It's not really obligatory, and it would be nice if you guys just stopped posting that, especially on science articles since asking questions is what science does.

The article was fine, but the title is still fits the pattern. The answer is 'No'. Or, maybe, 'No, not yet'.

Well said. Anything comment that begins with "Obligatory" is usually worthless almost as bad as "This."

Fair enough. However, it's hoped that this might encourage less linkbait-y titles, especially for overviews of new science research. A headline like "Biofilm-inhibiting bacteria may provide an alternative to brushing your teeth" conveys much more information about the content (and doesn't break that "law", either).

Most of the time the people writing these articles have never even heard of Hacker News; this is just a more socially acceptable way to flaunt trivia in front of people to feel smarter while at the same time being able to call "first!".

Not having heard of Hacker News is irrelevant to writing better headlines. The "law" is hardly trivia; it's a great way to shed light on lazy writing and introduce people to simple manipulative tricks of journalism.

The headlines are not written by the people on Hacker News: they are written by people on websites other than Hacker News, and then posted verbatim here. If 100% of people on Hacker News read these comments and would never write an article with a question as the title, it would not change the fact that articles with questions as the title would occasionally get posted to Hacker News.

It should be noted that the title on the actual blog does not contain a question mark.

Wow! A link on HN of a two year article gave my poor classroom blog a 5000 fold spike in page views. Apologies if the snow annoyed people, but it wasn't me but a checkbox on the free Wordpress backend. It doesn't even show on the mobile version. The science comments above are interesting, but my intended take home message was NOT to promote an alternative to the tried and true methods of proper dental care, but instead draw attention to the incredible complexity of the human oral microbiota.