“ Threshold ” is one of the most infamous Star Trek episodes ever . You know what ’ we ’re talking about — the one with Warp 10 and the eldritch evolved amphibian . Well , it was also the recent matter of a fake scientific research paper submitted in a test to expose the ever - growing problem of“predatory ” scientific journals .
The paper was essentially a recapitulation of the events of “ Threshold , ” the godawful season two instalment in which Voyager ’s helmsman Tom Paris seek to break the theoretic “ Warp 10 ” speed roadblock , something never done in Trek ’s universe . Turns out , it ’s for unspoiled understanding , because apparently when you do strive the “ extreme celerity ” of Warp 10 , you turn into a unearthly amphibious aircraft - person , trance your headwaiter , germinate them into a weird amphibian - person , and then fully evolve into genuine space salamanders and married person with each other .
await , there ’s a intellect even the people who made this episode call ita “ very low-down point . ”
But nevertheless , the newspaper — which , while obfuscate its speech a bit , was still very clear fake , including mentions of the transwarp roadblock Paris breaks in the episode and even conclude by give thanks the United Federation of Planets and Voyager manufacturer Brannon Braga — was accepted by four different journals , and actually published in one , American Research Journal of Biosciences . According to aSpace.cominterview with the anonymous biologist who submitted the newspaper , the daybook asked for just $ 50 to do so . ARJ have now draw the text from their website in light of media reports see that the newspaper is essentiallya fancier - formulate Memory Alpha varlet .
In the world of science publishing , the rise of “ predatory ” journals and a deficiency of proper check on the theme that get take over into them is a grow , discomfit problem . Multiple sting surgical operation into exposing the issue — including an alarming reportby diarist John Bohannon in 2015 , who manage to get a scientifically exact , but intentionally inadequate and catchily - stage study , into predatory journals that then went on to solve its way into the medium — have occurred in recent years .
But with crusade like this Trek - themed paper and last year ’s midi - chlorian one , it shows that it ’s not just ill - convey enquiry making its means into journals , but blatantly false papers as well . In a time when public organized religion in science is more important than ever , practices that allow for jokey incidents like this to materialise only help to erode public trust in even the best scientific discipline publication .
Edit : A previous interlingual rendition of this clause refer to the beingness Captain Janeway and Tom Paris develop into as outer space - lizards , when they are in fact , space - amphibians . io9 regrets the error , and remark the delicious caustic remark of scientific inaccuracy in a office about fake skill .
[ Space.comviaScience Alert ]
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