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Chinese Patents, Science Slop, Tooth Restoration, and Academic Problems
This week’s science bits from SWTG
Marcus Gee-Lim
August 20, 2025
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I recently had a lovely conversation with Dr. Brian Keating about AI, quantum physics and free will. Check it out here.
China Leads World in Patents
Image: IFI Claims
Digital Science has published its annual report about global patents. The ranks of companies holding the largest number of patents is dominated by China, which holds 7 of the top 10 spots. The entire top 10 are Asian companies. The first US company on the list is IBM which comes in at place 20. The top European company is Bosch at place 24. Read the full report here.
This week’s video is about the big problems facing the world of science research. I discuss some well-known and maybe not-so well known problems with scientific research, and what others have said about these issues.
Also, you can now create and share your own quizzes on QuizWithIt for free! Each quiz has a unique URL, can be embedded into websites or newsletter, and be shared on social media. Happy quizzing!
AI Slop On the Rise in Science
Online repositories of scientific articles where scientists can submit their papers before publication (often called preprint servers) are reporting a rise in papers that are likely AI-generated junk. It has been evident since late 2022 that researchers – especially those who speak English as a second language – use Large Language Models to aid their writing, which most scientists see as acceptable use. So far, the models have not been good enough to produce entire scientific papers due to obvious problems, like hallucinated citations, a problem that is easy to automatically check. The situation is now changing.
According to a report by Nature, the arXiv – which hosts most physics preprints – now rejects an estimated 2% of submissions as likely being AI-generated or products of papermills, that are organized scientific scam networks. Steinn Sigurðsson, scientific director at arXiv, told Nature, “We really started thinking there was a crisis sometime in the last three months.”
This is only the beginning. Read the full article here.
New Invention Can Restore Worn-Off Teeth
Image: King’s College London
Healthy teeth are covered by enamel, a protection that wears off with age, due to use and contact with acidic substances. Enamel does not renew, and, once worn off, teeth become sensitive and are more likely to develop cavities. This problem affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and often crowns are the only option to permanently fix it.
Researchers from King’s College London have now developed a new substance made of hair that has a structure similar to enamel. It efficiently coats teeth and sticks to them, and it can be adjusted in colour. They say it could hit the market within 2-3 years.
It’s not going to change the world, but it could significantly improve the quality of life for many people. Paper here. Press release here.
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