Wonderbringers Newsletter with Monica Parker
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Hello Wonderseekers!
This week is the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners, but since I’m writing the newsletter ahead of time, I won’t be able to mention the winners just yet. But for me, science is a huge wonderbringer. So, I thought it might be a great time to celebrate science and to share some tips on how to find, read and understand scientific papers, so you can confront misinformation as a citizen scientist!
Where to start
Most people don't know where to find scientific papers. The best place is Google Scholar. For those unfamiliar, Google Scholar is a search engine that searches for academic papers based on topic. You can further refine your search by setting additional parameters, such as author or publication date, and even set an alert to track new research as it becomes available.
Scan for the best results
While there are a few papers listed on Google Scholar that aren’t peer-reviewed, most of them are, meaning they have been reviewed by a group of peer academics who decide if they are worthy of publication in the journal. As you scan papers on Google Scholar, below the listing, you’ll find the number of times the research has been cited. This is a great indication of whether the research is well regarded. Of course, newer research may not have as many citations, but this is a good place to start.
How to get the full paper
Once you’ve found your paper and click on it, you’ll likely be brought to the journal’s website, where only a synopsis of the research is available unless you pay (and pay a lot—$30-$60 per paper! Imagine if you are a student in India or Zambia!) To be clear, NONE of this money goes to the scientists. Academic publishing is a racket, pure and simple. I won't go into my full rant, but I don't want you lining the pockets of the $30 billion academic publishing industry if you can help it. So, take the title of the paper and enter it into the search bar, and then scan the right side of the page to see if any PDFs are available. If so, Bob’s your uncle! If not, you may need to get a bit more clever and use Anna’s Archive, a crowdsourced repository of papers (and replacement for SciHub). To use this site, you need to copy the DOI number or URL from the journal publisher’s synopsis page, and Anna’s Archive will give you a PDF if they have it.
Some tools to help
If you need a bit of AI assistance, I don't recommend using ChatGPT or Perplexity, as they often won't go beyond scanning the abstracts. You can use the free version of Elicit, which will give you unlimited summaries of the papers and allow you to extract the data from up to 20 of them. There is also Consensus, an AI tool that scans all the research and shares the scientific consensus, while also noting whether it is a good study or journal. Their free version allows up to 25 searches a month. (Here is the output when you ask, ‘Do vaccines cause autism?’ A: 88% no vs 12% possibly.)
Good data vs bad data
If you want to really dive into the research but don’t fancy a PhD, here are some questions to help you discern the scientific wheat from the chaff:
How good was the data set? Typically, bigger is better. A ‘meta-analysis’ is even better still, as it analyses several studies together. You’ll find this info in the Data or Sample section. For medical developments, consider whether the research subjects were human or not. While non-human studies are exciting, the path to human application is a long one.
Is there a clear statement of findings? You should find this right off the bat in the Abstract. If not, go to the bottom and read the Discussion. And remember, correlation doesn’t mean causation. (If you want a giggle, check out these examples.)
What did the author(s) find? The Measurement and Results sections might be a bit weighty, so just skim them and don’t get hung up on technical jargon. Visit the Discussion section for a more readable version of their findings.
Are there any conflicts of interest or ethical concerns? The authors are required to disclose who funded the research and whether they have any conflicts of interest. Always follow the money!
Some wonderbringers for me this week:
Huntington's breakthrough 'like winning the lottery 10 times over': Shot slows progress of the disease by 75%.
Herd immunity from the HPV vaccine provides protection even for unvaccinated women, making eradication possible: Study shows infections fell by 98.4%.
Psilocybin rewire brain circuits tied to pain and mood: A single dose provided mice with pain relief and mood benefits lasting nearly two weeks.
With the exciting news about HPV on the cusp of being eradicated, I have a question for you all. What is the only disease to be eradicated through human action?Everyone who responds with the correct answer will be entered into a prize draw for a signed copy of my book!
With wonder,
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