Major peer-reviewed science journals are toughening rules that require authors to say when they have a financial stake in topics of their articles. The moves from Science and Nature come in response to letters exposing what critics say were a series of publications by people whose pocketbooks could have been hurt or helped by articles published in the journals. Nature's new policy takes effect in October, while Science has underlined its existing policy and asked its editorial board to ponder the issue.
Science recently made its existing policy more explicit by requiring all authors to disclose all sources of funding for their research and to do so in a brief statement, suitable for publication within the article, according to executive editor Monica Bradford. But more sweeping changes may be in the works, she says, including a new policy for publishing the declarations of financial interests that are required of authors, ...
