Dismal Sleuth

A Return To The Dismal 1980s

Michael Schaffer | Politico | 1st March 2024

After 25 years of municipal comeback, urban decay is again “the dominant civic storyline” in Washington DC. The homicide rate in 2023 was at its highest since 1998. Transport systems are crumbling and vacant shops are everywhere. Hybrid work at federal agencies is part of the issue. With 200,000 people no longer commuting full time to the city, tax revenues are down (2,300 words)

The Scientific Integrity Sleuth

Deborah Balthazar | Stat | 28th February 2024

Interview with Elisabeth Bik, a microbiologist and a full-time “science sleuth”. She specialises in finding cases where “image duplication” has been used to falsify results. So far, she has analysed over 100,000 papers and found about 8,000 with problems. “Of the three forms of misconduct — which are plagiarism, falsification, and fabrication — I feel plagiarism is the least bad” (2,200 words)