Well, I USED to be a scientist, and have written many abstracts. Believe it or not, they are often the hardest part of the paper to write.

As for use of person...yes, the folks who say that "In this paper we..."etc. are correct. I am so old that the passive tense "This aspect was examined..." was often used.

I often read the Introduction and Conclusions as one are of a paper when I don't feel like plugging through the technical parts!

And yes---these things can be as frustrating as trying to read the ballot info for the November Election!

Best, Penny