A very influential nutrition trial just tanked. It was retracted from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on 13 June, and re-published with new analyses and toned-down conclusions. Both Gina Kolata, writingCategory Archives: Scientific controversy
What Does the PREDIMED Trial Retraction & Re-Boot Mean for the Mediterranean Diet?
A very influential nutrition trial just tanked. It was retracted from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on 13 June, and re-published with new analyses and toned-down conclusions. Both Gina Kolata, writingPosted by in clinical trials, Evidence, featured, Health, nutrition, Scientific controversy, Study critique
Signing Critical Peer Reviews & the Fear of Retaliation: What Should We Do?
0000-0002-8715-2896 There’s a sort of Godwin’s Law for discussions on open peer review. Sooner or later, someone’s going to say, “We can’t expect early career researchers to sign peer reviews, because of fear of retaliation”. AndCuriosity to Scrutiny: the Early Days of Science Journalism
1894: “[T]he acknowledged leaders of the great generation that is now passing away, Darwin notably, addressed themselves in many cases to the general reader, rather than to their colleagues. But instead of the currentPosted by in featured, fish, halloween, history, Journalism, Podcast, science communication, Scientific controversy
Post-SPRINT Trial Headaches
On 11 September, some 9,300 participants in the SPRINT trial were sent a letter from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The letter told them the part of the trial where they needed to meet a set blood pressure target is … Continue reading
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Posted by in & Prevention, Evidence, gender, Health, hypertension, Research conduct, Research Reporting, Scientific controversy
The Mess That Trials Stopped Early Can Leave Behind
Many trials end with a whimper. But some end with a bang. Press release, press conference, lots of fanfare – and backlash. The drama of another clinical trial being stopped early burst into public view this month. This time it … Continue reading
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Posted by in Bias, clinical trials, Evidence, history, Research conduct, Scientific controversy, uncertainty
The Value of 3 Degrees of Separation on Twitter
The more interconnected our Twitter networks get, the more the distance between us and total strangers shrinks [PDF]. That’s not always a good thing. Twitter is fabulous. There’s fun, camaraderie, fascinating people, and ideas you wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Victoria Costello … Continue reading
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The Outrage Factor – Then and Now
There’s a lot of outrage about outrage storming around women in science and science journalism at the moment. And fear of causing it, too. It’s easy to cast outrage as inimical to thinking and discussion. It’s not unusual to want … Continue reading
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Posted by in diversity, gender, history, Justice, Risk, science communication, Scientific controversy, women in science
Tricked: The Ethical Slipperiness of Hoaxes
Hoaxes sure can stir up a lot of emotion, can’t they? We tend to have a quick reaction to them, and they flush out differences in values quickly, too. A few days ago, American journalist John Bohannon wanted to … Continue reading
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Posted by in Ethics, Journalism, Research conduct, science communication, Scientific controversy
Evidence Live and Kicking (Part 1)
“Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?” That 2014 editorial by Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues echoed through the hallways leading up to this year’s Evidence Live conference, on now at Oxford University. Day 1 down, and the question is well … Continue reading
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Posted by in Evidence, Health, meta analysis, Research conduct, Scientific controversy
Mind Your “p”s, RRs, and NNTs: On Good Statistics Behavior
P is for pandemonium. And a bit of that broke out recently when a psychology journal banned p-values and more, declaring the whole process of significance testing “invalid”. There’s a good roundup of views about this development from statisticians over at the Royal … Continue reading
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