Darwinius: Science, Showbiz, and Conflicts of Interest

The story of Darwinius masilae continues…

In our previous chapter, we noted that the scientists who described this fossil claimed “no competing interests exist,” ignoring the fact that the fossil was the center of a spectacular media circus that included a heavily financed TV documentary. I contacted Peter Binfield of PLOS One, where the paper was published, and asked for a comment. He said he was contacting the authors and would get back to me.

He has.

The paper is going to be formally corrected,