Ethics

Recent articles

Stories about scientific misconduct, retractions, debates over research standards, and more

Collage of digestive-system organs, the brain and various shapes and figures.

Going against the gut: Q&A with Kevin Mitchell on the autism-microbiome theory

A new review of 15 years of studies on the connection between the microbiome and autism reveals widespread statistical and conceptual errors.

By Lauren Schenkman
13 November 2025 | 7 min read
Colorful drawing of a human brain.

‘Neuroethics: The Implications of Mapping and Changing the Brain,’ an excerpt

In his new book, published today, philosopher Walter Glannon examines the ethics of six areas of neuroscience. In Chapter 4, a portion of which appears below, he tackles the ethical considerations of using brain organoids in research.

By Walter Glannon
11 November 2025 | 7 min read
Nonhuman brain slice.

Nonhuman primate research to lose federal funding at major European facility

The Dutch Senate has ordered the Biomedical Primate Research Centre in the Netherlands to shift its funding away from primate experiments by 2030.

By Lauren Schenkman
30 October 2025 | 4 min read
Image of potentially duplicated research figures.

Image integrity issues create new headache for subarachnoid hemorrhage research

First-time sleuths found potentially problematic images in hundreds of papers about early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

By Lauren Schneider
30 October 2025 | 5 min read
Eraser sitting on a stack of papers.

Alzheimer’s paper retracted over apparent image duplication

The editors of Neurobiology of Disease, which published the paper, also questioned how the study’s experimental protocols received ethical approval.

By Lauren Schneider
23 September 2025 | 4 min read
Research image of duplicated data in a now-retracted paper.

Alzheimer’s scientist forced to retract paper during his own replication effort

Gary Dunbar, a neuroscientist at Central Michigan University, was attempting to redo the 2020 paper after a collaborator admitted to using flawed data in the original work.

By Brendan Borrell
18 July 2025 | 4 min read
Researcher holds a mouse perched on a glass cylinder.

NIH proposal sows concerns over future of animal research, unnecessary costs

The new NIH policy calls for greater incorporation of new approach methodologies in all future Notices of Funding Opportunities related to animal model systems.

By Claudia López Lloreda
15 July 2025 | 5 min read
One stack of white papers with several red sheets in it sits next to a stack of red papers.

Exclusive: Issues with dozens of papers prompt inquiry into prolific stroke researcher

Two of John H. Zhang’s papers have been retracted, 19 have corrections, and 27 have expressions of concern.

By Calli McMurray
18 June 2025 | 4 min read
An opaque cube is repeated multiple times to create the appearance of overlapping cubes.

Sounding the alarm on pseudoreplication: Q&A with Constantinos Eleftheriou and Peter Kind

Most studies of neurological disorders in mice erroneously treat multiple samples from a single animal as independent replicates, according to a new analysis. But scientists and journals can take steps to curb this practice.

By Lauren Schenkman
12 June 2025 | 6 min read
Photograph of the BRIDGE team and students visiting a laboratory.

Sharing Africa’s brain data: Q&A with Amadi Ihunwo

These data are “virtually mandatory” to advance neuroscience, says Ihunwo, a co-investigator of the Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange (BRIDGE) initiative, which seeks to develop a global framework for sharing, using and protecting neuroscience data.

By Lauren Schenkman
20 May 2025 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Genetic profiles separate early, late autism diagnoses

Age at diagnosis reflects underlying differences in common genetic variants and developmental trajectories among people with autism.

By Natalia Mesa
27 November 2025 | 5 min read

To persist, memories surf molecular waves from thalamus to cortex

During the later stages of learning, the mouse brain progressively activates transcriptional regulators that drive memory consolidation.

By Claudia López Lloreda
26 November 2025 | 4 min read

Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards

During the high-estradiol stages of their estrus cycle, female rats learn faster than they do during other stages—and than male rats overall—thanks to a boost in their dopaminergic response to reward, a new study suggests.

By Angie Voyles Askham
26 November 2025 | 5 min read

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