In the News

The controversy over famous patient Henry Molaison — a.k.a. H.M. — is #7 on the Guardian’s list of top science news stories of 2016.

In brief: Luke Dittrich has accused memory researcher Suzanne Corkin of several ethical breaches — including shredding research — in her work with H.M. (Corkin’s peers have strongly defended her work.)

This story is rich in human interest: Dittrich, after all, is the grandson of the surgeon who — in an attempt to cure H.M.’s epilepsy — removed H.M.’s hippocampi.

And yet, given that Corkin’s work and H.M.’s story are foundational for many accounts of human memory, this controversy goes beyond family scandal to deep scientific import.