scientific method

“Citizen Science”: Scientific Consensus On Global Warming

Posted 16 May 2013 by Jalees Rehman

I came across an interesting study about the consensus in the scientific community on anthropogenic global warming (AGW), i.e. the idea that human activity is very likely causing most of global warming. What makes this study so interesting is the fact that it involved a “citizen science” approach. Volunteers who contributed to the Skeptical Science website were asked to grade the abstracts of 11,944 scientific papers on global climate change that were published in the years 1991-2011. These volunteers assessed... Read more

Posted in bias, citizen science, scientific method |

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Transparency Is Not A One-Way Mirror

Posted 24 April 2013 by Jalees Rehman

An editorial in the journal Nature published on April 24, 2013 announces an important new step in the scientific peer review process for manuscripts that are being submitted to Nature and other Nature research journals. Authors of scientific manuscripts will now be required to fill out a checklist before they can submit their work to the journal. The title of the editorial, "Announcement: Reducing our irreproducibility", reveals the goal of this new step - addressing the problem of irreproducibility that... Read more

Posted in peer review, research, science communication, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Are Scientists Divided Over Divining Rods?

Posted 25 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

When I read a statement which starts with "Scientists are divided over......", I expect to learn about a scientific controversy involving scientists who offer distinct interpretations or analyses of published scientific data. This is not uncommon in stem cell biology. For example, scientists disagree about the differentiation capacity of adult bone marrow stem cells. Some scientists are convinced that these adult stem cells have a broad differentiation capacity and that a significant proportion can turn into heart cells or brain... Read more

Posted in adult stem cells, science communication, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, Stem Cells |

8 Comments | Permalink

The ENCODE Controversy And Professionalism In Science

Posted 24 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

The ENCODE (Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements) project received quite a bit of attention when its results were publicized last year. This project involved a very large consortium of scientists with the goal to identify all the functional elements in the human genome. In September 2012, 30 papers were published in a coordinated release and their extraordinary claim was that roughly 80% of the human genome was "functional". This was in direct contrast to the prevailing view among molecular biologists that the... Read more

Posted in molecular biology, professionalism, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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New Directions In Scientific Peer Review

Posted 13 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

Most scientists have a need-hate relationship with scientific peer review. We know that we need some form of peer review, because it is an important quality control measure that is supposed to help prevent the publication of scientifically invalid results. However, we also tend to hate scientific peer review in its current form, because we have had many frustrating experiences with it. We recently submitted a manuscript to a journal, where it was stuck for more than one year, undergoing... Read more

Posted in academia, research, science communication, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Some Highlights of the Live Chat: “Are We Doing Science the Right Way?”

Posted 8 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

On February 7, 2013, ScienceNOW organized a Live Chat with the microbiologists Ferric Fang and Arturo Casadevall that was moderated by the Science staff writer Jennifer Couzin-Frankel and discussed a very broad range of topics related to how we currently conduct science. For those who could not participate in the Live Chat, I will summarize some key comments made by Fang and Casadevall, Couzin-Frankel or other commenters. I have grouped the comments into key themes and also added some... Read more

Posted in chat, fraud, research, science communication, science funding, science journalism, science writing, scientific method |

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Flipping the Switch: Using Optogenetics to Treat Seizures

Posted 24 January 2013 by Jalees Rehman

Optogenetics is emerging as one of the most exciting new tools in biomedical research. This method is based on introducing genes that encode for light-sensitive proteins into cells. A laser beam can then be used to activate the light-sensitive proteins. Many of the currently used optogenetic proteins respond to the laser activation by changing the membrane voltage potential inside the cells. This is the reason why neurons and other cells that can be excited by electrical impulses, are ideally suited... Read more

Posted in cell biology, medicine, molecular biology, neurology, optogenetics, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Is Cannabis Usage “Related” to Strokes?

Posted 23 January 2013 by Jalees Rehman

Any research related to cannabis is bound to be sensationalized or politicized because people have strong emotional and political views about its usage. A few months ago, my fellow Scilogs blogger Suzi Gage wrote an excellent blog post about a study that investigated the link between cannabis usage and intelligence. That study had many critical flaws which were often ignored when the research was reported and discussed in the media. All research should be conducted and reported cautiously. However, when... Read more

Posted in cannabis, cardiovascular, politics, scientific method, scientific methodology, stroke |

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Inspired By Snake Venom

Posted 1 January 2013 by Jalees Rehman

When I remember the 80s, I think of Nena’s 99 Luftballons, Duran Duran’s Wild Boys and ….snake venom. Back in those days, I used to be a typical high school science nerd. My science nerdiness interfered with my ability to socialize with non-nerds and it was characterized by an unnecessary desire to read science books and articles that I did not really understand, just so that I could show off with some fancy science terminology. I did not have much... Read more

Posted in cell biology, education, growth factors, history, induced Pluripotent stem cells, personal, research, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology, Stem Cells |

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Is Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for Children?

Posted 28 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

The study "Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-Being" published by Layous and colleagues in the journal PLOS One on December 26, 2012 was cited by multiple websites as proof of how important it is to teach children to be kind. NPR commented on the study in the blog post "Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular", and the study was also discussed in ScienceDaily in "Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for... Read more

Posted in education, journalism, peer review, professionalism, psychology, research, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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