Linguistic, Orthographic, and Typographical Errors in Science (LOTS): A Growing Threat to Academic Integrity.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Linguistic, Orthographic, and Typographical Errors in Science (LOTS): A Growing Threat to Academic Integrity.
Authors: Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A.1 (AUTHOR) jaimetex@yahoo.com, Daly, Timothy2,3 (AUTHOR) tdaly@flacso.org.ar
Source: Annals of Biomedical Engineering. Jul2026, Vol. 54 Issue 7, p1953-1962. 10p.
Subjects: Spelling errors, Generative artificial intelligence, Research integrity, Biomedical engineering, Scientific literature
Abstract: Biomedical engineers produce knowledge and artifacts. Across the life cycle of an idea, errors can creep in. In this letter, we propose the term linguistic, orthographic, and typographical errors in science (LOTS) to represent a category of errors that threaten the truthfulness and integrity of scientific literature and engineering projects. They include documented cases of the misuse of generative artificial intelligence (GAI). LOTS consist of four categories: (1) simple spelling errors; (2) the semantic deformation of technical terms, in the form of 'tortured phrases'; (3) letter or symbol-switching; and (4) formatting errors that impact the veracity of knowledge, or distort the precision of scientific representation, such as the absence or overuse of capitalization, the incorrect use or absence of italicization, the failure to deanonymize information, cloned template text, or GAI-generated "hallucinations." We introduce small analyses to assess the incidence of dopamine-ß-hydroxylase, ß-secretase, and ß-adrenoreceptors (erroneous Eszett formats) supposedly representing dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH), β-secretase, and β-adrenoreceptors, respectively, in PubMed. We suggest that virtuous biomedical engineers should address LOTS. To improve the screening of LOTS, we argue in favor of a common framework for scholarly text integrity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Annals of Biomedical Engineering is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194775408
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Linguistic, Orthographic, and Typographical Errors in Science (LOTS): A Growing Threat to Academic Integrity.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Teixeira+da+Silva%2C+Jaime+A%2E%22">Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jaimetex@yahoo.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Daly%2C+Timothy%22">Daly, Timothy</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> tdaly@flacso.org.ar</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Annals+of+Biomedical+Engineering%22">Annals of Biomedical Engineering</searchLink>. Jul2026, Vol. 54 Issue 7, p1953-1962. 10p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spelling+errors%22">Spelling errors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Generative+artificial+intelligence%22">Generative artificial intelligence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+integrity%22">Research integrity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biomedical+engineering%22">Biomedical engineering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientific+literature%22">Scientific literature</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Biomedical engineers produce knowledge and artifacts. Across the life cycle of an idea, errors can creep in. In this letter, we propose the term linguistic, orthographic, and typographical errors in science (LOTS) to represent a category of errors that threaten the truthfulness and integrity of scientific literature and engineering projects. They include documented cases of the misuse of generative artificial intelligence (GAI). LOTS consist of four categories: (1) simple spelling errors; (2) the semantic deformation of technical terms, in the form of 'tortured phrases'; (3) letter or symbol-switching; and (4) formatting errors that impact the veracity of knowledge, or distort the precision of scientific representation, such as the absence or overuse of capitalization, the incorrect use or absence of italicization, the failure to deanonymize information, cloned template text, or GAI-generated "hallucinations." We introduce small analyses to assess the incidence of dopamine-ß-hydroxylase, ß-secretase, and ß-adrenoreceptors (erroneous Eszett formats) supposedly representing dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH), β-secretase, and β-adrenoreceptors, respectively, in PubMed. We suggest that virtuous biomedical engineers should address LOTS. To improve the screening of LOTS, we argue in favor of a common framework for scholarly text integrity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Annals of Biomedical Engineering is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=194775408
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10439-026-04084-y
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 1953
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Spelling errors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Generative artificial intelligence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research integrity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Biomedical engineering
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scientific literature
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Linguistic, Orthographic, and Typographical Errors in Science (LOTS): A Growing Threat to Academic Integrity.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Daly, Timothy
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00906964
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 54
            – Type: issue
              Value: 7
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Annals of Biomedical Engineering
              Type: main
ResultId 1