From Robert Shields, Editor, Trends in Genetics
It was obvious to anyone with a bit of experience in genetics and molecular biology that David Quist and Ignacio Chapella’s Nature article on Mexican maize should never have been published (15 June, p 14). I wrote to the editor the day the paper came out to point out the numerous flaws which demonstrated a failure of the refereeing process.
Nature unfortunately has a tendency to go for the “newsy” and this may have clouded its judgement in this case. Now it’s all good knockabout stuff to hint at some biotech conspiracy to silence Quist et al, but the science they present is unconvincing and does not meet the standards of science one would expect in a journal such as Nature.
London
