Part 3/6:
One primary criticism revolves around how the analysis was conducted, particularly concerning the use of an aluminum holder for dust samples. When measuring aluminum content in microanalytic settings, it is critical to use a non-reactive substrate to avoid contamination and inaccurate results. The scientist notes that using an aluminum holder introduces unavoidable artifacts into the analysis, leading to erroneous conclusions.
The researchers acknowledged this oversight and promised to repeat the measurements using a different, non-aluminum substrate. However, the promised follow-up results were never published, raising further questions about the integrity of the research design.