In August, the members of a US government interdisciplinary research group gathered behind closed doors to discuss a controversy that had been brewing in the lab. The group - which comprised chemists, biologists, toxicologists, and physicists - was discussing an author dispute that had arisen over a soon-to-be-published manuscript.
One of the life scientists in the lab (who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution) had directed a smaller project within his discipline, mentoring a postdoc throughout the conception and execution of the experiments, as well as compiling the paper, which the postdoc wrote. When this researcher returned from vacation and saw the final version of the paper, the postdoc was correctly listed as first author. However, the lab director - not a life scientist - was listed as senior corresponding author. The postdoc's mentor was listed in the middle of the author list.
Over the course of the ...
