVID treatments has lost a paper after a sleuth reported differences between the article and th…

Some people have a hard time understanding the criteria for retraction and have psychological challenges that prevent them from acknowledging the truth. retractionwatch.com/2025/07/22/m...

Research-integrity sleuths say their work is being ‘twisted’ to undermine science Some sleuths fear that the business of cleaning up flawed studies is being weaponized against science itself.

“It’s the people who are contaminating the literature, & the journals and institutions that are not taking adequate responses”who are undermining science, says Sanders.“Not the people who are authentically digging up problems in the scientific literature.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...

“I really feel as if the administration is engaged in reverse alchemy, and it’s turning America’s scientific gold into lead,” says David Sanders, a sleuth and biologist at Purdue University. #research #integrity

"And I got responses from so many — 'I'm so glad, I was really worried
about this. I'm so glad to hear it from an expert.'"

During COVID-19, Sanders said, he scoured Facebook for examples of misinformation about the pandemic
and engaged on the platform explaining why the information was misleading.
"I didn’t just say, 'No, this is wrong.' I explained why someone might believe this, why it's a distortion," he said.

Scientists explore how to improve their PR with the general public New generation of practicing scientists aim for better communication to win over a sometimes skeptical public

"Another way to increase accessibility is to meet people where they are, said David Sanders,
a molecular virologist and associate professor at Purdue University." www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...

[Science is]"a form of human expression,said David Sanders, molecular virologist& associate professor@ PurdueU. People often think of art/music as expressions of humanity,but science's endeavor2answer questions&better the human
condition makes it its own kind of artistry" archive.is/202506241953...