Although we live in the information age, in many ways we may be more misinformed than ever. In the midst of the barrage of news and dubious hoaxes, many people believe that we can only trust science, that it is carried out by a rigorously objective method and that it only offers, supposedly, objective and contrasted conclusions. However, the world of research does not escape from traps and lies, and throughout history numerous scientific frauds have been committed.
Autism and the anti-vaccine movement
One of the scams disguised as science that has done the most damage to public health is the case of Andrew Wakefield and his 1998 study linking the MMR vaccine to autism. As explained in this Nobbot article, it was soon discovered that this very famous work had been made from false data, and there was also talk of possible financial interests on the part of its author. But the damage was done, and even today, when fraud is more than proven, the Wakefield study remains one of the pillars on which the anti-vaccine movement rests.
And this is not the only case of deception related to health and vaccines. Another of the ‘big hits’ in the world of scientific fraud was perpetrated by Professor Dong-Pyou Han, who announced (and was greatly enriched by it) the development of a vaccine against HIV. It was in 2013 when his own university proved that it had all been a scam, as the researcher had mixed human blood with HIV antibodies with the blood of rabbits he was experimenting with.
But, surely, the one who holds the dubious honor of being the most shocking and well-known modern scientific fraud in the field of health is that of the South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk and his cloned human embryos. His deception was published in none other than the prestigious journal Science , and claimed that he had managed to clone a human embryo. Too risky a lie not to get caught. Hwang was sentenced to two years in prison for fraud and misappropriation of research funds, although he ultimately did not serve his sentence.
The Piltdown Man
Another of the most notorious scientific scams comes from the world of paleoanthropology. We have already told you on other occasions about the Piltdown man, that supposed missing link that was nothing more than a set of bones from an orangutan, a chimpanzee and a man from the Middle Ages, but which had deceived the scientific community for more 40 years.
Also dealing with fossils and missing links is the case of Archaeoraptor liaoningensis , a supposed winged dinosaur that made the cover of National Geographic magazine. Many paleontologists claimed that their discovery changed the course of dinosaur research, but a scan showed that the remains of this animal actually belonged to two species: a small dinosaur and a bird.
As we have already seen, hoaxes and deceptions are also present in the field of investigation. And it is that, no matter how objective the scientific method is, those who apply it are also human, susceptible to the temptation to deceive or falsify data to gain prestige, rewards, or advance in the research career.
But let’s not just blame them: the existence of scientific fraud is also a wake-up call to reflect on the situation of the current scientific system, which in many cases rewards the quantity of articles more than their quality. Nothing justifies deception, but it is true that the enormous pressure to publish in order to advance in the scientific career, and the fierce competition due to the shortage of stable jobs, is one of the great problems in the academic world, a reality very present in countries like ours and about which we have already spoken in an interview with researcher Fernando Maestre that we recommend you read.
