Dispute over longevity research getting more coverage

Earlier this week I pointed to the controversy which has erupted around the widely reported new paper, Genetic Signatures of Exceptional Longevity in Humans. Newsweek did the most thorough early reporting, but now The New York Times has published a follow up story covering the scientific criticisms to the original paper’s methodology. There’s nothing new in The Times‘ piece as such, but it shows that concerted scientific objection to the reception or interpretation of a particular finding which is widely disseminated in the media can yield results. Too often the mainstream media ends up serving as a glorified press release service, but in this case scientists are making their voices heard, and the media narrative is adjusting to the underlying discussion in the scientific community.

I’ve been told there may be more coming out which may shed light on this controversy next week. Stay tuned…