Preventing publication of falsified and fabricated data: roles of scientists, editors, reviewers and readers

Recently, the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology retracted two papers for figure irregularities. In an attempt to reduce the number of such cases in future, we provide insights in a number of existing control mechanisms for scientists, editors, reviewers and readers, in the process of scholarly publication. We encourage case-based education using very recent examples from literature, implementation of early detection measures in the editorial and peer review processes, and finally, we emphasize the value of post-publication quality control by readers and means to assist them in such endeavors.