Editors of The Niche, the blog of the new website Nature Reports Stem Cells, are asking how Nature could improve its peer-review process for papers about cloning to prevent publication of fraudulent data. After the Hwang scandal in 2006, Nature editors sought advice on this issue from top scientists in the cloning and stem-cell fields. Eight agreed to publish abridged versions of their answers on The Niche.
The questions include whether _Nature_’s current review procedure is adequate for the refereeing of cloning papers and, if not, what improvements are needed; and whether the peer-review process would be improved by Nature establishing a checklist of standard criteria for authors and referees.
Read the researchers’ thoughts about whether these questions could have prevented the Hwang scandal and what strategies journals could implement to tighten up cloning papers. Feel free to join in the discussion and read other postings at The Niche — such as Attila Csordás’s insight on how the sea squirt can regenerate its whole body from its vasculature.
Nature 447, xv; 21 June 2007