Sir

When scientific papers with multiple authors are published, an indication should be given of the contribution that each author has made to the research. Nature recently published a paper by more than 20 authors. We can only guess what the contribution of author No.17 might have been, but it might be important to let the reader know about that, not least for the benefit of author No.17 himself. We propose the following system, which would take up minimal space in the journal.

All authors should be listed again at the end of the paper with a short statement about their contributions (Table 1). No matter if the author is the first or the seventeenth, they will be able to show their part in the work, which might be helpful for their future careers, especially in the case of younger scientists1. This system will be informative for readers and also for potential employers, who need to assess the work of scientists they might employ.

Table 1 Table 1 Personal contributions to papers
Full size table

This statement of authorship would also strengthen scientific teams, because it would become more difficult for someone to usurp rewards not belonging to him2. Possible resentment about positioning within the list of authors would be reduced, because each author would be given full credit according to their personal contribution. The scientific community would benefit — better research would emerge from teams that cooperated rather than behaving like packs of wolves. And other scientists would find it easier to contact the right person to ask about a specialized area of the research.