Cases of scientific malpractice in Brazil increased significantly between 2009 and 2012, according to a study looking at article retraction in scientific journals. The paper looked at retracted research articles in two major Latin American and Caribbean databases. Out of 2,000 articles from around the world published in the databases between 2009 and 2014, 31 were later pulled back, including 25 articles from Brazil. The study, published in Science and Engineering Ethics, says that this could threaten the country’s growing popularity as a research partner.

Federal prosecutors are investigating an agreement between a Brazilian Federal University and a state-controlled oil company, which allegedly subcontracted tenured staff meant to work solely for the university via an academic foundation. However, after the investigation appeared to show widespread irregularities and fraud, higher education groups in Brazil have denied that there is insufficient transparency in the relationships between public universities and private companies.