Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Spot-Checking Spotty Data

Part of the blame when young scientists go astray may be assigned to their mentors, says a study in the September Science and Engineering Ethics journal. The authors found that of 45 trainees who committed research misconduct, three-quarters of their mentors had never looked at their results and two-thirds of the mentors never taught them how to keep a proper lab notebook. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the authors suggest that PIs spot-check trainees' work and teach them about laboratory procedures and ethics.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.