A pivotal paper by chemist John Fenn saw huge numbers of citations almost immediately after its 1989 publication, but citations of at least six of the future Nobel laureates older papers also rose (see chart). The same attention boost, or citation cascade', is evident in records of more than 100 other Nobel prizewinners, says a study published on 4 May (A. Mazloumian et al. PLoS ONE 6, el 8975;2011). The finding may shed light on how scientific reputations emerge. See go.nature.com/gphgcp for more.
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