Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

Online labs can reduce scientific fraud: Study

Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Oct, 2014 05:34 AM
    Online video games and remote experiments can combat the rising level of errors and fraud in life sciences research, says a new study co-authored by an Indian-origin researcher.
     
    "Online game-like approach are more scientifically rigorous than the standard practice of scientists proposing an explanation for some phenomenon and then testing that hypothesis through experimentation," explained Rhiju Das, assistant professor of biochemistry from the Stanford University.
     
    "Massive online laboratories today use videogames to engage large numbers of non-professional investigators and prevent scientists from manually testing their own hypotheses," Das noted.
     
    Reporting on the success of their own online lab, Das and assistant professor Adrien Treuille from Carnegie Mellon University wrote about a RNA-design project called EteRNA, which has produced unprecedented design insights that have advanced knowledge of RNA (ribonucleic acid).
     
    "We registered more than 150,000 participants who contributed in excess of two million human-hours to EteRNA. That means there were a lot of eyes, a lot of people looking over each other's shoulders as hypotheses were developed and experimental results evaluated. Everything is out in the open," Treuille explained.
     
    If you strip the game part, projects such as EteRNA present a fundamentally new model of remote science that can prevent many common forms of scientific fraud, Das commented.
     
    Online participants use computer design tools to propose RNA designs that meet certain criteria.
     
    The designs are then synthesized in the Stanford lab of Das.
     
    The results are made available to the entire EteRNA community for analysis and use in future design challenges.
     
    The transparency makes it difficult for any individual to retrospectively adjust scientific hypotheses to match experimental results, or to cherry-pick data to reflect a scientist's biases.
     
    The paper was published in the journal Trends in Biochemical Sciences.

    MORE Tech ARTICLES

    Why most Facebook users don't recommend products online?

    Why most Facebook users don't recommend products online?
    How often have you recommended a product to your friends and acquaintances on Facebook? Most likely, not very often. And what stopped you is a fear of social censorship, claims a new research.

    Why most Facebook users don't recommend products online?

    Can't put your iPhone away for long? Now, an app is here to de-addict you

    Can't put your iPhone away for long? Now, an app is here to de-addict you
     Can't put your iPhone away for long? Here comes an app that can help you de-addict from your smartphone, freeing up more time for you to spend with your family and friends.

    Can't put your iPhone away for long? Now, an app is here to de-addict you

    App that can make obese people agile

    App that can make obese people agile
    If you are used to a sedentary lifestyle, this app can help you become a little active.

    App that can make obese people agile

    Google makes voice search compatible with Indian diction

    Google makes voice search compatible with Indian diction
    Google Tuesday said it has upgraded the technology under which voice search features become compatible with Indian diction.

    Google makes voice search compatible with Indian diction

    Amnesty International launches app for activists in danger

    Amnesty International launches app for activists in danger
    Amnesty International has launched a new open source app called 'Panic Button’ to help activists facing imminent danger.

    Amnesty International launches app for activists in danger

    Now, a tool to predict financial pain from cancer

    Now, a tool to predict financial pain from cancer
    Along with distress that comes with cancer diagnosis and the discomfort of treatment, more patients now have to deal with "financial toxicity", the expense, anxiety and loss of confidence confronting those who face large, unpredictable costs.

    Now, a tool to predict financial pain from cancer