Professor Cuts Publications In Half For Better Science

A veteran researcher just made a promise that might sound backwards: publish less science, not more.

Professor Adrian Barnett, a public health researcher, announced he's capping himself at seven papers per year. That's less than half his recent average of 15 annually.

The decision comes as scientific publishing spirals into what he calls "a runaway train headed for disaster." In 2024 alone, researchers published 1.7 million papers on PubMed, up from 1.2 million a decade ago.

Some scientists now churn out more than 60 papers each year. That's more than one per week, every single week.

Barnett remembers when publishing ten papers in 2005 felt like an enormous achievement. Now that same number looks almost quaint.

The explosion in papers is crushing the system. Scientists can't keep up with reading and reviewing all the research. Quality is slipping as low-grade papers slip through peer review in record numbers.

Cambridge University Press recently called the publication boom "unsustainable" and demanded radical change.

The Ripple Effect

Barnett's new limit isn't about working less. He plans to spend twice as much time on each paper: more background reading, deeper stakeholder consultation, better testing, and clearer thinking about real-world impact.

He knows his tenured position makes this easier than for young researchers fighting for jobs. Too many hiring decisions still count papers instead of measuring quality, pushing scientists toward shortcuts like AI-written drafts and paper mills.

The "slow science" movement has been growing quietly for years. A 2017 Nature article even proposed lifetime word limits for all scientists.

But speed still wins over rigor in most labs. Publishing first brings more glory than publishing carefully.

Barnett hopes his personal cap will spark broader change. He's betting that dedicating real time and care to fewer projects will produce research that actually moves public health forward.

Other scientists are watching his experiment with interest, wondering if quality really can beat quantity in a system obsessed with numbers.