Acronymification Warps Scientific Communication

Scientists increasingly brand projects with catchy acronyms (ABRACADABRA, HEART, FART) that boost memorability and media pickup but also obscure meaning, create tribal signaling, and bias discoverability. That practice raises hidden costs: confusion for non‑specialists, search/indexing problems, and incentives to prioritize branding over clarity or reproducibility. — If naming choices change which studies get attention or funding, then acronyms have downstream effects on public understanding, policy priorities, and research integrity.