"Fraud" is far too strong, to me. Many people are naturally interested in astronomy (when was the last time you saw a HN article about condensed matter physics

"Fraud" is far too strong, to me. Many people are naturally interested in astronomy (when was the last time you saw a HN article about condensed matter physics, or epidemiology?), and popular articles like this provide a short-term return on their investment. As to the sexing up/over-selling, competition for scarce resources is the very definition of an incentive. The grant funding system has plenty of flaws, but the fact that research is funded through competition a) increases its quality and b) doesn't remove the intrinsic value of its results.