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Highly cited genetics studies found to contain sequence errors – Nature (Diana Kwon | February 2023)

Posted by Dr Gary Allen in Research Integrity on February 17, 2023
Keywords: Journal, Publication ethics, Research integrity, Research results

The Linked Original Item was Posted On February 10, 2023

genetic research abstract concept, 3d illustration

An analysis of two prominent journals reveals dozens of papers with apparent mistakes in their nucleotide-targeting reagents.

The prevalence of mistakes in published gene research could be more widespread than previously thought, according to an analysis of cancer-genetics papers in two high-impact journals.

Our congratulations to Jennifer Byrne and the team that recently identified a batch of highly cited and suspect genetic studies.  We don’t yet know if the problems reflect a mistake or something far more serious.  Genetic work can inform medical procedures and new treatments.  Even a single flawed study is a concern, many is extremely troubling.  We hope the institutions and publications concerned prompt, decisive and prompt action.

By combing through the supplementary information for hundreds of papers, a team led by cancer researcher Jennifer Byrne at the University of Sydney in Australia has identified some highly cited studies that contain errors in the DNA or RNA sequences of reagents. Scientists use these reagents for various reasons — for example, to study the function of a given gene or genetic sequence in a disease — and if the sequences are wrongly reported it could affect the reproducibility of the research.

It is unclear whether the errors are accidental or indicate misconduct. The study, published on the preprint server bioRxiv on 3 February1, has not been peer reviewed. Some researchers also question the extent to which errors at the level of individual nucleotides might affect the papers’ conclusions. However, most agree that the presence of such mistakes in the scientific literature is worrying.

“It is certainly disheartening to see these sorts of errors,” says Jeremy Wilusz, a molecular biologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. “If it’s just a reporting issue or something bigger — that, I don’t know — but it shouldn’t be happening.”

Highly cited genetics studies found to contain sequence errors
An analysis of two prominent journals reveals dozens of papers with apparent mistakes in their nucleotide-targeting reagents.

Related Reading

(China) Mass resignations at scientific journal over ethically fraught China genetics papers – The Intercept (Mara Hvistendahl | August 2021)

(China) Two Scientific Journals Retract Articles Involving Chinese DNA Research – New York Times (Sui-Lee Wee | September 2021)

Forensic database challenged over ethics of DNA holdings – Nature (Quirin Schiermeier | June 2021)

(Australia) What happened when a group of sleuths flagged more than 30 papers with errors? – Retraction Watch (Ivan Oransky | March 2021)

(UK) Data From A Top Geneticist’s Lab Was Flagged To A Major UK University. It Didn’t Launch A Formal Investigation Until A Decade Later – Buzzfeed (Peter Aldhous | January 2020)

Australian biobank repatriates hundreds of ‘legacy’ Indigenous blood samples – Science (Dyani Lewis | December 2019)

(China) Science publishers review ethics of research on Chinese minority groups – Nature (Richard Van Noorden & Davide Castelvecchi | December 2019)

The science institutions hiring integrity inspectors to vet their papers – Nature (Alison Abbott | November 2019)

(China) China’s Genetic Research on Ethnic Minorities Sets Off Science Backlash – New York Times (By Sui-Lee Wee and Paul Mozur | December 2019)

23andMe, moving beyond consumer DNA tests, is building a clinical trial recruitment business – STAT (Rebecca Robbins | September 2019)

Meet the woman who’s tracking down systematic research fraud – Elsevier (Jennifer A. Byrne and Christopher Tancock | July 2019)

(Australia) Medicare data used to recruit people with bipolar for research – Sydney Morning Herald (Kate Aubusson | July 2019)

(Australia) Project to “fact check” genetic studies leads to three more retractions. And it’s just getting started. – Retraction Watch (Andrew P. Han | September 2017)

How can we tackle the thorny problem of fraudulent research? – The Guardian (Mike Marinetto | March 2017)

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