For scientists, having to retract a paper is like a kick to the gut. It means that your work cannot be verified, and thus is likely either 1) an error or 2) a fabrication. So it comes as something of a surprise that Nobel prize-winning scientist Linda B. Buck had to retract a 2001 Nature paper this week, citing an inability to reproduce the reported findings, and "inconsistencies between some of the figures and data published in the paper and the original data."

Nobel winner Joshua Lederberg, recognized as one of the founders of the field of molecular biology, died this past weekend at the age of 82. Lederberg made key discoveries about gene exchange in bacteria—he basically figured out they can have sex, and dont simply reproduce through cell division.