Latest news with #FreeUniversityofBerlin
DW
5 hours ago
- Science
- DW
Fraudulent research is 'destroying trust in science' – DW – 08/10/2025
Organized networks are infiltrating the academic publishing system to promote fake science, say experts investigating research fraud. A new study highlights the major challenge for modern science. Fraudulent scientific research is on the rise and is jeopardizing medical research, experts have warned. A new study has found that networks of bad actors work together to publish bogus research. The findings, published in the journal this week, came from analyzing more than 5 million scientific articles published across 70,000 journals. "There are groups of editors conspiring to publish low-quality articles, at scale, escaping traditional peer review processes," said the study's lead author Reese Richardson, a social scientist at Northwestern University in the US. The research uncovered evidence of networks of scientific journal editors who frequently publish research that is flagged for integrity issues, and "brokers" who connect fraudulent authors to these editor networks. "This kind of fraud destroys trust in science. It biases systematic and meta-analysis, it delays treatment and delays new research," said Anna Abalkina, a social scientist at the Free University of Berlin, who was not involved in the study. New scientific research is published as research papers in research journals. There are tens of thousands of different research journals, each publishing different themes of research, and with different levels of scientific impact. These journals are platforms for researchers to share their findings, theories and ideas with peers and the broader public. "Historically, the scientific [publication] enterprise has been an engine for progress. It's given us vaccines, antibiotics, the internet, sterile surgery … everything that makes life comfortable for us now," said Richardson. But sham research is on the rise — as many as one in seven research publications contain fake data, by some estimates. Artificial intelligence is also fueling this research misconduct. Fraudulent studies contain fabricated data, unverified results, plagiarized research or manipulated images. "You can map out networks of image duplication that are thousands of articles wide," Richardson said. Fake or poor-quality research is typically caught by journal editors or peer reviewers, but experts warn it is increasingly making its way to publication by groups of bad actors working together. Several high-profile instances of scientific fraud have been uncovered. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudulent research was used to make scientific and political judgments on the merits of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID infection. Experts linked the issue with "self-promotion journals" — where publication authors are often the editors of the very same journals in which they publish their studies. Even single fraudulent studies can cause lasting problems. For example, researchers found evidence of image manipulation in a landmark study about Alzheimer's disease. The paper was eventually retracted and the lead scientist resigned, but Abalkina said billions of dollars in research funding and years of research had already been invested from one bad study. "[It's] incredible what just one paper can do," Abalkina told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The study's senior author Luis Amaral of Northwestern University said it was "probably the most depressing project I've been involved with." "It's distressing to see others engage in fraud and in misleading others. But if you believe that science is useful and important for humanity, then you have to fight for it," Amaral said. Scientific publishing groups are aware of the issue and are working to create new methods to identify and retract fraudulent research. One major publisher, Springer Nature, retracted 2,923 articles from its publications in 2024. But retracting papers means that bad science has already made it to publication. Experts like Abalkina and Richardson said the issues ultimately come from how scientific research is valued. Scientific jobs and funding are dependent on scientific publication. "Where you're faced with a [lack] of resources and yet you're pressured to put out [publications], you're left with two options really: You either buy into scientific fraud, or your leave science. This is a situation that tens of thousands of scientists are in," said Richardson. That's why the best solution to fight fraudulent publications, he said, is to ditch all quantitative metrics of research assessment like counting publications and citations.
DW
05-08-2025
- Science
- DW
Fraudulent research is 'destroying trust in science' – DW – 08/05/2025
Organized networks are infiltrating the academic publishing system to promote fake science, say experts investigating research fraud. A new study highlights the major challenge for modern science. Fraudulent scientific research is on the rise and it is jeopardizing medical research, experts have warned. A new study has found that networks of bad actors work together to publish bogus research. The findings, published in the journal PNAS, came from analyzing more than five million scientific articles published across 70,000 journals. "There are groups of editors conspiring to publish low quality articles, at scale, escaping traditional peer review processes," said the study's lead author Reece Richardson, a social scientist at Northwestern University, US. The research uncovered evidence of networks of scientific journal editors who frequently publish research that is flagged for integrity issues, and "brokers" who connect fraudulent authors to these editor networks. "This kind of fraud destroys trust in science. It biases systematic and meta-analysis, it delays treatment and delays new research," said Anna Abalkina, a social scientist at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, who was not involved in the study. New scientific research is published as research papers in research journals. There are tens of thousands of different research journals, each publishing different themes of research, and with different levels of scientific impact. These journals are platforms for researchers to share their findings, theories, and ideas with peers and the broader public. "Historically, the scientific [publication] enterprise has been an engine for progress. It's given us vaccines, antibiotics, the internet, sterile surgery … everything that makes life comfortable for us now," said Richardson. But sham research is on the rise — as many as 1 in 7 research publications contain fake data, by some estimates. AI is also fueling this research misconduct. Fraudulent studies contain fabricated data, unverified results, plagiarized research or manipulated images. "You can map out networks of image duplication that are thousands of articles wide," Richardson said. Fake or poor quality research is typically caught by journal editors or peer reviewers, but experts warn it is increasingly making its way to publication by groups of bad actors working together. There have been high profile instances of scientific fraud being uncovered. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudulent research was used to make scientific and political judgements on the merits of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID infection. Experts linked the issue with 'self-promotion journals' — where publication authors are often the editors of the very same journals they publish studies in. Even single fraudulent studies can cause lasting problems. For example, researchers found evidence of image manipulation in a landmark study about Alzheimer's disease. The paper was eventually retracted and the lead scientist resigned, but Albakina said billions of dollars in research funding and years of research had already been invested from one bad study. "[It's] incredible what just one paper can do," Albakina told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The study's senior author Luis Amaral of Northwestern University in Illinois, US, said it was "probably the most depressing project I've been involved with." "It's distressing to see others engage in fraud and in misleading others. But if you believe that science is useful and important for humanity, then you have to fight for it,' Amaral said. Scientific publishing groups are aware of the issue and are working to create new methods to identify and retract fraudulent research. One major publisher, Springer Nature, retracted 2,923 articles were from its publications in 2024. But retracting papers means that bad science has already made it to publication. Experts like Albakina and Richardson say the issues ultimately come from how scientific research is valued. Scientific jobs and funding are dependent on scientific publication. "Where you're faced with a [lack] of resources and yet you're pressured to put out [publications], you're left with two options really: You either buy into scientific fraud, or your leave science. This is a situation that tens of thousands of scientists are in,' Richardson said. That's why the best solution to fight fraudulent publications, Richardson said, is to ditch all quantitative metrics of research assessment like counting publications and citations.
DW
29-07-2025
- Politics
- DW
Historian Karl Schlögel wins German Peace Prize – DW – 07/29/2025
German author and essayist who has critiqued authoritarian regimes in East Europe from Stalin to Putin, has been honored for his commitment to peace in Europe. German historian Karl Schlögel, an expert on Russia and Ukraine, is the winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for 2025. One of Germany's most prestigious literary prizes that is bestowed annually by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association at the Frankfurt Book Fair, this year's recipient has recently focused on the historical context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "His was one of the first voices to warn of Vladimir Putin's aggressive expansionist policies and authoritarian-nationalist claims to power," read the jury's statement. "Today, Schlögel continues to affirm Ukraine's place in Europe, calling for its defence as essential to our shared future." "His enduring message is both clear and urgent," the statement continued. "Without a free Ukraine, there can be no peace in Europe." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Born in 1948 into a farming family in Bavaria, southern Germany, Karl Schlögel's fascination for Eastern Europe began when he travelled to the Soviet Union in 1966. Two years later he experienced the Prague Spring, whereby Soviet tanks brutally suppressed an uprising in the Czechoslovakia capital. By 1969, Schlögel was studying philosophy and East European History at the Free University of Berlin and went on to specialize in Stalinist Russia. The up and coming historian became an active member of the student movement and joined the Maoist Communist Party of Germany for a time before receiving his doctorate based on a study of conflicts in Soviet Union labor organizations. He continued to write extensively on Russian and East European history and culture in essays and history books for several decades. His writings soon included criticism of Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. "The only things that President Vladimir Putin has learned from the failings of the Russian Empire seem to be fear of change and a willingness to maintain order at any price," Schlögel wrote in an op-ed for DW in 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution. When Putin's regime illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, then Ukrainian territory, the professor visited the country and refocused his research on Ukraine and cities like Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv and Kharkiv. In works such as "Terror and Dream" (2008) and "The Soviet Century" (2017), which revives the everyday life of a "lost world" behind the Iron Curtain, Schlögel has "set standards for vivid, lively historiography," said Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, Chairwoman of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. "With his narrative style, which combines observation, feeling, and understanding, he corrects prejudices and arouses curiosity," said Schmidt-Friderichs. The Peace Prize is "a surprising and great honor," said Schlögel after his triumph was announced, adding the award also recognizes the importance of Eastern European history that centers his work. He also spoke of the need for Germany to defend Ukraine. "Russia is the enemy," he said in an interview with the German Press Agency (dpa). "Russia is a state that has started a war in Europe, and Germans must prepare themselves for that." Last year, the US historian Anne Applebaum also won Peace Prize of the German Book Trade based on her support for Ukraine in the face of hostile Russian aggression. "To prevent Russia from spreading its autocratic political system, we must help Ukraine to victory," said the Polish-American historian in 2024 in her acceptance speech at St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt. "At a time when democratic values and achievements are increasingly being caricatured and attacked, her work embodies an eminent and indispensable contribution to the preservation of democracy and peace," the award citation said of Applebaum. Karl Schlögel is the latest recipient of a prize that began in 1950 when the German Publishers and Booksellers Association first awarded the Peace Prize — now with prize money of 25,000 euros ($28,820) — to demonstrate its "commitment to serving international understanding between nations and cultures." The Peace Prize is presented annually at the end of the Frankfurt Book Fair and will be awarded this year on October 19. with dpaTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Scroll.in
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Seagull Books publication ‘Psyche Running' wins Griffin Poetry Prize for Durs Grünbein, Karen Leeder
Psyche Running, translated by Karen Leeder and written in German by Durs Grünbein, is the winner of the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize. The prize-winning volume of poetry has been published by Seagull Books of India. The cash prize of C$130,000 will be divided between Leeder and Grünbein, with 60 per cent going to the translator and 40 per cent to the author. Each of the other finalists received C$10,000. The judges said, 'Durs Grünbein's Psyche Running is a brilliant overview and selection of a poet who satisfies our hunger to be serious, as again and again he finds himself 'between words and things.' Karen Leeder's adept translations establish a new version of Grünbein in English: universal, lyrical, philosophical.' Karen Leeder is a writer, scholar, and translator of contemporary German literature. She is the Schwarz-Taylor Chair of the German Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. In 2023, she began a three-year Einstein Fellowship at the Free University of Berlin for her project AfterWords. Durs Grünbein was born in Dresden in 1962 and now lives in Berlin and Rome. Since 2005, he has been a professor of poetics and aesthetics at the Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf. Upon receiving the Prize, Leeder said, 'It is such an honour to be the recipient of this very special prize. We are so grateful to Seagull Books for backing us. What a privilege to bring this amazing poet into English.' Grünbein added, 'Everybody is now talking about this famous publishing house in Kolkata and the publisher behind all the books: You, Naveen [Kishore, publisher], only you. Thank you for believing in me from the beginning.' The international Griffin Poetry Prize was founded in 2000 to recognise excellence in poetry. The prize is for first edition books of poetry written in, or translated into, English and submitted from anywhere in the world. Judges Nick Laird, Anne Michaels, and Tomasz Różycki read 578 books of poetry, including 47 translations from 20 languages, submitted by 219 publishers from 17 different countries. The other books on the shortlist were: The Great Zoo, translated by Aaron Coleman from the Spanish, written by Nicolás Guillén Kiss the Eyes of Peace, translated by Brian Henry from the Slovenian, written by Tomaž Šalamun Scattered Snows, to the North, Carl Phillips Modern Poetry, Diane Seuss
Fox News
21-04-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Archaeologists unearth millennia-old lecture hall from 'impressive' ancient high school
The lecture hall of an "impressive high school" from an ancient Greek settlement was recently uncovered in Italy – with the discovery highlighting the similarities between ancient and modern schooling. The Free University of Berlin announced the find in a press release on April 9. The excavation took place in Agrigento, Italy, on the southwestern coast of Sicily. Agrigento was founded in 580 B.C. as the largest Greek colony in Sicily. The settlement boasted both a high school and a grammar school – yet the lecture hall of the complex was only unearthed this past March. University officials described the hall as "a small covered theater that could accommodate around 200 people on eight rising, semicircular rows of seats," said a statement translated from German to English. It went on, "When the grammar school was built in the 2nd century B.C., no other currently known grammar school in the ancient world offered such a lecture hall. It was only 250 to 300 years later that the large high school in Pergamon (Turkey) received a theater-like auditorium." The hall was primarily used for intellectual activities such as lessons, as well as educational demonstrations and competitions. Schools in antiquity placed an emphasis on healthy minds and healthy bodies — and teachers ensured that young men were physically and intellectually ready for adult life. "From the 4th century BC, [Greek] cities built large complexes with running tracks, bathing facilities and rooms where young men could train and learn," the press release said. So far, the school in Agrigento is the only ancient structure in the western Mediterranean that offered a large swimming pool and 200-meter-long running tracks, according to officials. Excavators also found a semi-circular section of the lecture hall, where "teachers and students once performed in front of an audience." "[T]wo large blocks with a Greek inscription were found, the letters of which were engraved in the white-plastered soft limestone and highlighted with red paint," the press release noted. Archaeologists also came across an inscription indicating that the gymnasium was financed by a citizen who dedicated the structure to Greek gods. "Mention is made of a gymnasiarch, the head of the gymnasium, and the renewal of the roof of the apodyterium (changing room), which a generous citizen financed from his own resources and dedicated to the gods of the gymnasium, Hermes and Heracles," the statement read. The inscription is highly unusual, experts say, and helps to "provide insights into the social life of the city." "The letter form suggests that the inscription was engraved in the late 1st century B.C., when Agrigento had long been under Roman rule." the statement said. "Nevertheless, the Greek language, Greek offices and traditions continued to be maintained, and the Greek high school continued to be used and maintained as a central training center for young people." The site will be excavated again in 2026, according to the Free University of Berlin. Archaeologists are hoping to "uncover more sports and teaching spaces north of the auditorium and find more inscriptions that will reconstruct life in the ancient high school of Agrigento."
