- Some of the first results from a project to reproduce cancer studies have been released and they are somewhat unexpected though understandable. NPR asks What Does it Mean When Cancer Findings Can’t be Reproduced?. Gizmodo also covered the issues being faced by the Reproducibility Project here (this version of the story has been updated to include a response from the author of one of the original studies).
- Beall’s List, one academic librarian’s effort to list predatory journals and publishers on his blog has been taken down by the author, causing quite a stir in library circles. See coverage from Inside Higher Ed here. This blog has previously discussed Beall’s list here and here. If you have any doubt about the credibility of a journal, publisher, or conference, please contact your librarian!
- In Techdirt’s first Amendment fight for it’s life, the author pleads for financial support while explaining that Techdirt is facing a defamation suit that may destroy them regardless of whether or not they are legally in the right. Following the demise of Gawker, free speech and independent thought are increasingly under threat from lawsuits by the super rich according to NY Times Magazine piece from November, Billionaires vs. the Press in the Era of Trump.
- On a lighter note, last month an archivist wrote this funny post about a recent movie’s poor archival practice, How Not to Build a Digital Archive: Lessons from the Dark Side of the Force.