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Silenced watchdog highlights power behind rampant science fraud
Forbes ^ | January 9, 2013 | Bill Frezza

Posted on 01/17/2013 5:39:55 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Those of us concerned about the decaying credibility of Big Science were dismayed to learn that the whistleblower site Science Fraud has been shut down due to a barrage of legal threats against its operator. With billions of dollars in federal science funding hinging on the integrity of academic researchers, and billions more in health care dollars riding on the truthfulness of pharmaceutical research claims, the industry needs more websites like this, not fewer.

Regular readers of Retraction Watch, a watchdog site run by two medical reporters, got the news along with a story about the blog’s anonymous editor, who has since come forward and identified himself as Professor Paul Brookes, a researcher at the University of Rochester. Operated as a crowdsourced reference site much like Wikipedia, Science Fraud, in its six months of operation, documented egregiously suspicious research results published in over 300 peer reviewed publications. Many were subsequently retracted, including a paper by an author whose lawyer sent Science Fraud a cease and desist letter.

Given the tens of millions of dollars in misappropriated research funds that financed this small sample of what is surely a larger problem and the cascading pollution of the scientific literature whenever fraudulent publications get cited, it’s a shame that this tip-of-of-the-iceberg effort at cleansing the muck is being shut down rather than expanded.

Attempts to interview Dr. Brookes were not successful. One can just imagine what he is going through for the sin of trying to shine a light into the dark corners of the guild that controls the flow of money, tenure, prestige, and publications in the insular world of Big Science...

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Conspiracy; Miscellaneous; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: catastrophism; despicable; godsgravesglyphs; governmentscience; junkscience; legalthreats; sciencefraud; stringtheory; whistleblowers; xplanets

1 posted on 01/17/2013 5:40:06 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: 3D-JOY; abner; Abundy; AGreatPer; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; alisasny; ALlRightAllTheTime; ...

PING!


2 posted on 01/17/2013 5:41:11 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Happy New Year!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

(( ping ))


3 posted on 01/17/2013 5:45:37 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Big Bump.


4 posted on 01/17/2013 5:50:04 PM PST by Track9 (hey Kalid.. kalid.. bang you're dead)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

There is a lot of money and political power out there if only they can get scientific backing for their schemes and products. On the other hand, valid science doesn’t necessarily pay all that well.


5 posted on 01/17/2013 6:21:07 PM PST by JimSEA
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I witnessed this phenom at close hand when I consulted with an R&D company. One of my contractors was a naturalized citizen and spoke a foreign language. He ran into an acquaintance from the old country at the R&D lab, who told him in their language of the pressures to produce, and how he had faked data to get by. We were then tasked with a decision whether to blow the whistle. I admit, I left it up to the contractor, since he was the one who witnessed it, giving him the names of the people to contact.


6 posted on 01/19/2013 11:03:07 AM PST by Albion Wilde (Gun control is hitting what you aim at. -- Chuck Norris)
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To: ForGod'sSake; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; ...

Thanks Tolerance Sucks Rocks. Right up an alley or two?
Those of us concerned about the decaying credibility of Big Science were dismayed to learn that the whistleblower site Science Fraud has been shut down due to a barrage of legal threats against its operator... Regular readers of Retraction Watch, a watchdog site run by two medical reporters, got the news along with a story about the blog’s anonymous editor, who has since come forward and identified himself as Professor Paul Brookes, a researcher at the University of Rochester. Operated as a crowdsourced reference site much like Wikipedia, Science Fraud, in its six months of operation, documented egregiously suspicious research results published in over 300 peer reviewed publications. Many were subsequently retracted, including a paper by an author whose lawyer sent Science Fraud a cease and desist letter.
A multi-list ping, first one in a while.


7 posted on 01/21/2013 7:03:17 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: 75thOVI; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; aristotleman; Avoiding_Sulla; ...

Thanks Tolerance Sucks Rocks.


8 posted on 01/21/2013 7:11:42 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks Tolerance Sucks Rocks.

Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


9 posted on 01/21/2013 7:13:04 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...

Thanks Tolerance Sucks Rocks.
 
X-Planets
· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe ·
Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

10 posted on 01/21/2013 7:13:19 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: 6SJ7; AdmSmith; AFPhys; Arkinsaw; allmost; aristotleman; autumnraine; Beowulf; Bones75; BroJoeK; ...

Thanks Tolerance Sucks Rocks.

· String Theory Ping List ·
Silly String Ordinance
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· View or Post in 'blog · post a topic · subscribe ·


11 posted on 01/21/2013 7:13:19 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: SunkenCiv

I wonder why they had to put “Illegal” in quotes.


12 posted on 01/21/2013 11:33:28 AM PST by wideminded
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To: Eric Blair 2084

Research fraud ping.


13 posted on 01/21/2013 10:21:01 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: SunkenCiv; Tolerance Sucks Rocks

~bump~


14 posted on 06/01/2014 8:21:42 AM PDT by ForGod'sSake (What part of "Fundamentally transforming the United States of America" don't the LIV understand?)
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To: ForGod'sSake; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ...

Thanks ForGod’sSake.


15 posted on 06/01/2014 2:19:11 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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Bookmarking


16 posted on 06/01/2014 2:23:12 PM PDT by RandallFlagg (Uninstall Fascist Firefox. Get Pale Moon.)
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