5th World Conference of Science Journalists

 Investigating scientific fraud [93:33m]: Download

PRODUCER: Elizabeth Finkel

CHAIR: Norman Swan

PANEL: Kim Hee Won, Jia Hepeng, Warwick Anderson, Phil Campbell, Phil Vardy

SESSION REPORT: Exposing the ugly

By Karen Dente

Ever since last year’s scandal surrounding Korea’s cloning researcher Hwang Woo Suk gained worldwide media attention, the issue of scientific fraud exposure seems to have taken on some momentum of its own.

Australia is not proud to have a history riddled with scientists tampering with their data to further their careers.

One such example was the famous McBride case that was uncovered in the eighties by investigative journalist Normal Swan, who vows never to pursue another case of scientific fraud. Dr. William McBride achieved notoriety in the 1960s by pointing out the link between pregnant women taking the drug thalidomide and limb deformities in their children.

Biologist Phil Vardy, who unearthed the manipulated data after “receiving the bullet” by Swan and who was working at the Foundation 41 Birth Defects Research Institute in Sydney headed by McBride, gave three points of warning to whistleblowers when pursuing a case of fraud.

He emphasized the importance of securing primary evidence, of confronting the fraudster before he should have time to mount a defense, and to focus on a few points only. He believes not confronting a fraudster when sure of having a case to be worst fraud of all.

When dealing with scientific fraud “we need much tougher laws” said Professor Warwick Anderson, who heads the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia. He is currently actively involved in trying to bring scientific fraud under the criminal code, a task that is being complicated by regulations under the Australian Constitution. Fortunately, many institutes in Australia and elsewhere around the globe now have whistleblower laws to deal directly with fraud when it emerges, he explained.

“In China, research institutions are less likely to confront fraud by their scientists,” explained Jia Hepeng, panelist and Chinese freelance journalist who writes for Science. This leaves all the more responsibility for the uncovering of fraud to the journalists, a role he seems content to fill.