5 hours ago
Fraud, compromise, and groupthink: How warped research incentives undermine science
https://www.acsh.org/news/2026/09/30/fra...ne-science
INTRO: Science is supposed to correct its own errors. In practice, distorted academic incentives often block that quality control. Universities produce far more PhDs than faculty jobs, then judge survival by grants—especially federal awards that benefit the schools themselves. Researchers who stray from funders’ preferred questions face stalled careers. The unfortunate result is groupthink that often hinders scientific progress... (MORE - details)
Shaken Baby Syndrome: Junk science or not? When lawyers set scientific standards
https://www.acsh.org/news/2026/09/29/sha...-standards
INTRO: Shaken Baby Syndrome has increasingly been branded “junk science,” not because the medical consensus has disappeared, but because courts, some expert witnesses, and the media have created disputes over how these injuries occur. The real question is not whether every SBS prosecution is correct, but whether uncertainty in an individual case justifies discarding a diagnosis supported by a substantial body of medical evidence... (MORE - details)
https://www.acsh.org/news/2026/09/30/fra...ne-science
INTRO: Science is supposed to correct its own errors. In practice, distorted academic incentives often block that quality control. Universities produce far more PhDs than faculty jobs, then judge survival by grants—especially federal awards that benefit the schools themselves. Researchers who stray from funders’ preferred questions face stalled careers. The unfortunate result is groupthink that often hinders scientific progress... (MORE - details)
Shaken Baby Syndrome: Junk science or not? When lawyers set scientific standards
https://www.acsh.org/news/2026/09/29/sha...-standards
INTRO: Shaken Baby Syndrome has increasingly been branded “junk science,” not because the medical consensus has disappeared, but because courts, some expert witnesses, and the media have created disputes over how these injuries occur. The real question is not whether every SBS prosecution is correct, but whether uncertainty in an individual case justifies discarding a diagnosis supported by a substantial body of medical evidence... (MORE - details)