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.

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 The study, published on the preprint server bioRxiv on 3 February1, has not been peer reviewed.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.”