In 2011, Diederik Stapel, a bright social psychologist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, was suspended for fabricating data on a study that brought him much praise. At the Guardian, Stephen Buranyi profiles the team of researchers from the university’s psychology department, Chris Hartgerink and Marcel van Assen, who have since focused their research on scientific fraud.
Search results
Posted inEditor's Pick
Shakespeare’s Genius Is Nonsense
Literary critics and cognitive scientists are finding common ground through the study of Shakespeare’s revolutionary use of language.
Posted inStory
The Man Who’s Going to Save Your Neighborhood Grocery Store
American food supplies are increasingly channeled through a handful of big companies: Amazon, Walmart, FreshDirect, Blue Apron. What do we lose when local supermarkets go under? A lot — and Kevin Kelley wants to stop that.
Posted inBooks, Business, History, Nonfiction, Story
The Second Half of Watergate Was Bigger, Worse, and Forgotten By the Public
Watergate revealed that multinational corporations, including some of the most prestigious American brands, had been making bribes to politicians not only at home but in foreign countries.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Growing Up Around Funeral Homes Didn’t Prepare Me for Death
As the daughter of a funeral director, Jodie Briggs thought she knew all about death. Then her dad almost died.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
Learning About Memory from a Woman Who Lost Hers
Lonni Sue Johnson was a successful illustrator, when the herpes simplex virus attacked her brain; she lost almost her entire lifetime of knowledge, along with the ability to form new memories. Michael Lemonick describes how she’s invaluable to neuroscientists working to understand how we make and store memories.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Genius of Pinheads: When Little Brains Rule
In Scientific American, Erik Vance reports on how the tiny brain of the orb weaver spider — a creature that weighs between .005 milligrams and three grams — is just as adept at complex tasks as exponentially larger spiders. This “brain miniaturization” “may hold clues to innovative design strategies that engineers might incorporate in future […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
End Pain Forever
Steven Pete has a rare neurological condition that makes him unable to feel pain. Pam Costa has the opposite neurological condition — she feels pain constantly, as if her body is on fire. They both share a genetic link that has helped scientists understand why we experience pain and how to treat it.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
The Inward Empire
A new father with early-stage MS sets out to understand the interiors of his daughter’s mind, and his own.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
Evolution and Chill: Survival Is No Longer Just About Competition
Scientists are taking a second look at the effect of cooperation on evolution.
