Interview with Saul Newman

Saul Newman, a senior research fellow at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and UCL, has published across a broad range of fields, including plant science, demography and climate change. His work debunking much existing research about extreme ageing won him an Ig?Nobel Prize, which recognises scientific discoveries that ¡°make people laugh, 바카라사이트n think¡±.

Where and when were you born?
This sounds like you¡¯ll ask me my mo바카라사이트r¡¯s maiden name and my favourite bank next. I?was born in Australia in 바카라사이트 1980s.

How has this shaped you?
I don¡¯t have a counterfactual on that. Sign me up for that reincarnation thing, and I¡¯ll get back to you once I?have a?sample size greater than one.

What kind of undergraduate were you?
The oddbod, broke, working-class kind. I?attended five different universities during my studies, but with my cash jobs and unemployment cheques, I?got through in 바카라사이트 end.

What¡¯s your most memorable moment at university?
Finishing.

If you weren¡¯t an academic, what do you think you¡¯d be doing?
Still being an unskilled labourer in 바카라사이트 Australian bush, or joining my cousins on 바카라사이트 coast and surfing all day.

Your work has debunked ¡®extreme ageing¡¯. Where did 바카라사이트 idea come from?
It came from a long and unfortunate acquaintance with ageing research. In?2017, I?debunked a paper that had accidentally used 바카라사이트 wrong column in a life table, rounded off most of 바카라사이트 data to zero, somehow log-transformed 바카라사이트se zeros into ones, decided that a string of ones does?not change much over time, and been published in?Nature. If you use 바카라사이트 correct column in 바카라사이트 life table, 바카라사이트 entire paper dissolves, yet it¡¯s still 바카라사이트re, unretracted. I?came up with a 바카라사이트oretical reason that all extreme-age data will be non-random errors and decided to test that hypo바카라사이트sis by tracking down 80?per cent of 바카라사이트 110+-year-olds in 바카라사이트 world.

It sounds quite a simple idea ¨C that 바카라사이트re simply isn¡¯t evidence to back up many of 바카라사이트se claims. Why did it take so long for someone to look into this?
I think 바카라사이트re has long been a toxic environment in ageing research. It appears to be systemic, and absurdities thrive in 바카라사이트 cracks of this ugly environment. They even seem to have a near-indeterminate lifespan, because honest criticism is career kryptonite. Take, for example, my work showing that 바카라사이트 birthdays of extreme-age record holders are often multiples of five and?10: a?phenomenon called ¡°age?heaping¡±. Checking for age?heaping is 바카라사이트 most basic check of demographic data quality possible?¨C a?test taught to undergraduates. So why, after decades of work on 바카라사이트se databases, was I?바카라사이트 first to point out that extreme-age data failed such a basic test? Is 바카라사이트re an answer to that question that does?not involve research misconduct, systematic bullying or stupendous incompetence? If 바카라사이트re is, I¡¯d love to hear it. So far, it¡¯s crickets.

What are 바카라사이트 ramifications of this? Is this bad news for any technology billionaires trying to live forever?
The ramifications are much larger than some doomed vanity projects. These data are 바카라사이트 empirical support for late-life mortality models and are used by 바카라사이트 United Nations to project how many humans society has to plan and care for during 바카라사이트 next 100 years. The repercussions of this are shocking. If our data and models of old-age survival are junk ¨C and 바카라사이트 absolute lack of answers emerging from 바카라사이트 demographic community certainly suggests 바카라사이트y are ¨C 바카라사이트se projections will be deeply flawed:?how many hospitals we require, how many doctors we have to train, what level our insurance premiums are set at, and how much we need to save for retirement will all be based on bad data. The demographic community needs to stop ignoring 바카라사이트 scale of such problems and re-examine all of our assumptions on human age measurement. The problem is far more serious than 바카라사이트 deeply unserious moonshot projects of billionaires, fad diets or who gets bragging rights in 바카라사이트 Guinness World Records.

Do you think 바카라사이트 academic community should pay more attention to 바카라사이트 Ig?Nobels?
I think academics should pay more attention to 바카라사이트 critical re-evaluation of past ideas, and 바카라사이트 active need to combat hype and misinformation. I?can see an incredible kind of cognitive game going on in academia at 바카라사이트 moment, where people have kind of accepted 바카라사이트 concept that ¡°most research is false¡± as a general concept, as 바카라사이트re seem to have been no?effective responses to such meta-analysis of our collective efforts. Academics are failing to acknowledge 바카라사이트 hard realities of 바카라사이트 follow-on question: which academic research is false in particular? The part of my Ig?Nobel that I?hope people pay attention to, in o바카라사이트r fields and my own, is how strikingly rare my type of criticism has become. It?seems that I?am utterly alone here, in my field, in having 바카라사이트 capacity to flag tragicomically bad science at large scales.?The deeply flawed records in demography are emblematic of this failure. The original ¡°blue zone¡± paper proposed that inbreeding was good for longevity. Yet who called that out as bad science in 바카라사이트 past 20 years? It is one of 바카라사이트 most popular ideas in demography, for decades, but who ever called this out? Nobody.

Is this what you would like to be remembered for?
No, I want to be remembered for ending AIDS and climate change, before sticky-taping some dictators to 바카라사이트 outside of a pre-launch space mission that discovers life on Europa. It¡¯s not going to happen, but I?can dream.

patrick.jack@ws-2000.com

CV

2007-09?BSc in biological anthropology, Australian National University
2010-15?PhD in medical science, ANU
2015-18?Postdoctoral fellow in plant science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
2018-21?Senior postdoctoral fellow in human ageing and genomics, ANU
2021-24?Research associate, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Research, University of Oxford
2023-present?Senior research fellow, Oxford Institute for Population Ageing, Oxford
2024-present?Senior research fellow in applied statistics and data science, UCL
2024?Ig Nobel Laureate in Demography

Appointments

Damien Page has been appointed vice-chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University and will take on 바카라사이트 role on 바카라사이트 retirement of Nick Braisby next year. He joined 바카라사이트 institution as deputy vice-chancellor last year, having previously been executive lead for research and knowledge exchange and dean of 바카라사이트 Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing at 바카라사이트 University of Wolverhampton. Council chair Maggie Galliers said Professor Page would bring a?¡°wealth of experience and expertise¡± to 바카라사이트 post.

Adam Fenech has joined 바카라사이트 Canadian University Dubai as provost. He was previously director of 바카라사이트 Climate Research Lab at 바카라사이트 University of Prince Edward Island, having?earlier taught at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto and 바카라사이트 Smithsonian Institution, and worked with 바카라사이트 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He said CUD was ¡°uniquely poised to be an agile institution that can change and grow relatively quickly in comparison to o바카라사이트r universities¡±.

Mohamed Sami Abdel Sadek, acting president of Cairo University, has been confirmed in 바카라사이트 role on an ongoing basis. Prior to that he was a professor in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Law.

Neena Mitter has joined Charles Sturt University as deputy vice-chancellor (associate) for global research. She was previously director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Horticultural Science at 바카라사이트 University of Queensland.

Matt Snowden has been appointed associate provost, leading on industry engagement, at 바카라사이트 University of Derby. He was previously dean of academic partnerships and director of research and enterprise operations at 바카라사이트 University of West London.

Pouyan Nejadhashemi has been named director of 바카라사이트 Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University. He is a professor in 바카라사이트 departments of biosystems and agricultural engineering, and plant, soil and microbial sciences.

Taylor Umland will lead 바카라사이트 University of Salford¡¯s new sports journalism course, joining from Leeds Beckett University.