EDUCATIONAL CORNER

A carefully curated collection of news and resources relevant to our favorite topics.

Guidelines in Research
Recommendations to improve use and reporting of statistics in animal experiments
December 22, 2023

Flaws in experimental statistics are a major contributor to the poor reproducibility of animal experiments. Informed decisions about whether conclusions are…

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Co-creating Research Integrity Education Guidelines for Research Institutions
December 22, 2023

To support institutions to foster research integrity (RI), Krishma Labib and colleagues developed RI education guidelines together with RI experts and…

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Cell line authentication: a necessity for reproducible biomedical research
November 2, 2022

Immortalized or continuous cell lines are invaluable tools in basic and preclinical research. However, the widespread use of misidentified cell lines…

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Designing and implementing a research integrity promotion plan: Recommendations for research funders
November 2, 2022

Various stakeholders in science have put research integrity high on their agenda. Among them, research funders are prominently placed to foster…

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Case Studies
“Blinding in histopathology assessments – I see your point but…”
June 16, 2022

We strongly believe that, in most cases, preclinical in vivo studies conducted without adequate protection against risks of bias (i.e., underpowered, without randomization, blinding,…

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How much power should my next study have: One size fits all?
March 14, 2022

There is a slow but steady increase in the number of publications where authors report on sample size justification.  In most…

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Careful interpretation of Western blotting data
February 23, 2021

Western blotting represents a powerful technique for the semi-quantitative determination of protein expression and the detection of protein modifications like phosphorylation…

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In vivo veritas
October 5, 2020

Most of our readers are biologists but nevertheless we are occasionally exposed to medicinal chemistry literature describing novel research tools, lead…

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Editorials
PAASP Editorial in the Journal Temperature
October 8, 2020

Please following this LINK to our Editorial “Enhancing quality in preclinical data: Of hot science and cool quality”, which was just published in…

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Die Reproduzierbarkeitskrise: Bedrohung oder Chance für die Wissenschaft? (In German)
May 28, 2020

In this Editorial, published in Biologie in unserer Zeit, Martin C. Michel and Ralf Dahm discuss threats and opportunities related to…

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eNeuro publishes Series on Scientific Rigor
July 22, 2016

Christophe Bernard, editor in chief of eNeuro, mentions in this editorial the issue of scientific rigor with a reference to two Commentaries…

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An incentive-based approach for improving data reproducibility
April 29, 2016

In the editorial published in Science Translational Medicine, Michael Rosenblatt, Merck’s executive vice president and chief medical officer, said bad results…

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Tools for researchers
A qualitative study of the barriers to using blinding in in vivo experiments and suggestions for improvement
December 22, 2023

In animal experiments, blinding is a methodological strategy to reduce the risk that scientists, animal care staff, or other staff involved…

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Advanced methods and implementations for the meta-analyses of animal models: Current practices and future recommendations
December 22, 2023

Meta-analytic techniques have been widely used to synthesize data from animal models of human diseases and conditions, but these analyses often…

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Designing, conducting, and reporting reproducible animal experiments
December 22, 2023

In this review, Emma Wilson and colleagues aim to engage researchers in the discussion on research reproducibility and to provide the…

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Good Research Practice online course
December 22, 2023

We are thrilled to announce that we have completed the development of our Good Research Practice online course and it will…

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New Publications
Additional Reads in December 2023
December 22, 2023

Further commentaries, articles and blog posts worth reading:Zen und die Kunst, Forschung zu bewerten (in German)  In defense of quantitative metrics…

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Effects of ketamine optical isomers, fluoxetine and naloxone on timing in differential reinforcement of low-rate response (DRL) 72-s task in rats
December 22, 2023

This is one of the first publications reporting the results of original research performed in an EQIPD-certified laboratory. This study was…

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Systematic assessment of the replicability and generalizability of preclinical findings: Impact of protocol harmonization across laboratory sites
December 22, 2023

The influence of protocol standardization between laboratories on their replicability of preclinical results has not been addressed in a systematic way….

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Sex as a biological variable in preclinical research:  Unforeseen and abused degree of freedom 
December 21, 2023

In many fields of biomedical research, in vivo studies traditionally involved the use of male subjects.  The situation recently started to…

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Commentaries
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
December 22, 2023

 The pressure to replace animal research with non-animal methods is growing. Earlier this year, NIH has issued a “Request for Information…

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“Home inspections” for life sciences companies going public before clinical proof of concept
December 22, 2023

For over a decade, there is a trend of less specialized investment firms and public equity investors betting on life sciences…

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“Publication of negative/null results discussed at NIH”
November 2, 2022

NINDS Office of Research Quality has presented a proposal on how to address the publication bias. It can be watched HERE (starts at…

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“The customer is king!” 
November 2, 2022

Once during our vacation in Greece, our children asked for ice cream after having dinner.  When the waiter was asked about…

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Fun Section
Support by artificial intelligence
November 3, 2021

https://xkcd.com/2494/ Read More
A method to streamline p-hacking
June 16, 2021

The analytic strategy of p-hacking has rapidly accelerated the achievement of psychological scientists’ goals (e.g., publications & tenure), but has suffered…

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Scaling the y-axis
May 29, 2020

One of our colleagues sent us this interesting image from a national TV station. Even though the topic is very sad…

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Fun, fun, fun…
March 31, 2020

A mathematician, a physicist, and a statistician went hunting for deer. When they chanced upon one buck lounging about, the mathematician…

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All Posts
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
December 22, 2023

 The pressure to replace animal research with non-animal methods is growing. Earlier this year, NIH has issued a “Request for Information…

Read More
“Home inspections” for life sciences companies going public before clinical proof of concept
December 22, 2023

For over a decade, there is a trend of less specialized investment firms and public equity investors betting on life sciences…

Read More
Additional Reads in December 2023
December 22, 2023

Further commentaries, articles and blog posts worth reading:Zen und die Kunst, Forschung zu bewerten (in German)  In defense of quantitative metrics…

Read More
Effects of ketamine optical isomers, fluoxetine and naloxone on timing in differential reinforcement of low-rate response (DRL) 72-s task in rats
December 22, 2023

This is one of the first publications reporting the results of original research performed in an EQIPD-certified laboratory. This study was…

Read More