which appeared to have a much higher boiling point and much lower freezing point than normal water. During the 1960s, many articles were published on the subject, and research on polywater was done around the world with mixed results. Eventually it was determined that many of the properties of polywater could be explained by biological contamination. When more rigorous cleaning of glassware and experimental controls were introduced, polywater could no longer be produced. It took several years for the concept of polywater to die in spite of the later negative results. Cold fusion In 1989, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons announced the discovery of a simple and cheap procedure to obtain room-temperature nuclear fusion. Although there were many instances where successful results were reported, they lacked consistency and hence cold fusion came to be considered to be an example of pathological science. Two panels convened by the US Department of Energy, one in 1989 and a second in 2004, did not recommend a dedicated federal program for cold fusion research. A small number of researchers continue working on the field. Water memory Jacques Benveniste was a French immunologist who in 1988 published a paper in the prestigious scientific journal Nature describing the action of very high dilutions of anti-IgE antibody on the degranulation of human basophils, findings which seemed to support the concept of homeopathy. Biologists were puzzled by Benveniste's results, as only molecules of water, and no molecules of the original antibody, remained in these high dilutions. Benveniste concluded that the configuration of molecules in water was biologically active. Subsequent investigations have not supported Benveniste's findings. See also Fringe science Protoscience Scientific misconduct List of experimental errors and frauds in physics List of topics characterized as pseudoscience Notes References Carroll, Robert Todd, "pathological science". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Kirby, Geoff., "Forum: Now you see it...Now you don't – A pathological tendency among astronomers", New Scientist, 24 February 1990 Kowalski, Ludwik, "Pathological Science" (N-rays story). Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, N.J. Langmuir, I. and R. N. Hall., "Pathological Science". Colloquium at The Knolls Research Laboratory, December 18, 1953. Langmuir, Irving, and Robert N. Hall. "Pathological science". Physics Today 42 (10): 36–48. 1989. Turro, Nicholas J., "Toward a general theory of pathological science". 21stC: Issue 3.4 Strange Science. Wilson, James R., "Doctoral colloquium keynote address: conduct, misconduct, and cargo cult science". Department of Industrial Engineering, North Carolina State University. Raleigh, North Carolina.