Red Team of Science
@redteamofsci.bsky.social
A newsletter dedicated to reforming the practice of science through rigorous debate. Metascience | open science | statistics
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The Red Team of Science is on book leave. Subscribe for occasional science reform updates, paper reviews, and lesson plans.
Like the site, the book is for professionals in healthcare, investment, journalism, and anyone learning scientific critique. (Taylor & Francis, 2026)
Like the site, the book is for professionals in healthcare, investment, journalism, and anyone learning scientific critique. (Taylor & Francis, 2026)
Reposted by Red Team of Science
Congratulations to @simine.com for winning the Einstein Foundation Individual Award! 🎉
A well-deserved recognition for her seminal efforts to improve scientific rigor, which includes instituting detailed checks for errors and computational reproducibility at Psychological Science.
A well-deserved recognition for her seminal efforts to improve scientific rigor, which includes instituting detailed checks for errors and computational reproducibility at Psychological Science.
November 24, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Congratulations to @simine.com for winning the Einstein Foundation Individual Award! 🎉
A well-deserved recognition for her seminal efforts to improve scientific rigor, which includes instituting detailed checks for errors and computational reproducibility at Psychological Science.
A well-deserved recognition for her seminal efforts to improve scientific rigor, which includes instituting detailed checks for errors and computational reproducibility at Psychological Science.
New data: Most psychologists believe crisis persists despite significant progress. Yet evidence suggests there's still an advantage to bending the rules. #metasci
www.redteamofscience.com/p/psychologi...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/psychologi...
Psychologists think there's a crisis in psychology
Results from a new poll
www.redteamofscience.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
New data: Most psychologists believe crisis persists despite significant progress. Yet evidence suggests there's still an advantage to bending the rules. #metasci
www.redteamofscience.com/p/psychologi...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/psychologi...
Among the references:
Bik: The dark side of post-publication peer review.
Ioannidis: A new era of hyper-skepticism in science.
A former COPE council member apparently thought these were 1. not suspicious and 2. didn't click the links.
Bik: The dark side of post-publication peer review.
Ioannidis: A new era of hyper-skepticism in science.
A former COPE council member apparently thought these were 1. not suspicious and 2. didn't click the links.
A paper critiquing post-publication peer review has numerous made-up references, including a @nature.com article falsely attributed to our Ivan Oransky.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
PubPeer - An expert criticism on post-publication peer review platform...
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: An expert criticism on post-publication peer review platforms: the case of pubpeer (2025)
pubpeer.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Among the references:
Bik: The dark side of post-publication peer review.
Ioannidis: A new era of hyper-skepticism in science.
A former COPE council member apparently thought these were 1. not suspicious and 2. didn't click the links.
Bik: The dark side of post-publication peer review.
Ioannidis: A new era of hyper-skepticism in science.
A former COPE council member apparently thought these were 1. not suspicious and 2. didn't click the links.
Reposted by Red Team of Science
I wrote something about publication bias at statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/14/t...
November 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I wrote something about publication bias at statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/14/t...
An outsider opened a box and broke the intentionality taboo in metascience. Revision is long overdue.
www.redteamofscience.com/p/cognitive-...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/cognitive-...
Cognitive dissonance and a truly impossible assumption
The many unopened boxes of psychology
www.redteamofscience.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:48 PM
An outsider opened a box and broke the intentionality taboo in metascience. Revision is long overdue.
www.redteamofscience.com/p/cognitive-...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/cognitive-...
"The project also stands out for its innovative approach, which is pioneering in cosmology. RedH0T introduces the red-teaming method, inspired by cybersecurity."
🔵The RedH0T project, destined to resolve the Hubble tension and determine the expansion rate of the universe, has received an #ERC Synergy Grant for over 12M€!
🤝Co-led by #ICCUB's scientific director Licia Verde and Fred Courbin (ICREA-ICCUB-@ieec.cat)
🏆Congratulations!👏
🔗 https://bit.ly/4qKap3u
🤝Co-led by #ICCUB's scientific director Licia Verde and Fred Courbin (ICREA-ICCUB-@ieec.cat)
🏆Congratulations!👏
🔗 https://bit.ly/4qKap3u
November 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM
"The project also stands out for its innovative approach, which is pioneering in cosmology. RedH0T introduces the red-teaming method, inspired by cybersecurity."
Counting hypotheses changed GWAS. Why not physics? The role of... insults.
#metasci
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-de...
#metasci
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-de...
Physics defends itself
There's not as much math as you'd expect
www.redteamofscience.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Counting hypotheses changed GWAS. Why not physics? The role of... insults.
#metasci
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-de...
#metasci
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-de...
Reposted by Red Team of Science
New blogpost on @elife.bsky.social's new Replication study type deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/prob.... tldr = I think it's doomed.
#Replication #Publishing #Reproducibility
#Replication #Publishing #Reproducibility
Problems with ELife's new article type: Replication studies
I was interested to receive an email from eLife last week, telling me that "As part of our commitment to open science, scientific rigour ...
deevybee.blogspot.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:33 AM
New blogpost on @elife.bsky.social's new Replication study type deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/prob.... tldr = I think it's doomed.
#Replication #Publishing #Reproducibility
#Replication #Publishing #Reproducibility
I think we're arguing about the reputation of physics. On that, the small amount of string theory is a good argument.
Impressive how this article cites a who-is-who among anti-science grifters. For anybody who needs a dose of reality, this video is excellent.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=miJb...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=miJb...
conspiracy physics and you (and also me)
YouTube video by Angela Collier
www.youtube.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
I think we're arguing about the reputation of physics. On that, the small amount of string theory is a good argument.
Reposted by Red Team of Science
More than 20% of chemistry researchers have deliberately added information they believe to be incorrect into their manuscripts during the peer review process, in order to get their papers published. cen.acs.org/policy/publi... #chemsky 🧪
1 in 5 chemists have deliberately added errors into their papers during peer review, study finds
Conclusion is one of many in a report about how chemists handle errors in manuscripts
cen.acs.org
October 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
More than 20% of chemistry researchers have deliberately added information they believe to be incorrect into their manuscripts during the peer review process, in order to get their papers published. cen.acs.org/policy/publi... #chemsky 🧪
Physics is the bedrock of science and may be the site of its worst case of base rate neglect.
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-ha...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-ha...
Physics has all the ingredients for scientific crisis
It turns out all you need is money and a googol of hypotheses to write up
www.redteamofscience.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Physics is the bedrock of science and may be the site of its worst case of base rate neglect.
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-ha...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/physics-ha...
Reposted by Red Team of Science
Kazimier Smith, Yucheng Lu, Qiaochu Fan: From Funding to Findings (FIND): An Open Database of NSF Awards and Research Outputs https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.10336 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.10336 https://arxiv.org/html/2510.10336
October 14, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Kazimier Smith, Yucheng Lu, Qiaochu Fan: From Funding to Findings (FIND): An Open Database of NSF Awards and Research Outputs https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.10336 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.10336 https://arxiv.org/html/2510.10336
Reposted by Red Team of Science
Dr. Oransky warned of consequences for self-governance failure: "If you don't self-police, if you don't correct the record, if you don't sanction people who commit fraud, [...] someone else will come in and do that. And it very well could be a government that you don't like."
Is Science Retracting Enough Papers?
As paper mills and fraud proliferate, experts warn the retraction rate should reach 2% of published literature—ten times current levels.
conexiant.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Dr. Oransky warned of consequences for self-governance failure: "If you don't self-police, if you don't correct the record, if you don't sanction people who commit fraud, [...] someone else will come in and do that. And it very well could be a government that you don't like."
Reposted by Red Team of Science
If science had star ratings like Goodreads, what paper in your field would be a 5/5 - and why?
October 9, 2025 at 8:01 AM
If science had star ratings like Goodreads, what paper in your field would be a 5/5 - and why?
This is how far scientific critique lags behind science. We're just learning subtraction.
www.timeshighereducation.com/world-univer...
www.timeshighereducation.com/world-univer...
Protecting the integrity of university rankings
Addressing rare cases of attempted manipulation is built into the DNA of THE’s rankings. But we will go further, says Phil Baty
www.timeshighereducation.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:57 AM
This is how far scientific critique lags behind science. We're just learning subtraction.
www.timeshighereducation.com/world-univer...
www.timeshighereducation.com/world-univer...
Reposted by Red Team of Science
I’m deeply honored to have been named as the recipient of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. It recognizes my work on scientific integrity for Science Magazine over the last five years. 1/7 tinyurl.com/zz54fzyr
Charles Piller wins 2025 Victor Cohn Prize - CASW
tinyurl.com
October 6, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I’m deeply honored to have been named as the recipient of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. It recognizes my work on scientific integrity for Science Magazine over the last five years. 1/7 tinyurl.com/zz54fzyr
Reposted by Red Team of Science
I can't believe this really happened.
YouTube video by Sabine Hossenfelder
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The way to increase trust in science is to stop making rules to benefit scientists.
Making self-serving rules is so universal in science that the author calls transparency a paradox because it doesn't always help your reputation.
Making self-serving rules is so universal in science that the author calls transparency a paradox because it doesn't always help your reputation.
Lying increases trust in science doi.org/10.1007/s111...
“a better way forward (and the real solution to the transparency paradox) would be to resolve the problem of the public overidealizing science through science education and communication to eliminate the naïve view of science as infallible.”
“a better way forward (and the real solution to the transparency paradox) would be to resolve the problem of the public overidealizing science through science education and communication to eliminate the naïve view of science as infallible.”
September 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The way to increase trust in science is to stop making rules to benefit scientists.
Making self-serving rules is so universal in science that the author calls transparency a paradox because it doesn't always help your reputation.
Making self-serving rules is so universal in science that the author calls transparency a paradox because it doesn't always help your reputation.
Tylenol and autism. Why normal papers make history:
September 29, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Tylenol and autism. Why normal papers make history:
This is a thorough and important paper. No attempts to replicate previous studies were found in a sample of 465 articles in physical therapy.
Many fields have never measured these indicators and it takes a small number of authors to do it.
Many fields have never measured these indicators and it takes a small number of authors to do it.
📰 New preprint: Replicability and transparency in physical therapy research: Time to wake up 📰
Where does physical therapy stand on the replication crisis and open-science practices?
We have identified significant shortcomings in current physical therapy research practice
👉 doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Where does physical therapy stand on the replication crisis and open-science practices?
We have identified significant shortcomings in current physical therapy research practice
👉 doi.org/10.1101/2025...
September 27, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This is a thorough and important paper. No attempts to replicate previous studies were found in a sample of 465 articles in physical therapy.
Many fields have never measured these indicators and it takes a small number of authors to do it.
Many fields have never measured these indicators and it takes a small number of authors to do it.
"Harvard could embed metascience into General Education Courses, ensuring that they reach as many students as possible." Ambika Grover in @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Can Harvard Cure Science’s Mistrust Epidemic? | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard leads the world in science and in philosophizing on how to make the world a better place. It’s time to make metascience a bigger part of the conversation.
www.thecrimson.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM
"Harvard could embed metascience into General Education Courses, ensuring that they reach as many students as possible." Ambika Grover in @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Ivan Oransky of @retractionwatch.com
on delayed scientific reform. "The problem when you don't self-regulate or self-police... when you don't do those things, other people will come in a do them. Probably in a way you don't like." www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQaZ...
on delayed scientific reform. "The problem when you don't self-regulate or self-police... when you don't do those things, other people will come in a do them. Probably in a way you don't like." www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQaZ...
Future Proof Your Research With Rigor
YouTube video by Community 4 Rigor
www.youtube.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Ivan Oransky of @retractionwatch.com
on delayed scientific reform. "The problem when you don't self-regulate or self-police... when you don't do those things, other people will come in a do them. Probably in a way you don't like." www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQaZ...
on delayed scientific reform. "The problem when you don't self-regulate or self-police... when you don't do those things, other people will come in a do them. Probably in a way you don't like." www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQaZ...
"The NIH Common Fund has teamed up with NASA’s Tournament Lab to launch the Replication Prize, a competition to advance scientific research by collecting ideas and strategies to make important lines of biomedical research more replicable."
commonfund.nih.gov/replication-...
commonfund.nih.gov/replication-...
NIH Common Fund Launches Replication Prize | NIH Common Fund
The NIH Common Fund has teamed up with NASA’s Tournament Lab to launch the Replication Prize, a competition to advance scientific research by collecting ideas and strategies to make important lines of...
commonfund.nih.gov
September 25, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"The NIH Common Fund has teamed up with NASA’s Tournament Lab to launch the Replication Prize, a competition to advance scientific research by collecting ideas and strategies to make important lines of biomedical research more replicable."
commonfund.nih.gov/replication-...
commonfund.nih.gov/replication-...
Reposted by Red Team of Science
I want this kind of back and forth to be somewhere that everyone can see it and enjoy it, in perpetuity. What if peer review worked more like this, in the open?
“On the poor statistical properties of the P-curve meta-analytic procedure”
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/09/25/o...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/09/25/o...
“On the poor statistical properties of the P-curve meta-analytic procedure” | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
September 25, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I want this kind of back and forth to be somewhere that everyone can see it and enjoy it, in perpetuity. What if peer review worked more like this, in the open?
Evolution, and why science doesn't mind portraying itself as a bit shit sometimes.
www.redteamofscience.com/p/science-ha...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/science-ha...
"Science has always been a bit shit"
It evolved that way
www.redteamofscience.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Evolution, and why science doesn't mind portraying itself as a bit shit sometimes.
www.redteamofscience.com/p/science-ha...
www.redteamofscience.com/p/science-ha...