Dr Magda Havas, August 17, 2011.

Scientific documents published in peer-reviewed journals are intended to be read by scientists with specific areas of specialization.   A layperson, a journalist and even a scientist–who specializes in a different field–may find reading and comprehending such a document difficult. Critiquing such documents is what we teach university students. Once they learn how to decipher a scientific paper and decompose a study, they no longer need to rely on the opinion of others about that document. Teaching students how to think for themselves is one of the roles of a university professor.

I recently read  Mobile phone use and brain tumors in children and adolescents:  A multicenter case-control study, published in June 2011 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.  What is in the abstract of this publication and what has been quoted by the press is not a fair and honest representation of the findings of this study.

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