society

Trust in science a weapon to combat misinformation

Trust in science: a weapon to combat misinformation

During the Covid-19 pandemic misinformation has spread like wildfire. How to counter this phenomenon is precisely the topic of the debate held by the ESMH on Friday 20 May 2022, in the European Parliament Liaison Office of Madrid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEQbzRvPFqc An infodemic within a pandemic. One of the most harmful consequences of misinformation is its impact ...

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‘Predatory’ publications put pressure on the integrity of scientific literature

Over two million scientific papers are published every year worldwide. Faced with the pressure to 'publish or perish', researchers can be tempted by journals that charge low publication fees and publish articles of dubious quality. The scale of these 'predatory publication practices' and 'predatory publication journals' is global and can have far-reaching consequences, as such ...

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An expert’s opinion: Interview with David Moher on predatory journals

Professor David Moher, Director of the Canadian Centre for Journalology, a centre that conducts research on publication practices, speaks about the, in his words, "perverse incentives in academia to publish", and about the impact of less trustworthy sources of scientific information on policy. How would you define a ‘predatory journal'? David Moher: In 2019, over ...

Ivan Oransky, Technology business research and learning and people business team working concept

An expert’s opinion: Interview with Ivan Oransky on the perils of scientific publishing

Medical writer Ivan Oransky, co-founder of the blog Retraction Watch and Editor-in-Chief of the autism research news website Spectrum, speaks about the difficulties of assessing the quality of peer review and of retraction, the process of publication withdrawal of articles that display flawed or erroneous data. He offers advice for non-specialist readers of scientific literature. ...

Sylvie Briand, SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19 virus variants alpha, beta, delta, omicron - 3D illustration

A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Dr Sylvie Briand on Omicron

Interview with Dr Sylvie Briand, Director of the Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention department at the World Health Organization (WHO). The rise of new variants, such as Omicron, appears linked to immune-deficient carriers. What is the relationship between the occurrence of these events and vaccination rates? Sylvie Briand: Surely, unvaccinated, immune-deficient people who become ...

SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19 virus variants alpha, beta, delta, omicron - 3D illustration

Omicron, another chapter in the Covid-19 pandemic

Before the winter holidays, a new, more transmissible variant was discovered. By now, Omicron is responsible for most new infections in Europe. What do we know so far? And what are the future possible scenarios?

Ole Heuer, SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19 virus variants alpha, beta, delta, omicron - 3D illustration

A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Dr Ole Heuer on Omicron

Interview with Dr Ole Heuer, Public Health Emergency Manager for the Covid-19 pandemic at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). What do we know about the severity of the symptoms associated with the Omicron variant? Ole Heuer: By 21 January 2022, there were more than 150000 reported Omicron infections in the European ...

Christina Pagel, Female character sitting with mobile phone at workplace. Bullying and humiliation on social media

Christina Pagel: “You have to accept that people will attack you and you cannot defend yourself”

Interview with Christina Pagel, Professor of Operational Research (a branch of applied mathematics) at University College London (UCL) and Director of the UCL Clinical Operational Research Unit. Since May 2020, she has been a member of Independent SAGE, a group of scientists working together to provide independent scientific advice on how to support Britain’s recovery ...