In addition, established scientists are rarely the first author on papers. It's usually a grad student or postdoc who does most of the work and gets first auth

In addition, established scientists are rarely the first author on papers. It's usually a grad student or postdoc who does most of the work and gets first authorship. A publication in a top journal can literally make or break their career. If someone decides that their group won't publish in top journals, they're hurting their own students, which probably discourages people from doing so.