Terms of use

About these terms

Libellus ("we", "us") is an independent publication that covers scientific research in plain language, free of charge and translated into several languages. These terms govern your use of the website. By browsing it, you accept them.

There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to pay. If you disagree with these terms, simply don't use the site.

What Libellus is and is not

We publish journalistic articles about published scientific research. Each article is our own work, written to make a study accessible to a general audience.

We are not affiliated with the authors of the studies we cover, nor with their institutions or publishers. We do not represent them, and coverage on this site implies no endorsement in either direction.

Our articles are not the research itself. They are summaries, and summarising means simplifying. For the exact data, methods and conclusions, always consult the original paper, which we link from every article.

Nothing on this site is professional advice. Not medical, legal, financial, or otherwise. If a subject affects a decision that matters to you, speak to a qualified professional.

Accuracy, and what to do when we get it wrong

We take accuracy seriously and review articles before publication. We cannot guarantee that every article is free of error, and scientific understanding changes: an article accurate at publication may be superseded by later work.

Every article carries a button to report a problem. If you find a mistake, tell us. We correct errors when we are made aware of them.

If we have written about you or your work

If you are an author of a study we have covered, or the subject of an article, and you object to what we published, write to us. Use the contact form and choose the reason "object to an article". Tell us which article and what the problem is.

We read every such message. Where we have misrepresented a study or a person, we correct the article and say what changed. Where we disagree, we tell you so and explain why.

Our content

Articles, translations, and illustrations on this site are our own work and remain our property. You may quote short extracts with attribution and a link back. Republishing entire articles requires our permission; just ask.

The research we cover

The studies we write about belong to their authors and publishers, under their own terms. We link to them; we do not host or redistribute them. Anything you do with those documents is between you and their rightsholders.

Using the site

Use it freely: read, share, link, quote. Please don't attempt to disrupt the service, scrape it in ways that degrade it for others, or misrepresent our content as coming from the authors of a study or from an official source.

External links

We link to studies, publishers, and other third-party sites. We don't control them and aren't responsible for their content or their practices.

No guarantee of availability

The site is provided as is. We make no promise that it will always be available, complete, or up to date. We may change, suspend, or stop publishing at any time.

Liability

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss arising from your use of this site or from reliance on its content. This is a free publication, offered in good faith; it is not a substitute for reading the research or consulting a professional.

Nothing here excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Changes

We may update these terms. The date below will change, and continued use of the site means you accept the revised version.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of France, and the courts of France have jurisdiction over any dispute.

Contact

Questions about these terms may be sent through the form on our contact page.

Last updated: 21 September 2026