REQUIRED SHARING OF NEGATIVE RESULTS.

REQUIRED SHARING OF NEGATIVE RESULTS. I posted here about how my brother has been saying for thirty years that there should be a journal for negative results and that now there are in fact several in different fields. This article in the Economist reports that the European Commission has proposed changes in the regulation of scientific research which would have scientists who use animals in research share the results of unsuccessful experiments. One of the purposes of the regulation (which would not take effect for some years) is to avoid failure to publish which “condemns others who have the same idea to waste time, money and animals’ lives in duplicating the failed experiment.” (Of course, I think that a negative result should be thought of as a successful experiment. Knowing what isn’t true is useful).