How to catch a thief

Abstract

"Fraud and misconduct have probably always existed in biomedical research and, as is evidenced by recent events, they are here to stay. Witness, for example, two recent cases, one in basic science from 2006, that of the Korean stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-Suk, and the other from clinical medicine in 2009 (after the book under review was published), that of Scott Reuben, the anaesthesia and pain researcher. Both of them published papers in leading journals in their field which changed the way we think about and practise science and medicine - until their fraud was detected. Thus, the authors begin the book with these appropriate words in the preface: “It is with some regret that a fourth edition of this book still has relevance today