Enantioselective Reactions in a Static Magnetic Field-A False Alarm!

Too good to be true—in hindsight unfortunately this must be said about a publication by G. Zadel et al. that appeared in the second February issue of Angewandte Chemie entitled “Enantioselective Reactions in a Static Magnetic Field”. The history of the publication and, in particular, the factors influencing the decision to publish are outlined. Regrettably, unnecessary time and effort were invested by many research groups worldwide in trying to reproduce these results. It is reassuring to know, however, that important publications are checked critically and very rapidly. In this particular case, established theories continue to hold true.