With thousands of papers and studies being published daily, how do you know whether your research has made any waves in the field? 

How is actual “impact” or “influence” measured, and what metrics matter? 

By number of citations or Altmetric score? Virality on social media? Longest title of 2025? And finally, are these measurements good, bad or simply delightful? 

All of these questions (and more) are ones that data and research experts, Mike Taylor (Head of Data Insights, Altmetric, part of Digital Science), Carrie Brubaker (Medical Affairs Consultant), and Carlos Areia (Senior Data Scientist, Altmetric, part of Digital Science) began to explore as part of a Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) podcast a couple of years ago. Now, they’re back and have the additional expert insight of James Dathan (Associate Director, BBU Publication, AstraZeneca) to reflect on and discuss their take on the Top 10 Most Interesting Publications of 2025 using Altmetric data. Each deliberates on why they made these lists and what made these particular publications stand out above the rest.

This year’s roundup includes curated sub-lists such as Top Altmetric Score – Clinical Trial Publication, Top All-round Highest Score and even Top Congress Attention.

Below, we cover some selected highlights from the podcast. Did you come across any of these publications? Is yours on the list? 

For the full list and insights, head over to the Top 10 Most “Interesting” Publications of 2025 on the MAPS website.

Top Altmetric Score – Clinical Trial Publication

Title: Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity

By: Aronne et al

Published in: The New England Journal of Medicine, 393(1), 26-36 – May 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2416394

For a detailed breakdown of the Altmetric attention, click here

This paper contrasts the two best-known GLP-1 drugs for obesity (in the absence of diabetes), finding that injectable tirzepatide was more effective in weight loss and waist reduction (although both work well).

“Twenty years ago, this therapeutic area (drug treatments for obesity) essentially didn’t exist. The introduction of GLP-1 drugs has been the key driver, and amongst them, semaglutide and tirzepatide have had a dramatic effect on the TA and publication space… These are two big beasts being compared in this paper: given the prevalence of obesity, we shouldn’t be surprised by these numbers — in fact, we should also take a moment to reflect on how many millions of people have read about GLP1-drugs in the mainstream media, heard podcasts, read blog posts, and shared about it on social media. It’s a very real example of the power that our publications have, and how our research can change attitudes and conversations around the world…” – Mike Taylor

Title: Patient-Specific In Vivo Gene Editing to Treat a Rare Genetic Disease

By: Musunuru et al

Published in: The New England Journal of Medicine, 392(22), 2235-2243 – May 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2504747

For a detailed breakdown of the Altmetric attention, click here

In this paper, the authors describe how a newborn child, who’d be diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder — with an estimated 50% mortality in early childhood — is treated with a custom base-editing therapy. The treatment appears to have been successful with no significant adverse effects.

Image: A graphic visualizing the Altmetric Attention Score and media mentions for an article. The Attention Score is 4667. Media mentions are broken down as follows: 507 mentions in news outlets, 24 mentions in blogs, 1097 mentions by X (formerly Twitter) users, 3 mentions on Facebook pages, 6 mentions on Wikipedia pages, 5 mentions by YouTube creators, 382 mentions by BlueSky users, and 15 mentions in podcasts.

Top U.S. Congress Attention

Title: Structured Exercise after Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer

By: Courneya et al

Published in: The New England Journal of Medicine, 393(1), 13-25 – June 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2502760

For a detailed breakdown of the Altmetric attention, click here

A phase 3 randomized trial found that a 3-year structured exercise program after adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer significantly improved disease-free survival and suggested longer overall survival compared to a health-education group. At a median follow-up of 8 years, the exercise group had an 80.3% 5-year disease-free survival rate, compared to 73.9% in the health-education group.

“Despite not being a commercial trial, this was the most famous viral study in our congress data, particularly at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO 2025), receiving exceptional positive sentiment and attention in social media, news, blogs and many other attention sources. I must disclose that I am a bit biased due to my Physio background, but I could not have this trial pass without a mention and strong congratulatory message to all involved in this brilliant and really impactful piece of work.” – Carlos Areia

Top Discussed on Podcasts

Title: Finerenone with Empagliflozin in Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes

By: Agarwal et al

Published in: The New England Journal of Medicine, 393(6), 533-543 – June 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2410659

For a detailed breakdown of the Altmetric attention, click here

The study investigates the effects of combining finerenone and empagliflozin in patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes. Results show that this combination therapy significantly reduces the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio more than either drug alone, with no unexpected adverse events reported.

Image: Screenshot of podcast mentions – in German and English

“Podcasts are a new source for me, and this one is fascinating — it’s been discussed by the diabetes and renal communities, as well as amongst cardiologists. To me, seeing the enormous growth of the podcast as a means of communication and the diversity is extraordinary! This particular paper was mentioned on eight podcasts. Seeing how different therapeutic communities all engaged with this publication is fascinating — in the wild world of scientometrics, the expectation is usually that papers that cross subjects often get lower levels of activity: this paper defies those expectations. Oh, and it’s been discussed in German as well as English.” – Mike Taylor

Want to see the full list and listen to the podcast? Check out the Top 10 Most Interesting Publications of 2025 on the MAPS website. 

If you are interested in learning more about Altmetric Attention Scores or other aspects of Altmetric, contact our friendly team.