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

    Now, direct your dreams with electric current!

    Now, direct your dreams with electric current!
    Do nightmares often wake you up in the middle of the night or make you sweat even during the winter?

    Now, direct your dreams with electric current!

    Robotic arm that can catch flying objects

    Robotic arm that can catch flying objects
    With its palm open, this robot is completely motionless. A split second later, it suddenly unwinds and catches all sorts of flying objects thrown in its direction - a tennis racket, a ball, a bottle and so on.

    Robotic arm that can catch flying objects

    Is the pdf near its end?

    Is the pdf near its end?
    You download it often to read academic paper, research note, even a profile of your favourite candidate on your smart phone or tablet.

    Is the pdf near its end?

    Samsung president 'stable' after heart attack

    Samsung president 'stable' after heart attack
    Samsung Electronics President Lee Kun-hee is recovering in a hospital after suffering a heart attack this weekend, the Samsung Group said Monday.

    Samsung president 'stable' after heart attack

    Selfies turning into dangerous addiction among teenagers?

    Selfies turning into dangerous addiction among teenagers?
    Are selfies turning into an obsession too dangerous for teenagers to cope with? If we believe experts, adding social media to the already prevalent peer pressure is only increasing the pressure further up.

    Selfies turning into dangerous addiction among teenagers?

    Google Glass celebrates Mother's Day!

    Google Glass celebrates Mother's Day!
    As the world prepares to celebrate Mother's Day Sunday, a new promotional Google Glass short film features the love between a mother and her son.

    Google Glass celebrates Mother's Day!