Coffee Break: Science Agonistes, with Hope at the End
Friday, February 13, 2026
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The database, which has grown by over 300% since its launch in 2017, uses 70-plus criteria to assess journal legitimacy, and now includes over 20,000 journals, outnumbering reputable journals by only 1,000, according to KLG, citing Cabell's reports.
A proposed hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau, funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been paused due to ethical concerns, with critics arguing that withholding vaccination from newborns would predictably result in increased incidence of liver disease, as reported by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
The controversy surrounding the trial has sparked concerns about the exploitation of vulnerable populations, with over 50% of Guinea-Bissau's population living in poverty, and 1 in 5 people born in the country having chronic hepatitis B, according to the World Bank and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
