Alberto Baccini
@albertobaccini.bsky.social
Professor of Quantitative studies of science, University of Siena, Italy. One of the founders of http://roars.it
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
Fascinating piece about how the fear of microplastics is almost certainly overblown.
One takeaway for me is that even the scientists behind the microplastics=bad papers are VERY reserved about whether these findings are really problematic.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
One takeaway for me is that even the scientists behind the microplastics=bad papers are VERY reserved about whether these findings are really problematic.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body
Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Fascinating piece about how the fear of microplastics is almost certainly overblown.
One takeaway for me is that even the scientists behind the microplastics=bad papers are VERY reserved about whether these findings are really problematic.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
One takeaway for me is that even the scientists behind the microplastics=bad papers are VERY reserved about whether these findings are really problematic.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
Every western country on earth is currently both (A) hollering about the need to free people from authoritarian governments and (B) gradually making it illegal to criticize the state of Israel.
January 13, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Every western country on earth is currently both (A) hollering about the need to free people from authoritarian governments and (B) gradually making it illegal to criticize the state of Israel.
Editorial power in economics journals has a long history.
We analyze 150+ years of board turnover, stability, and governance with new data & methods.
Big patterns, big change.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2601.05727
#Economics #ScienceOfScience
We analyze 150+ years of board turnover, stability, and governance with new data & methods.
Big patterns, big change.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2601.05727
#Economics #ScienceOfScience
A Stock-Flow Framework for Editorial Board Dynamics: The Case of Economics Journals, 1866-2019
Research on the editorial boards of scholarly journals has predominantly relied on static, cross-sectional data, focusing on their composition or interlocking editorships at single points in time. To ...
arxiv.org
January 12, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Editorial power in economics journals has a long history.
We analyze 150+ years of board turnover, stability, and governance with new data & methods.
Big patterns, big change.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2601.05727
#Economics #ScienceOfScience
We analyze 150+ years of board turnover, stability, and governance with new data & methods.
Big patterns, big change.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2601.05727
#Economics #ScienceOfScience
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
How long should it take to retract a paper with incontrovertible signs of data fabrication? Sleuths think 2 months is too long, particularly when clinical risks are involved. deevybee.blogspot.com/2026/01/an-o...
#retraction #stemcells #cardiology
@erictopol.bsky.social
#retraction #stemcells #cardiology
@erictopol.bsky.social
An Open Letter to the BMJ Editorial Board
to: Editor in chief, Kamran Abbasi , [email protected] Executive editor, Theodora Bloom , [email protected] Head of research, Elizab...
deevybee.blogspot.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:38 AM
How long should it take to retract a paper with incontrovertible signs of data fabrication? Sleuths think 2 months is too long, particularly when clinical risks are involved. deevybee.blogspot.com/2026/01/an-o...
#retraction #stemcells #cardiology
@erictopol.bsky.social
#retraction #stemcells #cardiology
@erictopol.bsky.social
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
A recent blogpost translated into Italian, which makes it sound much more erudite - iniquitous data!
www.roars.it/i-pericoli-d...
www.roars.it/i-pericoli-d...
I pericoli dell'uso della bibliometria con dati inquinati
La valutazione della ricerca basata sulle metriche viene spesso presentata come una soluzione ai problemi di equità e oggettività. «La bibliometria è per la valutazione della ricerca ciò che la diagno...
www.roars.it
December 17, 2025 at 2:11 PM
A recent blogpost translated into Italian, which makes it sound much more erudite - iniquitous data!
www.roars.it/i-pericoli-d...
www.roars.it/i-pericoli-d...
Bug in Springer Nature metadata may be causing ‘significant, systemic’ citation inflation retractionwatch.com/2025/11/11/b...
Bug in Springer Nature metadata may be causing ‘significant, systemic’ citation inflation
Millions of researchers could be affected by a “dramatic distortion of citation counts” likely caused by flaws in how the academic publishing giant Springer Nature handles article metadata, accordi…
retractionwatch.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Bug in Springer Nature metadata may be causing ‘significant, systemic’ citation inflation retractionwatch.com/2025/11/11/b...
La proposta di riforma dell’ANVUR rende finalmente evidente ciò che da anni era solo implicito: l’Agenzia è lo strumento con cui il governo attua il controllo centralizzato e indirizza le attività di università e ricerca. www.roars.it/valutare-e-o...
Valutare e obbedire. Il Governo vuole il controllo totale di ANVUR
La proposta di riforma dell'ANVUR rende finalmente evidente ciò che da anni era solo implicito: l’Agenzia è lo strumento con cui il governo attua il controllo centralizzato e indirizza le attività di ...
www.roars.it
October 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
La proposta di riforma dell’ANVUR rende finalmente evidente ciò che da anni era solo implicito: l’Agenzia è lo strumento con cui il governo attua il controllo centralizzato e indirizza le attività di università e ricerca. www.roars.it/valutare-e-o...
Nel deserto lasciato dalla guerra, l'università deve parlare www.roars.it/nel-deserto-... @filippobelloc.bsky.social
Nel deserto lasciato dalla guerra, l’università deve parlare
Fatta — o forse solo dichiarata — la pace, resta il deserto che la guerra ha lasciato. Ora tocca a noi. Alle università spetta la responsabilità più difficile: la ricostruzione culturale, la progettaz...
www.roars.it
October 17, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Nel deserto lasciato dalla guerra, l'università deve parlare www.roars.it/nel-deserto-... @filippobelloc.bsky.social
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
Grateful that @lonnibesancon.bsky.social, @gcabanac.cpesr.fr, Cyril Labbe and Alexander Magazinov chose to donate the proceeds of their ASIS&T Best Paper Award for 2025 to the @elisabethbik.bsky.social Fund to support the work of sleuths.
More here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/our-projects...
More here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/our-projects...
“Sneaked references: Fabricated reference metadata distort citation counts” Chosen for 2025 Best JASIST Paper Award
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that “Sneaked references: Fabricated reference metadata distort citation counts,” written by Lonni Besançon, Guil...
www.asist.org
August 25, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Grateful that @lonnibesancon.bsky.social, @gcabanac.cpesr.fr, Cyril Labbe and Alexander Magazinov chose to donate the proceeds of their ASIS&T Best Paper Award for 2025 to the @elisabethbik.bsky.social Fund to support the work of sleuths.
More here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/our-projects...
More here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/our-projects...
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
Data-visualization researcher @lonnibesancon.bsky.social has faced online abuse, threats and legal challenges. But he remains proud of his service to science and society. He hopes young scientists will get involved in scientific sleuthing: spklr.io/63328BEc6p
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed this scientist into a research-integrity sleuth
Lonni Besançon has faced online abuse, threats and legal challenges. But he remains proud of his service to science and society.
spklr.io
July 24, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Data-visualization researcher @lonnibesancon.bsky.social has faced online abuse, threats and legal challenges. But he remains proud of his service to science and society. He hopes young scientists will get involved in scientific sleuthing: spklr.io/63328BEc6p
Dietro la facciata neutrale delle regole formali, i panel VQR in area economica mostrano legami fitti e opachi, dominati da gruppi accademici vicini all’università Bocconi.
July 21, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Dietro la facciata neutrale delle regole formali, i panel VQR in area economica mostrano legami fitti e opachi, dominati da gruppi accademici vicini all’università Bocconi.
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
AI summaries kill search traffic. This has been an obvious consequence of Google's AI summary strategy since its inception.
Apparently the training data is so valuable that Google is willing to risk the neck of the goose that lays golden eggs.
Screenshot: thebullshitmachines.com/lesson-9-blu...
Apparently the training data is so valuable that Google is willing to risk the neck of the goose that lays golden eggs.
Screenshot: thebullshitmachines.com/lesson-9-blu...
July 5, 2025 at 7:38 AM
AI summaries kill search traffic. This has been an obvious consequence of Google's AI summary strategy since its inception.
Apparently the training data is so valuable that Google is willing to risk the neck of the goose that lays golden eggs.
Screenshot: thebullshitmachines.com/lesson-9-blu...
Apparently the training data is so valuable that Google is willing to risk the neck of the goose that lays golden eggs.
Screenshot: thebullshitmachines.com/lesson-9-blu...
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
How about a podcast on research integrity featuring big names in the field (e.g., @elisabethbik.bsky.social) and, incidentally, yours truly? Go listen to
open.spotify.com/show/2AuVl4w...
open.spotify.com/show/2AuVl4w...
June 24, 2025 at 9:24 AM
How about a podcast on research integrity featuring big names in the field (e.g., @elisabethbik.bsky.social) and, incidentally, yours truly? Go listen to
open.spotify.com/show/2AuVl4w...
open.spotify.com/show/2AuVl4w...
L’accademia dei Lincei ha da poco assegnato i premi Feltrinelli. Quest’anno il premio Feltrinelli per la medicina, consistente in €100.000, è stato assegnato a Carlo M. Croce. Hanno fatto bene? www.roars.it/i-lincei-pre...
I Lincei premiano Carlo M. Croce. Hanno fatto bene?
L'accademia dei Lincei ha da poco assegnato i premi Feltrinelli. Quest'anno il premio Feltrinelli per la medicina, consistente in €100.000, è stato assegnato a Carlo M. Croce.
Questa la motivazione: ...
www.roars.it
June 23, 2025 at 6:37 AM
L’accademia dei Lincei ha da poco assegnato i premi Feltrinelli. Quest’anno il premio Feltrinelli per la medicina, consistente in €100.000, è stato assegnato a Carlo M. Croce. Hanno fatto bene? www.roars.it/i-lincei-pre...
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
Ajan Reginald, formerly of Celixir infamy, should apply to the FDA. It's a coin toss whether the dynamic duo approve or decline to approve products on any given day. Likely there's special speedy path for packs of lies purporting to be biologics.
June 20, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Ajan Reginald, formerly of Celixir infamy, should apply to the FDA. It's a coin toss whether the dynamic duo approve or decline to approve products on any given day. Likely there's special speedy path for packs of lies purporting to be biologics.
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
Springer-Nature launched a series of "Discover" journals that closely mimic MDPI titles -- sharing *identical* journal names, and likely similar business model.
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
Springer Nature Discovers MDPI – The Strain on Scientific Publishing
Home page for the paper ‘The Strain on Scientific Publishing’ by Mark A Hanson, Dan Brockington, Paolo Crosetto and Pablo Gomez Barreiro
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Springer-Nature launched a series of "Discover" journals that closely mimic MDPI titles -- sharing *identical* journal names, and likely similar business model.
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
What is going on, and why researcher will - as always - fall for it?
A 🧵
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io/website/post...
Finally out my critical reflection on #CoARA. doi.org/10.1093/rese...
Preprint available here: arxiv.org/abs/2408.05587
Preprint available here: arxiv.org/abs/2408.05587
June 12, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Finally out my critical reflection on #CoARA. doi.org/10.1093/rese...
Preprint available here: arxiv.org/abs/2408.05587
Preprint available here: arxiv.org/abs/2408.05587
"Science was born in Italy, and that’s where they will kill and bury it". A newsletter full of Italian scientists forbetterscience.com/2025/06/06/s...
Schneider Shorts 6.06.2025 – Researchers with High Citation and Publication Counts
Schneider Shorts 6.06.2025 – one anti-qualified troll to judge all scientists in Italy, another asks Trump for $50 billion, with a celebrated Thai couple, a russian in America, an incredible …
forbetterscience.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:32 AM
"Science was born in Italy, and that’s where they will kill and bury it". A newsletter full of Italian scientists forbetterscience.com/2025/06/06/s...
Dear @qeios.bsky.social Editor,
I must respectfully but firmly ask that you refrain from sending me further review invitations until the “Highly Cited” badge is removed from your author/reviewer classification system.
I must respectfully but firmly ask that you refrain from sending me further review invitations until the “Highly Cited” badge is removed from your author/reviewer classification system.
June 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Dear @qeios.bsky.social Editor,
I must respectfully but firmly ask that you refrain from sending me further review invitations until the “Highly Cited” badge is removed from your author/reviewer classification system.
I must respectfully but firmly ask that you refrain from sending me further review invitations until the “Highly Cited” badge is removed from your author/reviewer classification system.
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
The august facades and impeccable decorum of our great institutions arise from fortunes built on slavery and murder. As WH Auden noted of Oxford: "Knowledge is conceived in the hot womb of Violence".
This ritual cannibalism is perfectly symbolic of the whole.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
This ritual cannibalism is perfectly symbolic of the whole.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Oxford academics drank from cup made from human skull, book reveals
Decades-long use of chalice at Worcester College highlights violent colonial history of looted human remains, says Prof Dan Hicks
www.theguardian.com
April 22, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The august facades and impeccable decorum of our great institutions arise from fortunes built on slavery and murder. As WH Auden noted of Oxford: "Knowledge is conceived in the hot womb of Violence".
This ritual cannibalism is perfectly symbolic of the whole.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
This ritual cannibalism is perfectly symbolic of the whole.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
CoARA, and, more broadly, any reform agenda
focused exclusively on improving evaluative technologies, cannot achieve on its own, unless it is
accompanied by a more fundamental rethinking of the role, purpose, and governance of research
evaluation itself. arxiv.org/pdf/2408.05587
focused exclusively on improving evaluative technologies, cannot achieve on its own, unless it is
accompanied by a more fundamental rethinking of the role, purpose, and governance of research
evaluation itself. arxiv.org/pdf/2408.05587
arxiv.org
April 22, 2025 at 7:47 AM
CoARA, and, more broadly, any reform agenda
focused exclusively on improving evaluative technologies, cannot achieve on its own, unless it is
accompanied by a more fundamental rethinking of the role, purpose, and governance of research
evaluation itself. arxiv.org/pdf/2408.05587
focused exclusively on improving evaluative technologies, cannot achieve on its own, unless it is
accompanied by a more fundamental rethinking of the role, purpose, and governance of research
evaluation itself. arxiv.org/pdf/2408.05587
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
The situation in Cardiff of police using live facial recognition cameras "to keep visitors safe" and then giving penalties for wearing a face covering in public should be a national call to action but people really believe "nothing to hide, nothing to fear"
www.south-wales.police.uk/news/south-w...
www.south-wales.police.uk/news/south-w...
Extra Live Facial Recognition cameras to be deployed in Cardiff city centre to keep visitors safe
South Wales Police will be deploying additional live facial recognition cameras in Cardiff during this year’s Six Nations rugby internationals.
www.south-wales.police.uk
March 29, 2025 at 8:03 AM
The situation in Cardiff of police using live facial recognition cameras "to keep visitors safe" and then giving penalties for wearing a face covering in public should be a national call to action but people really believe "nothing to hide, nothing to fear"
www.south-wales.police.uk/news/south-w...
www.south-wales.police.uk/news/south-w...
Why does fair panel composition matter in research evaluation? How can we measure fairness? This study on Italy’s economics research assessments reveals unfair panel selection, raising concerns about results. #ResearchIntegrity doi.org/10.1007/s111...
March 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Why does fair panel composition matter in research evaluation? How can we measure fairness? This study on Italy’s economics research assessments reveals unfair panel selection, raising concerns about results. #ResearchIntegrity doi.org/10.1007/s111...
Reposted by Alberto Baccini
🚨Breaking | Casualties among civilians were reported in an Israeli airstrike targeting the second floor of the emergency building at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.
⭕️ I will do my best to provide you with the latest news.
To support my family:
gofund.me/d6592e10
⭕️ I will do my best to provide you with the latest news.
To support my family:
gofund.me/d6592e10
March 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
🚨Breaking | Casualties among civilians were reported in an Israeli airstrike targeting the second floor of the emergency building at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.
⭕️ I will do my best to provide you with the latest news.
To support my family:
gofund.me/d6592e10
⭕️ I will do my best to provide you with the latest news.
To support my family:
gofund.me/d6592e10