The problem exists in computer science too. For example, a researcher might publish an article about a novel algorithm, claiming to improve Java VM performance

The problem exists in computer science too. For example, a researcher might publish an article about a novel algorithm, claiming to improve Java VM performance by X%. Except there is only pseudo code given, so replicating the result is nigh impossible. But if you succeed in implementing the algorithm, more often than not you discover that it only improves performance in the researchers specific setup and is net negative for normal workloads.