By Ed Silverman // February 13th, 2012

The growing concern over fraudulent medical research has landed squarely on the national radar screen. There are often debates over published research, of course, as scientists attempt to validate and replicate work - especially potentially groundbreaking work - that captivates the medical community, patients, policymakers and investors.

But you know fraud is getting worse when a blog pops up to cover nothing but retractions in medical journals (see Retraction Watch) and then 60 Minutes pays attention. An episode last night featured the spectacular crash-and-burn incident involving Duke University and Anil Potti, whose worked was touted as a game changer for cancer research.

Interestingly, the scientific papers that Potti published were scoured and skewered, but a Duke committee still determined nothing was out of whack until The Cancer Letter published an item that Potti had a little fib on his resume. Unfortunately, this particular fabrication is what it took to convince enough people that fraud can occur anywhere, even at the best universities. Watch the clip to learn the full story...

Sources:cbs.com and  theoneclickgroup.co.uk