Peer Review Reaches Its Limit

Des MoinesA reviewer rejected researcher Semprini’s papillomavirus study.

Peer review increasingly relies on whichever single expert an editor can find.

Submissions are rising 5.6% a year while reviewing stays unpaid, so editor Steven Mack now emails 30 researchers per request.

The shortage falls hardest on findings, like Semprini’s, that contradict expectations.

Sources: Ars Technica