The trouble with circRNAs- are researchers going around in circles?
In this very interesting post, Professor Jennifer Byrne (University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, NSW Health Pathology) looks at the mistakes being made in circRNAs papers, even in high-profile, supposedly high-quality and distinguished publications.
She reflects on what might be the cause of those mistakes, why they are a big deal what could be the consequences.
Why is it that honest researchers make such a serious mistake?
Is a sign of lack of experience, insight and knowledge? Or is it an indication something far more dubious and questionable?
This very accessible post does a great job of explaining complex genetic concepts in lay terms.
This points to the need for research institutions and research publishers to have sufficient expertise in the topic, to truly understand circRNAs and reagents.
Why university research ethics committees are vital
In this post Daniel Sokol writes about a troubling research integrity/human research ethics case that relates to Poland, the UK and Australia.
Daniel SokolÂ
When I sat on the Ministry of Defence’s Research Ethics Committee, some research projects were potentially dangerous. The risks of testing a new piece of military diving equipment, for example, are obvious. If it malfunctions, the volunteer could drown or suffer brain damage. The risks of historical research can be more subtle but they are nonetheless real, as shown by a recent case involving the University of Warwick.
Dr Anna Hájková, an associate professor of modern continental European history, researches the queer history of the Holocaust. She claimed that a Jewish prisoner may have engaged in a lesbian sexual relationship with a Nazi guard in Hamburg in 1944.
After the war, the prisoner worked as an actress and emigrated from…
The ethical petri-dish: recommendations for the design of university science curricula
Dr Jo-Anne Kelder, Senior Lecturer, Curriculum Innovation and Development, University of Tasmania, https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokelder/ Professor Sue Jones, Honorary Researcher, School of
When Research is the treatment: why the research/clinical care divide doesn’t always work
Nik Zeps AHRECS Consultant Health services are often operated by people who strive to improve the way they deliver care.
It’s the hand you’re dealt: Copyright card games and publishing board games are in!
Nerida Quatermass | University Copyright Officer | Project Manager, Creative Commons Australia at Queensland University of Technology As a university
Fighting Fiction with Fiction: A novel approach to engaging the public in bioethics of medical research
Cathal O’Connell Centre Manager, BioFab3D, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. About the laboratory discussed in this post (Video credit: Benjamin Sheen)
Pondering on whether to submit your research output to a journal?
The significance of how we talk and think about the pachyderm elephant mammoth in the room. Dr Gary Allen AHRECS
Interest in ‘self-plagiarism’
Mark Israel Mark Israel’s article in Research Ethics Monthly on ‘Self-plagiarism?’ has been receiving a little interest outside Australia and New Zealand.
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iDARE: [innovation.design.arts.research.ethics]
I dare you? iDARE involves a team of designers and visual and performing artists
Travelling Consultants and Professional Development Roadshows
Prof. Mark Israel plans to be in CANBERRA (2-3 April), SYDNEY (8-10 May), UK and Belgium (27 May-8
A new approach to the AHRECS site
In response to community feedback, from 1 November 2020, only papers, books and genuine resources will be posted to the AHRECS Resource Library; news and announcements will be posted to the feeds page. Â Searches of the site can include searches of the feed. Links to Research Ethics Monthly editions will also be posted to the feeds page. Â Please bear with us as we move all existing news items over to the feed. Eventually, this approach will make it easier to distinguish between research outputs and news items about human research ethics and research integrity.
Expertise in ethics, research ethics or review?
In this terrific and thoughtful post, Colin Thomson AM, a Senior Adviser to AHRECS, reflects on what we mean when we talk about expertise i the context of Human Research Ethics Review.
Do we mean expertise in ethics, research ethics or ethics review or a combination?
Do they fit together seamlessly and easily or is there an incongruence?
He frames these matters, when talking about research ethics committee members and research ethics reviewers across ten important categories.
He then suggests ten tests that could be usefully applied to evaluate the quality of review feedback.
How your institution’s research ethics committee and its review feedback fare if judged against this criteria?
Is it time they had some professional development? Does the Committee’s standard operating procedures need to be updated?
This is a valuable read for research ethics committee Chairs, Secretaries and members.