Pressure on controversial nanoparticle paper builds

The journal Science has posted an expression of concern over a controversial 2004 paper on the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles, highlighting serious problems with the work. This follows an investigation for the US funding body the National Science Foundation (NSF), which decided that the authors had falsified research data in the paper that reported that crystalline palladium nanoparticle growth could be mediated by RNA.¹ The 2013 report on the issue by the Office of Inspector General of the NSF, and a letter of reprimand from May last year, were recently brought into the open by a newspaper article.