Fraud is an integral part of all institutions and the world of science is no exception. The last few decades have witnessed dozens of them and the headlines continue. Such frauds can no longer be shrugged off as the work of aberrant individual scientists, Judson argues. Instead, we must look for its causes and its remedies

Judson, the author of The Eighth Day of Creation, examines the nature and causes of scientific fraud and how they happen. He considers the self-government of the sciences, including peer review and the refereeing of papers, and exposes the failures of academic, governmental and legal responses. He also shows how the movement toward Internet publication of papers promises remarkable new checks on fraud and suggests how we can restore and defend the integrity of the greatest monument of the human intellectual endeavour.

Just as Freud faked case histories, says Judson, Darwin doctored photographs. But thankfully they neither worked under the glare of the modern media nor the political pressure of grant-bestowing bureaucracies. This book is certain to stir many debates.