New Study Says $28 Billion in Research Cannot Be Reproduced

One of the major issues in science is experimental reproducibility—the ability of one scientist to replicate experimental data generated by another scientist. Poor reproducibility contributes to delays and increasing costs of therapeutic drug development. A new perspective article describes the major issues underlying experimental irreproducibility, such as poor study design and laboratory protocols, poor quality of biological reagents and materials, and incomplete data analysis and reporting. The article’s authors claim that scientists spend $28 billion each year on basic biomedical research that cannot be replicated successfully in the United States alone. Addressing errors in study design and using high quality biological reagents and reference materials would be useful in changing this and increasing scientific fidelity in order to design effective lifesaving therapies.