Read the full article by LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN and WILLIAM J. BROAD in The New York Times. (December 20, 2005)
"Science is often said to bar dishonesty and bad research with a triple safety net. The first is peer review, in which experts advise governments about what research to finance. The second is the referee system, which has journals ask reviewers to judge if manuscripts merit publication. The last is replication, whereby independent scientists see if the work holds up.
"But a series of scientific scandals in the 1970's and 1980's challenged the scientific community's faith in these mechanisms to root out malfeasance. In response the United States has over the last two decades added extra protections, including new laws and government investigative bodies.
"And as research around the globe has increased, most without the benefit of such safeguards, so have the cases of scientific misconduct."
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