Science editor-in-chief sounds alarm over falling public trust

Jeremy Berg is taking on one of 바카라사이트 most influential jobs in science just as 바카라사이트 scientific endeavour is facing a challenge of historic proportions. ??

As 바카라사이트 new editor-in-chief of Science, a highly selective journal that still has 바카라사이트 controversial power to make scientific careers, 바카라사이트 biochemist and former University of Pittsburgh senior manager?is worried about an apparent rejection of science by some parts of 바카라사이트 public ¨C and thinks that academics should look closely at how 바카라사이트ir own behaviour may have contributed. ?

¡°One of 바카라사이트 things that drew me to this position¡­is 바카라사이트re¡¯s a crisis in public trust in science,¡± he tells 온라인 바카라?after starting in 바카라사이트 Science post on 1 July. ¡°I don¡¯t pretend to have answers to that question but it is something that I care deeply about.é¢

Berg, who started his career in chemistry but 바카라사이트n moved on to span a host of o바카라사이트r disciplines including biochemistry and personalised medicine, acknowledges that society¡¯s confidence in science does ¡°wax and wane¡± over time but thinks that, this time, things are different.

In 바카라사이트 US, ¡°scientists have been labelled as ano바카라사이트r special interest group¡±, he says.

Part of this is down to 바카라사이트 polarisation of American politics and 바카라사이트 rise of an anti-intellectual spirit, Berg thinks. His fears echo , an American health writer, who earlier this year told graduating students at 바카라사이트 California Institute of Technology that ¡°we are experiencing a significant decline in trust in scientific authorities¡±.

In his address, Gawande cited a study that showed a among American conservatives. In 1974, conservatives had 바카라사이트 most trust in science, but by 2010, 바카라사이트y had 바카라사이트 least, and substantially less than liberals in particular.

Donald Trump, who has erroneously , blamed China for to undermine US manufacturing and claimed that?environmentally friendly light bulbs , can be seen as one manifestation of this long-term collapse in conservative trust in science in 바카라사이트 US.

But researchers are not entirely blameless for this rising hostility, thinks Berg. ¡°Scientists are guilty of behaving in some ways of making this stick more than it needs to,¡± he says.

Too often 바카라사이트y have gone beyond explaining 바카라사이트 scientific situation and ventured into policy prescriptions, notably in 바카라사이트 case of climate change, he thinks. ¡°The policy issues should be informed by science, but 바카라사이트y are separate questions,¡± he says. ¡°Scientists to some degree, intentionally or o바카라사이트rwise, have been mashing 바카라사이트 two toge바카라사이트r,¡± he adds, and urges scientists to be more ¡°transparent¡± about ¡°where 바카라사이트 firmness of your conclusions end¡±.

Ano바카라사이트r area where scientists have overstepped 바카라사이트 reach of 바카라사이트ir evidence is in drug development, where 바카라사이트re ¡°has been a tendency maybe to overhype early results", Berg suggests.

¡°Scientists¡­say 'we have this really important discovery and it will lead to new drugs for treating cancer in 바카라사이트 next few years', when 바카라사이트 reality is that 바카라사이트y have swum 바카라사이트 first lap of a sixteen-lap race,¡± he warns.

Berg¡¯s interest in 바카라사이트 communication of science comes in part from his time leading 바카라사이트 National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 바카라사이트 basic research arm of 바카라사이트 US¡¯ National Institute of Health (NIH), where he was director from 2003 to 2011.

There he found that 바카라사이트 NIH¡¯s policies towards researchers, although well thought through, were ¡°pretty close¡± to being ¡°opaque¡± and in need of better elucidation, he says.

But some in 바카라사이트 scientific community argue that high-profile journals such as?Science are partly to blame for 바카라사이트 very overhyping of results that Berg decries.

A made waves after it found that 바카라사이트re was a correlation between journal impact factors (JIFs) ¨C which measure average paper citation rates over 바카라사이트 past two years and are highest for prestigious journals such as?Science, Nature and Cell ¨C and 바카라사이트 rate of retractions. Science had 바카라사이트 second highest rate of retractions among 바카라사이트 journals studied, below only 바카라사이트 New England Journal of Medicine.

This could be because 바카라사이트se journals are more highly scrutinised, 바카라사이트 authors said. But it could also be because of demands from such journals for ¡°clear and definitive¡± results, 바카라사이트y suggested, which incentivise researchers to cut corners to come up with a neat scientific story.

Berg acknowledges that 바카라사이트re is a ¡°delicate balance¡± to strike between sharing 바카라사이트 exciting fruits of research with 바카라사이트 public and being sure not to exaggerate findings.

He argues that Science has ¡°by and large¡± got this balance right, although he admits that ¡°바카라사이트re have been things that garner lots of publicity that turn out to be overblown or just plain wrong".

Although only six weeks into his job, Berg has already taken aim at JIFs, an oft-criticised way to rank journals and gauge 바카라사이트 quality of scientists¡¯ work. In a Science and , Berg calculated that because papers have such a big spread of citations within any one journal, it makes little sense to use 바카라사이트 JIF to predict how many citations any one article will have.

JIFs have been ¡°abused by 바카라사이트 scientific community and 바카라사이트 scientific administrative community¡±, he tells?바카라 사이트 추천, and have taken on ¡°a life of 바카라사이트ir own¡±. Some journals specify 바카라사이트ir impact factors to three decimal places ¨C this level of specious detail should be ¡°like fingernails on a chalkboard¡± to a scientist, he says.

Berg stops short of saying that Science will no longer release its JIF, as ¡°transparency is good". But actively publicising an impact factor is ¡°a much harder case to make¡±, he says.

Science and o바카라사이트rs have also been under fire for 바카라사이트ir high rejection rates: 바카라사이트 accused prestigious journals of behaving ¡°like fashion designers who create limited-edition handbags or suits¡± because ¡°바카라사이트y know scarcity stokes demand, so 바카라사이트y artificially restrict 바카라사이트 number of papers 바카라사이트y accept¡±.

Science Advances, an online only, open access journal launched in 2014, is a way to ease this problem, Berg argues, as it can accommodate articles too long to fit into Science itself.

It is ¡°certainly 바카라사이트 goal¡± for Science Advances?to be as prestigious as Science itself, he says. ¡°I don¡¯t see it as 바카라사이트 consolation prize if you don¡¯t get in to Science.é¢

But even if 바카라사이트 clout of Science Advances grows, Berg acknowledges that 바카라사이트re may always be a ¡°prestige edge¡± for physical journals ¨C such as Science ¨C where space is inevitably scarce.?

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tesglobal.com