Hi there!
While trying to come up with the number of ion channel scientists in the world (see here) I’ve also analyzed how authors are distributed over papers (the number of authors per paper) and assessed if there is any inflation in the number of authors per paper in the ion channel field.
The following graphs are based on the analysis of nearly 240000 ion-channel related publications from Pubmed.
Here we can see how the authors are distributed over papers. Papers with 3 authors appear most often, and half of all ion channel papers have 4 authors or less. However, considering the existing trends (see below), this distribution is going to be changed significantly.
From these graphs, it’s clear that the fraction of papers with less than 10 authors is decreasing, whereas the proportion of publications having 10 or more authors is steadily increasing. Moreover, since the late 1990s, we’ve also been observing the increase of the fraction of papers having 20 or more co-authors. These trends suggest that the average number of authors per publication should be rising. And this is reflected in the graph below.
What we can see here is that the number of authors per paper is steadily growing. At present, the average number of authors per ion channel-related publication is around 6.8, which is about 2.5 times more than in 1980. It goes in line with the general trend of the increasing number of authors per scientific publication nowadays (see here). This could reflect the fact that science becomes more complex, more collaborative and it moves towards the large group/consortia-based research model.
If we analyze all the ion channel articles listed in Pubmed, the average number of authors per publication will be around 4.98 ± 3.37 (mean ± SD). That’s the average, but what about the outliers? What are the least and the most crowded ion channel articles and how many authors they have?
Well, obviously, the least number of authors per article is 1, and around 7.5% of all ion channel-related publications have just 1 author. As for the articles containing the largest number of contributors, the ion channel field doesn’t have thousand-author papers yet (in contrast to physical sciences with their record-breaking 5154 authors of a single research paper). But we have hundred-author publications. Here are the TOP 5:
161 authors
Aung T, Ozaki M, Mizoguchi T, Allingham RR, Li Z, Haripriya A, Nakano S, Uebe S, Harder JM, Chan AS, Lee MC, Burdon KP, Astakhov YS, Abu-Amero KK, Zenteno JC, Nilgün Y, Zarnowski T, Pakravan M, Safieh LA, Jia L, Wang YX, Williams S, Paoli D, Schlottmann PG, Huang L, Sim KS, Foo JN, Nakano M, Ikeda Y, Kumar RS, Ueno M, Manabe S, Hayashi K, Kazama S, Ideta R, Mori Y, Miyata K, Sugiyama K, Higashide T, Chihara E, Inoue K, Ishiko S, Yoshida A, Yanagi M, Kiuchi Y, Aihara M, Ohashi T, Sakurai T, Sugimoto T, Chuman H, Matsuda F, Yamashiro K, Gotoh N, Miyake M, Astakhov SY, Osman EA, Al-Obeidan SA, Owaidhah O, Al-Jasim L, Al Shahwan S, Fogarty RA, Leo P, Yetkin Y, Oğuz Ç, Kanavi MR, Beni AN, Yazdani S, Akopov EL, Toh KY, Howell GR, Orr AC, Goh Y, Meah WY, Peh SQ, Kosior-Jarecka E, Lukasik U, Krumbiegel M, Vithana EN, Wong TY, Liu Y, Koch AE, Challa P, Rautenbach RM, Mackey DA, Hewitt AW, Mitchell P, Wang JJ, Ziskind A, Carmichael T, Ramakrishnan R, Narendran K, Venkatesh R, Vijayan S, Zhao P, Chen X, Guadarrama-Vallejo D, Cheng CY, Perera SA, Husain R, Ho SL, Welge-Luessen UC, Mardin C, Schloetzer-Schrehardt U, Hillmer AM, Herms S, Moebus S, Nöthen MM, Weisschuh N, Shetty R, Ghosh A, Teo YY, Brown MA, Lischinsky I; Blue Mountains Eye Study GWAS Team; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, Crowston JG, Coote M, Zhao B, Sang J, Zhang N, You Q, Vysochinskaya V, Founti P, Chatzikyriakidou A, Lambropoulos A, Anastasopoulos E, Coleman AL, Wilson MR, Rhee DJ, Kang JH, May-Bolchakova I, Heegaard S, Mori K, Alward WL, Jonas JB, Xu L, Liebmann JM, Chowbay B, Schaeffeler E, Schwab M, Lerner F, Wang N, Yang Z, Frezzotti P, Kinoshita S, Fingert JH, Inatani M, Tashiro K, Reis A, Edward DP, Pasquale LR, Kubota T, Wiggs JL, Pasutto F, Topouzis F, Dubina M, Craig JE, Yoshimura N, Sundaresan P, John SW, Ritch R, Hauser MA, Khor CC. A common variant mapping to CACNA1A is associated with susceptibility to exfoliation syndrome. Nat Genet. 2015 Apr;47(4):387-92. doi: 10.1038/ng.3226. Epub 2015 Feb 23. Erratum in: Nat Genet. 2015 Jun;47(6):689. PubMed PMID: 25706626; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4605818.
126 authors
Stephens SH, Hartz SM, Hoft NR, Saccone NL, Corley RC, Hewitt JK, Hopfer CJ, Breslau N, Coon H, Chen X, Ducci F, Dueker N, Franceschini N, Frank J, Han Y, Hansel NN, Jiang C, Korhonen T, Lind PA, Liu J, Lyytikäinen LP, Michel M, Shaffer JR, Short SE, Sun J, Teumer A, Thompson JR, Vogelzangs N, Vink JM, Wenzlaff A, Wheeler W, Yang BZ, Aggen SH, Balmforth AJ, Baumeister SE, Beaty TH, Benjamin DJ, Bergen AW, Broms U, Cesarini D, Chatterjee N, Chen J, Cheng YC, Cichon S, Couper D, Cucca F, Dick D, Foroud T, Furberg H, Giegling I, Gillespie NA, Gu F, Hall AS, Hällfors J, Han S, Hartmann AM, Heikkilä K, Hickie IB, Hottenga JJ, Jousilahti P, Kaakinen M, Kähönen M, Koellinger PD, Kittner S, Konte B, Landi MT, Laatikainen T, Leppert M, Levy SM, Mathias RA, McNeil DW, Medland SE, Montgomery GW, Murray T, Nauck M, North KE, Paré PD, Pergadia M, Ruczinski I, Salomaa V, Viikari J, Willemsen G, Barnes KC, Boerwinkle E, Boomsma DI, Caporaso N, Edenberg HJ, Francks C, Gelernter J, Grabe HJ, Hops H, Jarvelin MR, Johannesson M, Kendler KS, Lehtimäki T, Magnusson PK, Marazita ML, Marchini J, Mitchell BD, Nöthen MM, Penninx BW, Raitakari O, Rietschel M, Rujescu D, Samani NJ, Schwartz AG, Shete S, Spitz M, Swan GE, Völzke H, Veijola J, Wei Q, Amos C, Cannon DS, Grucza R, Hatsukami D, Heath A, Johnson EO, Kaprio J, Madden P, Martin NG, Stevens VL, Weiss RB, Kraft P, Bierut LJ, Ehringer MA. Distinct loci in the CHRNA5/CHRNA3/CHRNB4 gene cluster are associated with onset of regular smoking. Genet Epidemiol. 2013 Dec;37(8):846-59. doi: 10.1002/gepi.21760. Epub 2013 Nov 1. PubMed PMID: 24186853; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3947535.
106 authors
Liu JZ, Tozzi F, Waterworth DM, Pillai SG, Muglia P, Middleton L, Berrettini W, Knouff CW, Yuan X, Waeber G, Vollenweider P, Preisig M, Wareham NJ, Zhao JH, Loos RJ, Barroso I, Khaw KT, Grundy S, Barter P, Mahley R, Kesaniemi A, McPherson R, Vincent JB, Strauss J, Kennedy JL, Farmer A, McGuffin P, Day R, Matthews K, Bakke P, Gulsvik A, Lucae S, Ising M, Brueckl T, Horstmann S, Wichmann HE, Rawal R, Dahmen N, Lamina C, Polasek O, Zgaga L, Huffman J, Campbell S, Kooner J, Chambers JC, Burnett MS, Devaney JM, Pichard AD, Kent KM, Satler L, Lindsay JM, Waksman R, Epstein S, Wilson JF, Wild SH, Campbell H, Vitart V, Reilly MP, Li M, Qu L, Wilensky R, Matthai W, Hakonarson HH, Rader DJ, Franke A, Wittig M, Schäfer A, Uda M, Terracciano A, Xiao X, Busonero F, Scheet P, Schlessinger D, St Clair D, Rujescu D, Abecasis GR, Grabe HJ, Teumer A, Völzke H, Petersmann A, John U, Rudan I, Hayward C, Wright AF, Kolcic I, Wright BJ, Thompson JR, Balmforth AJ, Hall AS, Samani NJ, Anderson CA, Ahmad T, Mathew CG, Parkes M, Satsangi J, Caulfield M, Munroe PB, Farrall M, Dominiczak A, Worthington J, Thomson W, Eyre S, Barton A; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Mooser V, Francks C, Marchini J. Meta-analysis and imputation refines the association of 15q25 with smoking quantity. Nat Genet. 2010 May;42(5):436-40. doi: 10.1038/ng.572. Epub 2010 Apr 25. PubMed PMID: 20418889; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3612983.
104 authors
Helbig KL, Lauerer RJ, Bahr JC, Souza IA, Myers CT, Uysal B, Schwarz N, Gandini MA, Huang S, Keren B, Mignot C, Afenjar A, Billette de Villemeur T, Héron D, Nava C, Valence S, Buratti J, Fagerberg CR, Soerensen KP, Kibaek M, Kamsteeg EJ, Koolen DA, Gunning B, Schelhaas HJ, Kruer MC, Fox J, Bakhtiari S, Jarrar R, Padilla-Lopez S, Lindstrom K, Jin SC, Zeng X, Bilguvar K, Papavasileiou A, Xing Q, Zhu C, Boysen K, Vairo F, Lanpher BC, Klee EW, Tillema JM, Payne ET, Cousin MA, Kruisselbrink TM, Wick MJ, Baker J, Haan E, Smith N, Sadeghpour A, Davis EE, Katsanis N; Task Force for Neonatal Genomics, Corbett MA, MacLennan AH, Gecz J, Biskup S, Goldmann E, Rodan LH, Kichula E, Segal E, Jackson KE, Asamoah A, Dimmock D, McCarrier J, Botto LD, Filloux F, Tvrdik T, Cascino GD, Klingerman S, Neumann C, Wang R, Jacobsen JC, Nolan MA, Snell RG, Lehnert K, Sadleir LG, Anderlid BM, Kvarnung M, Guerrini R, Friez MJ, Lyons MJ, Leonhard J, Kringlen G, Casas K, El Achkar CM, Smith LA, Rotenberg A, Poduri A, Sanchis-Juan A, Carss KJ, Rankin J, Zeman A, Raymond FL, Blyth M, Kerr B, Ruiz K, Urquhart J, Hughes I, Banka S; Deciphering Developmental Disorders Study, Hedrich UBS, Scheffer IE, Helbig I, Zamponi GW, Lerche H, Mefford HC. De Novo Pathogenic Variants in CACNA1E Cause Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy with Contractures, Macrocephaly, and Dyskinesias. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 Nov 1;103(5):666-678. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Oct 18. Erratum in: Am J Hum Genet. 2019 Mar 7;104(3):562. PubMed PMID: 30343943; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6216110.
103 authors
Sotoodehnia N, Isaacs A, de Bakker PI, Dörr M, Newton-Cheh C, Nolte IM, van der Harst P, Müller M, Eijgelsheim M, Alonso A, Hicks AA, Padmanabhan S, Hayward C, Smith AV, Polasek O, Giovannone S, Fu J, Magnani JW, Marciante KD, Pfeufer A, Gharib SA, Teumer A, Li M, Bis JC, Rivadeneira F, Aspelund T, Köttgen A, Johnson T, Rice K, Sie MP, Wang YA, Klopp N, Fuchsberger C, Wild SH, Mateo Leach I, Estrada K, Völker U, Wright AF, Asselbergs FW, Qu J, Chakravarti A, Sinner MF, Kors JA, Petersmann A, Harris TB, Soliman EZ, Munroe PB, Psaty BM, Oostra BA, Cupples LA, Perz S, de Boer RA, Uitterlinden AG, Völzke H, Spector TD, Liu FY, Boerwinkle E, Dominiczak AF, Rotter JI, van Herpen G, Levy D, Wichmann HE, van Gilst WH, Witteman JC, Kroemer HK, Kao WH, Heckbert SR, Meitinger T, Hofman A, Campbell H, Folsom AR, van Veldhuisen DJ, Schwienbacher C, O’Donnell CJ, Volpato CB, Caulfield MJ, Connell JM, Launer L, Lu X, Franke L, Fehrmann RS, te Meerman G, Groen HJ, Weersma RK, van den Berg LH, Wijmenga C, Ophoff RA, Navis G, Rudan I, Snieder H, Wilson JF, Pramstaller PP, Siscovick DS, Wang TJ, Gudnason V, van Duijn CM, Felix SB, Fishman GI, Jamshidi Y, Stricker BH, Samani NJ, Kääb S, Arking DE. Common variants in 22 loci are associated with QRS duration and cardiac ventricular conduction. Nat Genet. 2010 Dec;42(12):1068-76. doi: 10.1038/ng.716. Epub 2010 Nov 14. PubMed PMID: 21076409; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3338195.
