2006年VOA标准英语-Scientific Magazine Acts to Restore Public Conf

By Jessica Berman
Washington
29 November 2006

The well-known scientific journal Science should require more information from authors, especially if their papers are likely to generate a lot of public attention. That's the conclusion of an independent panel that investigated the publication by Science of fraudulent stem cell research. VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

derived1 model of Alpha, the larger half of the binary2 near-Earth asteroid3 on the cover of Science's November 2006 issue" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070510/1105370.jpg" width="145" vspace="2" border="0" />

Radar-derived model of Alpha, larger half of the binary near-Earth asteroid on cover of Nov. 2006 issue

In 2005, the scientific community was outraged⁴ when it learned of one of the most high profile fraud cases in history: a group of researchers, led by South Korean biomedical scientist Hwang Woo Suk, claimed for the first time to have derived stem cells from the cloned embryos⁵ of 11 patients.

Stem cells can potentially be manipulated to develop into any tissue of the body, and the news suggested that scientists had jumped a major hurdle⁶ in customizing the growth of new organs to replace diseased ones.

The landmark⁷ research was published by Science. But there was one problem. Most, if not all, of the embryos turned out to be fake or never existed at all.

"The fraud was so convincing that peer reviewers didn't catch it, that many U.S. scientists who had heard the work described at small meetings in great detail by Hwang and his collaborators and U.S. scientists who had visited that laboratory in South Korea were surprised and even astonished when the work turned out to be fraudulent," said Donald Kennedy, editor in chief of Science.

The magazine assembled an independent assessment⁸ committee to investigate the fraud.

The reviewers concluded that, with the pre-publication review process the magazine used, it was unlikely Science could have detected the deception⁹.

The committee said the system Science has used is based on trust, in which editors merely look for flawed experiments and inconsistencies with other related research.

The committee is recommending that the editors of Science add a strong dose of skepticism when reviewing articles, particularly high-profile research, and that includes asking the authors for the source of their information and insisting that they provide complete data.

John Braumann, the chair of the independent assessment committee, says around 10 articles a year are submitted to Science for publication that probably should receive this kind of scrutiny¹⁰ but, even with stricter editorial oversight¹¹, he says the system is not perfect.

"We can ask for more detail when necessary," he said. "But none of us think[s] that all fraud can be detected. But we do think it can be deterred¹²."

Because of the high profile nature of some of the studies, Braumann says some scientists may try to gain personal recognition or financial gain by misrepresenting their work.

"And we're concerned that science continue to be viewed by the public as an enterprise in which truth is paramount," he added.

Science editor Donald Kennedy says the magazine is now creating a screening process for high-profile research papers, including those dealing¹³ with stem cells and global warming, while it considers whether to adopt other measures.

1 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 binary   

adj.二，双；二进制的；n.双(体)；联星

参考例句：

• Computers operate using binary numbers.计算机运行运用二进位制。
• Let us try converting the number itself to binary.我们试一试，把这个数本身变成二进制数。

3 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

4 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

5 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

6 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

7 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

10 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。