Plans for tackling research fraud may not go far enough

The UK government is considering giving its support to a national body to tackle misconduct in biomedical research. But members of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which was set up three years ago by scientists, doctors, and the editors of medical journals to raise public awareness of research fraud, fear that the body's powers will not be strong enough.

The committee wants a national body to tackle research fraud similar to those operating in the United States and Scandinavia. The committee's latest report, published this week, expresses frustration at the lack of movement on the issue, despite support for the idea from the joint consensus conference on misconduct in biomedical research at the …