Séralini's GMO Rat Tumor Study (2012)

Gilles-Éric Séralini's 2012 paper, which claimed Monsanto's NK603 corn and Roundup caused tumors in rats, was retracted from Food and Chemical Toxicology due to small sample sizes of only 10 rats per group and inappropriate controls, but it remains a rallying cry for anti-GMO activists. The study's findings are 50% less reliable than the average well-conducted toxicology study, yet the paper has been cited over 1,000 times by advocacy groups. Its polarizing power outmatches #5 The Bell Curve in public engagement, though not scientific merit.