Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology was contacted by “concerned readers” regarding “AI-generated figures”1 in an article by Guo et al. on February 13, 2024.2 Since the article did not “meet the standards of editorial and scientific rigor” for the journal, it was retracted on February 16, 2024.1
The article received enormous attention in non-academic media according to Altmetric statistics. As of January 1, 2025, this includes coverage from 43 news oulets and 12,391 X users.
Warning
Some viewers may find figure 1 disturbing. I certainly did.
References
1Frontiers Editorial Office. Retraction: Cellular functions of spermatogonial stem cells in relation to JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024;12:1386861. doi:10.3389/fcell.2024.1386861
2Guo X, Dong L, Hao D. RETRACTED: Cellular functions of spermatogonial stem cells in relation to JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024;11. doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1339390