JAMES HEATHERS
@jamesheathers.bsky.social
please science correctly
if you do i will buy you a small cake and we can be friends
director: medicalevidenceproject.org
the book: forensicmetascience.com
if you do i will buy you a small cake and we can be friends
director: medicalevidenceproject.org
the book: forensicmetascience.com
I should probably explain this, with context.
Over several years we have caught MANY researchers playing silly buggers with artificial cutoffs designed to engineer group differences.
(No one more so than the Vitamin D weirdos. One of the least reliable and most annoying areas of health research.)
Over several years we have caught MANY researchers playing silly buggers with artificial cutoffs designed to engineer group differences.
(No one more so than the Vitamin D weirdos. One of the least reliable and most annoying areas of health research.)
November 14, 2025 at 2:23 AM
I should probably explain this, with context.
Over several years we have caught MANY researchers playing silly buggers with artificial cutoffs designed to engineer group differences.
(No one more so than the Vitamin D weirdos. One of the least reliable and most annoying areas of health research.)
Over several years we have caught MANY researchers playing silly buggers with artificial cutoffs designed to engineer group differences.
(No one more so than the Vitamin D weirdos. One of the least reliable and most annoying areas of health research.)
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
So @jamesheathers.bsky.social & I answer the burning question: does Cake cause Herpes? No, but one can torture the data to give that impression, and that's a problem. Promiscuous dichotomisation in biomedical science hugely increases spurious findings, best avoided
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 13, 2025 at 12:42 PM
So @jamesheathers.bsky.social & I answer the burning question: does Cake cause Herpes? No, but one can torture the data to give that impression, and that's a problem. Promiscuous dichotomisation in biomedical science hugely increases spurious findings, best avoided
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
“The authors have informed the journal that an auditable replacement dataset has been prepared and will be made available to The BMJ. The BMJ will update this notice and make a decision about what post-publication change to the content is needed.”
I am not enjoying the implications of this.
I am not enjoying the implications of this.
@bmj.com has issued an expression of concern for a paper claiming stem cell therapy can reduce the risk of heart failure. The move comes after sleuths and scientists critiqued the “complete mismatch” between the study data and the article itself.
BMJ places expression of concern on heavily criticized stem cell paper
The BMJ has issued an expression of concern for a paper claiming stem cell therapy can reduce the risk of heart failure. The move comes after sleuths and scientists critiqued the “complete mismatch…
retractionwatch.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:16 AM
“The authors have informed the journal that an auditable replacement dataset has been prepared and will be made available to The BMJ. The BMJ will update this notice and make a decision about what post-publication change to the content is needed.”
I am not enjoying the implications of this.
I am not enjoying the implications of this.
James Watson was so old that Sharon Begley had his obit ready to go.
(She died herself in 2021.)
I’m not rehashing all the ludicrous offensive shit he believed. You’ve heard it.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
(She died herself in 2021.)
I’m not rehashing all the ludicrous offensive shit he believed. You’ve heard it.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:32 PM
James Watson was so old that Sharon Begley had his obit ready to go.
(She died herself in 2021.)
I’m not rehashing all the ludicrous offensive shit he believed. You’ve heard it.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
(She died herself in 2021.)
I’m not rehashing all the ludicrous offensive shit he believed. You’ve heard it.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
These are mill papers.
Further reading, @reeserichardson.bsky.social may have more:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
... and hilariously a 'bibliometric' analysis that doesn't mention paper mills:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Further reading, @reeserichardson.bsky.social may have more:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
... and hilariously a 'bibliometric' analysis that doesn't mention paper mills:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
The rapid growth in Mendelian randomization studies. Gibran Hemani, Stefan Stender, Frank J. Wolters, Albert Hofman & George Davey Smith. European Journal of Epidemiology. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The rapid growth in Mendelian randomization studies - European Journal of Epidemiology
European Journal of Epidemiology -
link.springer.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM
These are mill papers.
Further reading, @reeserichardson.bsky.social may have more:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
... and hilariously a 'bibliometric' analysis that doesn't mention paper mills:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Further reading, @reeserichardson.bsky.social may have more:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
... and hilariously a 'bibliometric' analysis that doesn't mention paper mills:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
Ok, just wow. If the content of this article is right, this is depressing. We're slowly reaching the point where ~100% of what I was taught in Social Psych was either innocently wrong or plainly frauded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Ok, just wow. If the content of this article is right, this is depressing. We're slowly reaching the point where ~100% of what I was taught in Social Psych was either innocently wrong or plainly frauded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
Someday I will not have to write about Sarepta Therapeutics and their ineffective drugs that never should have been approved by the FDA in the first place.
This is not that day.
This is not that day.
Sarepta: Enough, For God's Sake
www.science.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Someday I will not have to write about Sarepta Therapeutics and their ineffective drugs that never should have been approved by the FDA in the first place.
This is not that day.
This is not that day.
It’s early November and no I will not be providing context.
November 3, 2025 at 12:43 AM
It’s early November and no I will not be providing context.
People often miss something about these headlines.
1. This is bone idle useless image manipulation - detectable, obvious after you learn to look for it.
2. It’s a lower bound.
The phrase is “a minimum of 40% of this literature contains easily detectable image manipulation”.
Sleep well.
1. This is bone idle useless image manipulation - detectable, obvious after you learn to look for it.
2. It’s a lower bound.
The phrase is “a minimum of 40% of this literature contains easily detectable image manipulation”.
Sleep well.
"40% of papers about subarachnoid haemorrhage in animals contained manipulated images."
We have to face up to the fact that in some fields, over half of published science might be fake.
We have to face up to the fact that in some fields, over half of published science might be fake.
40% dierstudies naar hersenbloedingen bevat afbeeldingen die niet kloppen, ontdekten René Aquarius en Kim Wever @radboudumc.bsky.social. Sommige artikelen zijn mogelijk geheel of deels verzonnen. Zorgwekkend, zegt ook @elisabethbik.bsky.social.
Voor @voxweb.bsky.social.
www.voxweb.nl/nieuws/honde...
Voor @voxweb.bsky.social.
www.voxweb.nl/nieuws/honde...
November 2, 2025 at 10:35 PM
People often miss something about these headlines.
1. This is bone idle useless image manipulation - detectable, obvious after you learn to look for it.
2. It’s a lower bound.
The phrase is “a minimum of 40% of this literature contains easily detectable image manipulation”.
Sleep well.
1. This is bone idle useless image manipulation - detectable, obvious after you learn to look for it.
2. It’s a lower bound.
The phrase is “a minimum of 40% of this literature contains easily detectable image manipulation”.
Sleep well.
Something this funny can't be inappropriate. It's just a concept made up by Big HR to funnel work to shiftless psychology graduates.
October 31, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Something this funny can't be inappropriate. It's just a concept made up by Big HR to funnel work to shiftless psychology graduates.
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
if you weren't supposed to invest in them then why are they named financiers
October 31, 2025 at 2:10 PM
if you weren't supposed to invest in them then why are they named financiers
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
"Keep posting videos of me being vulnerable, and I’ll start posting videos of you eating your feelings."
I’m Just a Fucking Cat
Calm your tits. I understand your obsession, but you people are out of control. I’m cute. I’m silly. I’ve got attitude. I get it. But wake the hell...
buff.ly
October 29, 2025 at 5:29 PM
"Keep posting videos of me being vulnerable, and I’ll start posting videos of you eating your feelings."
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
They were already suspended, now they're delisted.
Cureus has had an outsized impact on the sheer volume of nonsense research for years, and I wonder if WoS felt like they had a choice.
I won't miss it.
retractionwatch.com/2025/10/27/e...
Cureus has had an outsized impact on the sheer volume of nonsense research for years, and I wonder if WoS felt like they had a choice.
I won't miss it.
retractionwatch.com/2025/10/27/e...
Embattled journal Cureus delisted from Web of Science, loses impact factor
Clarivate has removed the mega-journal Cureus from its Master Journal List, according to the October update, released today. The move means Cureus will no longer be indexed in Web of Science …
retractionwatch.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:29 PM
They were already suspended, now they're delisted.
Cureus has had an outsized impact on the sheer volume of nonsense research for years, and I wonder if WoS felt like they had a choice.
I won't miss it.
retractionwatch.com/2025/10/27/e...
Cureus has had an outsized impact on the sheer volume of nonsense research for years, and I wonder if WoS felt like they had a choice.
I won't miss it.
retractionwatch.com/2025/10/27/e...
Aunt: [slaps him twice] Wicked child!Chairs are an invention of Satan! In our house, Nathaniel sits on a spike!
Edmund: ... and yourself?
Aunt: I sit on Nathaniel -- two spikes would be an extravagance.
Edmund: ... and yourself?
Aunt: I sit on Nathaniel -- two spikes would be an extravagance.
October 27, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Aunt: [slaps him twice] Wicked child!Chairs are an invention of Satan! In our house, Nathaniel sits on a spike!
Edmund: ... and yourself?
Aunt: I sit on Nathaniel -- two spikes would be an extravagance.
Edmund: ... and yourself?
Aunt: I sit on Nathaniel -- two spikes would be an extravagance.
“The authors considered a model’s answer to be sycophantic if it failed to detect the errors in a statement and went on to hallucinate a proof for it.”
Well that is quite congruent with my experience. A question that starts with “is it possible to…” tends to devolve from “sure it is!” to “ahh no”
Well that is quite congruent with my experience. A question that starts with “is it possible to…” tends to devolve from “sure it is!” to “ahh no”
October 24, 2025 at 1:49 PM
“The authors considered a model’s answer to be sycophantic if it failed to detect the errors in a statement and went on to hallucinate a proof for it.”
Well that is quite congruent with my experience. A question that starts with “is it possible to…” tends to devolve from “sure it is!” to “ahh no”
Well that is quite congruent with my experience. A question that starts with “is it possible to…” tends to devolve from “sure it is!” to “ahh no”
It feels to me like this happens more, and more, and more. Digital things just... snap. Everything is some weird combination of tough and fragile.
I really don't need a growing sense of foreboding to go with my other... pre-existing growing sense of foreboding thanks.
I really don't need a growing sense of foreboding to go with my other... pre-existing growing sense of foreboding thanks.
October 20, 2025 at 1:27 PM
It feels to me like this happens more, and more, and more. Digital things just... snap. Everything is some weird combination of tough and fragile.
I really don't need a growing sense of foreboding to go with my other... pre-existing growing sense of foreboding thanks.
I really don't need a growing sense of foreboding to go with my other... pre-existing growing sense of foreboding thanks.
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
Q-Collar studies are great for learning about confounding factors and here is why. www.linkedin.com/posts/mu-yan.... @jsmoliga.bsky.social @bachynski.bsky.social @isaacerbele.bsky.social
This is a continuation of our discussion a "Brain protection" device call Q collar https://lnkd.in/eBQ4YXzH
We see NFL players and military personnel wearing the Q collar in ads (photo sou...
This is a continuation of our discussion a "Brain protection" device call Q collar https://lnkd.in/eBQ4YXzH
We see NFL players and military personnel wearing the Q collar in ads (photo source: https...
www.linkedin.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Q-Collar studies are great for learning about confounding factors and here is why. www.linkedin.com/posts/mu-yan.... @jsmoliga.bsky.social @bachynski.bsky.social @isaacerbele.bsky.social
Cat updates. Cleanse.
October 18, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Cat updates. Cleanse.
“using any other threshold, including those that might be considered typically meaningful for blood glucose content (for instance, 3.9, 5.6, or 6.9 mmol/L) would destroy the cake-herpes illusion entirely”
May we all have our chances to destroy the cake-herpes illusion in this grim life.
May we all have our chances to destroy the cake-herpes illusion in this grim life.
guess who got a paper published called...
Cake Causes Herpes
(well @drg.bsky.social did i just helped by taking out all the rude words)
Cake Causes Herpes
(well @drg.bsky.social did i just helped by taking out all the rude words)
October 17, 2025 at 12:58 AM
“using any other threshold, including those that might be considered typically meaningful for blood glucose content (for instance, 3.9, 5.6, or 6.9 mmol/L) would destroy the cake-herpes illusion entirely”
May we all have our chances to destroy the cake-herpes illusion in this grim life.
May we all have our chances to destroy the cake-herpes illusion in this grim life.
guess who got a paper published called...
Cake Causes Herpes
(well @drg.bsky.social did i just helped by taking out all the rude words)
Cake Causes Herpes
(well @drg.bsky.social did i just helped by taking out all the rude words)
October 16, 2025 at 9:41 PM
guess who got a paper published called...
Cake Causes Herpes
(well @drg.bsky.social did i just helped by taking out all the rude words)
Cake Causes Herpes
(well @drg.bsky.social did i just helped by taking out all the rude words)
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
A brief update: After founding inquisitivemag.org for HxA, I left that position and just took a new job as inaugural editor for the Center for Scientific Integrity’s Medical Evidence Project. Yes, I now work for the people who bring you @retractionwatch.com 😀
Inquisitive — A quarterly periodical of Heterodox Academy
Where intellectuals meet to think more deeply about open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in today’s colleges and universities.
inquisitivemag.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM
A brief update: After founding inquisitivemag.org for HxA, I left that position and just took a new job as inaugural editor for the Center for Scientific Integrity’s Medical Evidence Project. Yes, I now work for the people who bring you @retractionwatch.com 😀
Reposted by JAMES HEATHERS
The meeting notes of this autumn's JUFO board meeting are out & can say these are the most interesting meta-science published every time they come out (highlights🧵)
julkaisufoorumi.fi/sites/defaul...
julkaisufoorumi.fi/sites/defaul...
https://julkaisufoorumi.fi/sites/default/files/2025-10/Julkaisufoorumin_f_ohjausryhmän%20pöytäkirja_08092025.pdf
October 15, 2025 at 9:04 PM
The meeting notes of this autumn's JUFO board meeting are out & can say these are the most interesting meta-science published every time they come out (highlights🧵)
julkaisufoorumi.fi/sites/defaul...
julkaisufoorumi.fi/sites/defaul...