Overview
- The Science of Nature (formerly Naturwissenschaften) quietly marked two Max Planck essays as withdrawn in 2011 and they remain blank in the journal’s online archive as of June 2026, a discovery prompted by Canadian historians who publicized their findings last month.
- Researchers Yves Gingras and Mahdi Khelfaoui traced DOI and metadata changes from large-scale digitization and concluded the removals likely stem from modern copyright and duplicate-publication checks rather than any scientific misconduct.
- One essay from 1942 had been reprinted elsewhere and could trigger duplicate-detection tools, while the 1940 piece shares a title with a contemporaneous critique and reply, creating cataloguing ambiguity that can confuse automated systems.
- Journal editor Suzanne Scarlata said she was unaware of the withdrawals and suspects an algorithmic error, while Springer Nature has declined detailed public explanation, canceled a planned editorial, and treated retraction details as confidential.
- Historians warn that retroactive application of today's duplication and copyright rules risks distorting the archival record and are calling for publishers to restore access, explain automated policing practices, and increase transparency about retrospective removals.