Is the era of breakthrough scientific discoveries behind us? A recent study in scientific journal Nature found that disruptive science has been on the decline for decades, swapped out for more “iterative” research that builds on existing work.

The evidence? Look no further than the decline of novel patents, the paper suggests. Science writer and author of The End of Science John Horgan has suggested that the era of blockbuster discoveries is behind us — and that the number of potential discoveries we can make is inherently finite. But the paper argues that the current dead-end could be attributed to academia’s “publish-or-perish” culture, which tends to reward quantity over quality.

Not helping matters: The decline in company-led research and corporate research arms, a phenomenon which has left the onus of scientific discovery entirely on the shoulders of academic journals, the Financial Times writes.