Impact factors, Colossus and the Wakefield retraction.

Today was one of those days where lots of interesting stuff turns up. On the BBC, there was 2 very good pieces about the flaws in the scientific process, specifically closed peer review and impact factors.
I also notice that the BBC are running a daily piece about the history of computing in the UK this week, parts one and two have already been published. Today’s article about Colossus is especially good.
Also, after last week’s excellent, and damning, judgement from the GMC -
- regarding Andrew Wakefield’s reprehensible behaviour in his research into the ‘link’ between MMR and autism, today The Lancet finally pulled the paper in which his findings were published 12 years ago. Wakefield et al (1998) (doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0) has now been retracted from the public record after the Lancet concluded that the claims made by the researchers were ‘false’ (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2960175-7/fulltext – apologies for paywall).
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- pymzML - Python module for high throughput bioinformatics on mass spectrometry data. http://t.co/HJRqKHO5 #citeulike
- Return to work being hampered by return to work form, which is impossible to fill in on a Mac.
- Not the ideal end to the week. Blood tests and X-rays all for basically nothing. Still at least I'm home in time to have a proper weekend.
- @d_swan mine too! I assume we got the same email :)
- @jonoble I can't imagine the situation in which you would discover that...
On Fuzzier Logic





