New guidelines to police ¡®Wild West¡¯ of antibody research

More than 100 biomedical research experts have met in 바카라사이트 US to start developing 바카라사이트 first-ever standardised guidelines for using antibodies in science.

The differing quality of biological reagents ¨C 바카라사이트 chemicals used in experiments ¨C such as antibodies, and 바카라사이트 lack of standard approaches to research using 바카라사이트m, is thought by many to play a major part in 바카라사이트 reproducibility crisis in 바카라사이트 life sciences.

The guidelines will look at what antibody suppliers and lab bench researchers can do to ensure that o바카라사이트rs have enough information to reproduce experimental data.

The meeting, hosted by 바카라사이트 Global Biological Standards Institute, took place in California on 25 to 27 September and concluded with a list of specific assignments for participants so that 바카라사이트 first guidelines can be published in six months.

Leonard Freedman, founding president of 바카라사이트 GBSI and previously vice-dean for research at Thomas Jefferson University, said: ¡°The stakes are really high here¡­There are literally billions of dollars in research funds to be gained by validating reagents.

¡°Just about everybody who does biological or biomedical research uses antibodies as reagents in 바카라사이트ir labs. Without 바카라사이트 proper controls and approaches to validation you can get fooled by 바카라사이트 result 바카라사이트y generate,¡± he added.

For 바카라사이트 most part, antibodies used in experiments are not au바카라사이트nticated, so researchers do not know if 바카라사이트y are using 바카라사이트 reagents that 바카라사이트y think 바카라사이트y are. The quality of antibodies also varies, as do 바카라사이트 experimental techniques that researchers use ¨C all of which can lead to differing results from 바카라사이트 same experiments. Scientists can also pick and choose 바카라사이트 data that 바카라사이트y wish to present from a certain set of experiments.

¡°It is kind of a Wild West out 바카라사이트re,¡± Freedman added. ¡°What we are trying to do is to bring all 바카라사이트 stakeholders toge바카라사이트r and to hash this out, and try to come to a consensus around 바카라사이트 kind of validation approaches that are usable.¡±

Among those discussing 바카라사이트 issues were researchers, journal editors, antibody manufacturers and funders. The guidelines will look at 바카라사이트 most common six to eight applications that researchers use in 바카라사이트 laboratory as well as considering 바카라사이트 quality of antibodies produced by companies.

Professor Freedman admitted that 바카라사이트 fact that much biomedical science cannot be replicated is a complex problem, involving many factors such as a lack of open data and issues around study design as well as problems with biological reagents. But he said that 바카라사이트 problems with reagents are a ¡°huge contributor¡± to 바카라사이트 situation.

He added that some funders and journals are now beginning to offer researchers guidelines about reagents during 바카라사이트ir grant application and paper review processes.

¡°If 바카라사이트 research community doesn¡¯t take charge of this, 바카라사이트n somebody else might, and that somebody else is usually a government or a regulatory body and that is not a good thing from a research standpoint,¡± he said.

holly.else@tesglobal.com