Here is a story about another fraudulent paper published in a prestigious peer reviewed journal, this time involving cancer research. Whatever side one might be on regarding cloning and ESCR, we all have a stake in scientific integrity. We have always relied on the journals to self police. But with fraud seemingly on the increase, and with government policy often relying on peer reviewed journal articles as intellectual foundations, perhaps the time has come to investigate the peer review system to determine; a) its reliability; and, b), whether the system needs reform.
I am not advocating that laws be passed imposing that journal articles meet government mandated criteria. But I do believe we need to get to the bottom of what may be a fundamentally flawed system.