Early-career researchers do more ‘disruptive’ science than veterans
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Experienced researchers are more likely to hold onto ideas from the past than those at the beginning of their careers, an analysis finds.Credit: RapidEye/Getty
Experienced researchers are less likely to produce ‘disruptive’ science than are those just starting their careers, finds an analysis of the scientific papers published by 12.5 million researchers over 60 years. The authors discovered that older researchers are better at connecting existing ideas to produce new knowledge than are younger researchers. But those with more experience are worse at achieving massive breakthroughs that overhaul, or disrupt, entire fields of research — as happened with innovations such as the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Are groundbreaking science discoveries becoming harder to find?