China | Science fiction

Why fake research is rampant in China

Eleven students aim to set a better example 

Technicians work inside a laboratory at a Cyagen Biosciences facility in Taicang, China
What real research looks likePhotograph: Getty Images
|BEIJING

HUANG FEIRUO was once a respected scientist who studied ways to make pigs gain weight more quickly. He ran government-funded research projects at Huazhong Agricultural University in the central city of Wuhan. But last month 11 of his graduate students accused him of plagiarising the work of other academics and fabricating data. He had also, they said, put pressure on them to fake their own research. On February 6th the university announced that it had fired Mr Huang and retracted some of his work.

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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Science fiction”

From the February 24th 2024 edition

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