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- Breznau, Nate, et al.
(author)
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Observing many researchers using the same data and hypothesis reveals a hidden universe of uncertainty
- 2022
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:44
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study explores how researchers analytical choices affect the reliability of scientific findings. Most discussions of reliability problems in science focus on systematic biases. We broaden the lens to emphasize the idiosyncrasy of conscious and unconscious decisions that researchers make during data analysis. We coordinated 161 researchers in 73 research teams and observed their research decisions as they used the same data to independently test the same prominent social science hypothesis: that greater immigration reduces support for social policies among the public. In this typical case of social science research, research teams reported both widely diverging numerical findings and substantive conclusions despite identical start conditions. Researchers expertise, prior beliefs, and expectations barely predict the wide variation in research outcomes. More than 95% of the total variance in numerical results remains unexplained even after qualitative coding of all identifiable decisions in each teams workflow. This reveals a universe of uncertainty that remains hidden when considering a single study in isolation. The idiosyncratic nature of how researchers results and conclusions varied is a previously underappreciated explanation for why many scientific hypotheses remain contested. These results call for greater epistemic humility and clarity in reporting scientific findings.
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- Kildegaard, Kanchana R., et al.
(author)
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Evolution reveals a glutathione-dependent mechanism of 3-hydroxypropionic acid tolerance
- 2014
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In: Metabolic engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-7176 .- 1096-7184. ; 26, s. 57-66
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biologically produced 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3HP) is a potential source for sustainable acrylates and can also find direct use as monomer in the production of biodegradable polymers. For industrial scale production there is a need for robust cell factories tolerant to high concentration of 3HP, preferably at low pH. Through adaptive laboratory evolution we selected S. cerevisiae strains with improved tolerance to 3HP at pH 3.5. Genome sequencing followed by functional analysis identified the causal mutation in SFA1 gene encoding S-(hyclroxymerhyl)glutathione dehydrogenase. Based on our findings, we propose that 3HP toxicity is mediated by 3-hydroxypropionic aldehyde (reuterin ) and that glutathione-dependent reactions are used for reuterin detoxification. The identified molecular response to 3HP and reuterin may well be a general mechanism for handling resistance to organic acid and aldehydes by living cells. (C) 2014 International Metabolic Engineering Society Published by Elsevier Inc. On behalf of International Metabolic Engineering Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
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