Faker physicist fired for falsifying findingsBell Labs, the New Jersey research company, has fired a famous young researcher for scientific misconduct. Henrick Schön rose to prominence after rapidly publishing a series of remarkable discoveries in physics. The company was alerted to his fabrication of data in May after other researchers studying his published papers noticed identical graphs that supposedly represented data from two different experiments.Following Shön’s dismissal, an independent investigation at the labs found “compelling evidence” of data manipulation and misrepresentation in 16 of his 24 papers. Bell Labs said they noticed warnings signs of Shön’s fraud. The researcher almost always conducted his experiments and processed data alone.—Tabitha BlairSource: NatureThe funniest joke in the worldAn online survey to determine the funniest joke in the world is complete. Two million people from more than 70 countries participated in the online poll run by psychologist Richard Wiseman. The results show that people from all parts of the world have a very diverse sense of humour. The jokes were rated on a five-point scale—one being not funny and five being very funny. The winning entry, from Manchester, England, won with 65 per cent of those polled rating it either a four or five. The poll might help scientists who are attempting to get computers to create truly funny jokes. The team’s analysis also revealed the world’s funniest animal—the duck. The funniest joke can be found at www.newscientist.com.—Brian CascanetteSource: New ScientistMalaria parasite’s genome sequencedScientists have sequenced the entire genomes of both the parasite that causes malaria and the mosquito that transmits it. An international team of 160 researchers published the results in the Oct. 3 issue of Nature. Scientists hope the data will help the search for a vaccine, better drug treatments, and more effective pesticides. Malaria infects up to 500 million people and causes as many as 2.7 million deaths yearly. As with earlier genome sequences, these latest additions have been posted online to allow researchers all over the world to access it easily.—David ShigaSource: CBC News Online
