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Browse the failure-mode index

21,241 real negative results, null findings, and replication failures. Search the index →

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record compiled from open scholarly databases; the abstract is shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed, otherwise a short excerpt under fair use. Classifications are automated and approximate.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Phylogenetic Analysis of Murine Leukemia Virus Sequences from Longitudinally Sampled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients Suggests PCR Contamination Rather than Viral Evolution

Aris Katzourakis, Stéphane Hué, Paul Kellam et al. · 2011 · Journal of Virology

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related virus (XMRV) has been amplified from human prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patient samples. Other studies failed to replicate these findings and suggested PCR contamination…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

The associations of long-term physical activity in adulthood with later biological ageing and all-cause mortality – a prospective twin study

Anna Kankaanpää, Asko Tolvanen, Laura Joensuu et al. · 2025 · European Journal of Epidemiology

OBJECTIVES: The association between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and a lower risk of mortality is susceptible to bias from multiple sources. We investigated the potential of biological ageing to mediate the association between long-term LTPA and mortality and whether the methods used to account for reverse causality affect the interpretation of this association. METHODS: Study participants were twins from the older Finnish Twin Cohort (n = 22,750; 18-50 years at baseline). LTPA was assessed using questionnaires in 1975, 1981 and 1990. The mortality follow-up lasted until 2020 and biol

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPsychology

Fourteen-Month-Olds Adapt Their Imitative Behavior in Light of a Model’s Constraints

Kata Gellén, David Buttelmann · 2017 · Child Development Research

Rather than reenacting every action they observe, preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior. Although previous studies have revealed the capability of preverbal infants to imitate selectively, the question about the adaptability of this behavior on an individual level did not attract considerable scientific attention until now. In the current study, we investigated whether 14-month-old infants flexibly alternate their imitative response in accordance with a model’s changing physical constraints in a body-part imitation paradigm. Participants were presented with two novel actions whereby

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEconomics, Econometrics and Finance

Economic Complexity, Environmental Sustainability, and Technological Integration in Saudi Arabia: Analyzing Long-Term Trends

Ihsen Abid, Nesrine Gafsi · 2025 · International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the long-term dynamics between economic growth, technological integration, and environmental sustainability in Saudi Arabia from 1995 to 2023. It aims to identify the impact of key economic, technological, and environmental indicators, including GDP, ICT sector performance, foreign direct investment (FDI), trade, and ecological footprint, on the country’s development trajectory. The research employs a quantitative approach, using VAR-VECM models to analyze time-series data. The study applies Granger causality tests and impulse response functions

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

SHAP-based interpretable machine learning for injury risk prediction in university football players: a multi-dimensional data analysis approach

Jiacheng Ma, Shengrui Liu, Yuting Pei · 2025 · Scientific Reports

Sports injury prediction is crucial for university football player health, yet existing research predominantly focuses on professional athletes and lacks interpretability. Using the Kaggle "University Football Injury Prediction Dataset"…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Limited overlap between genetic effects on disease susceptibility and disease survival

Zhiyu Yang, Fanny‐Dhelia Pajuste, Kristina Zguro et al. · 2025 · Nature Genetics

Abstract Understanding disease progression is of high biological and clinical interest. Unlike disease susceptibility, whose genetic basis has been abundantly studied, less is known about the genetics of disease progression and its overlap with disease susceptibility. Considering nine common diseases ( n cases ranging from 11,980 to 124,682) across seven biobanks, we systematically compared genetic architectures of susceptibility and progression, defined as disease-specific mortality. We identified only one locus substantially associated with disease-specific mortality and showed that, at a si

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

Disease burden attributable to intimate partner violence against females and sexual violence against children in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023

Luísa Sório Flor, Cory N Spencer, Jack Cagney et al. · 2025 · The Lancet

BACKGROUND: Violence against women and against children are human rights violations with lasting harms to survivors and societies at large. Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence against children (SVAC) are two major forms of such abuse. Despite their wide-reaching effects on individual and community health, these risk factors have not been adequately prioritised as key drivers of global health burden. Comprehensive x§and reliable estimates of the comparative health burden of IPV and SVAC are urgently needed to inform investments in prevention and support for survivors at both nat

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEngineering

Inflow Process of Pedestrians to a Confined Space

Takahiro Ezaki, Kazumichi Ohtsuka, Mohcine Chraibi et al. · 2026 · Qucosa (Saxon State and University Library Dresden)

To better design safe and comfortable urban spaces, understanding the nature of human crowd movement is important. However, precise interactions among pedestrians are difficult to measure in the presence of their complex decision-making processes and many related factors. While extensive studies on pedestrian flow through bottlenecks and corridors have been conducted, the dominant mode of interaction in these scenarios may not be relevant in different scenarios. Here, we attempt to decipher the factors that affect human reactions to other individuals from a different perspective. We conducted

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessImmunology and Microbiology

A comprehensive overview of probiotics in aquaculture: from efficacy evaluation to diverse applications

Sanaa R. Elsegeny, Fatima S. Radwan, Yomna M. Elshamy et al. · 2025 · Annals of Microbiology

Abstract Background Aquaculture is an essential sector for global food security, providing protein-rich food, reducing pressure on wild stocks, creating jobs, and contributing to national economies. However, it faces major sustainability challenges, including disease outbreaks, inefficient feed utilization, and environmental impact. Main body The significance of probiotics in mitigating these issues is highlighted in this review. The current review underscores and highlights important considerations while developing or using probiotics in the aquaculture field: how strains are selected as cand

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEarth and Planetary Sciences

Machine learning modelling of a nonlinear environmental index with sensitivity analysis for groundwater assessment

Aliasghar Azma, Yakun Liu, Eden Tatek Alemu · 2026 · Scientific Reports

The aim of this study was to evaluate groundwater quality the Marvdasht aquifer using the Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI), which was determined using a conventional method and also predicted using three machine learning algorithms:…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism

Kevin J. Mitchell, Darren Dahly, Dorothy Bishop · 2025 · Neuron

The idea that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism has gained currency in the scientific literature and popular press. Support for this hypothesis comes from three lines of evidence: human observational studies, preclinical experiments in mice, and human clinical trials. We critically assessed this literature and found that it is beset by conceptual and methodological flaws and limitations that undermine claims that the gut microbiome is causally involved in the etiology or pathophysiology of autism.

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Gut Microbiota-Derived Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Mechanistic Insights into Gut Inflammation, Barrier Function, and Therapeutic Potential

Roberta Ottria, Susan Mirmajidi, Pierangela Ciuffreda · 2026 · International Journal of Molecular Sciences

This review delves into the complex relationship between short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by the gut microbiota and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders with an increasing global incidence. Despite extensive research, the exact etiopathogenesis remains elusive, although a complex interplay involving genetic predisposition, environmental influences, and abnormal immune responses against commensal gut microbes is widely recognized. SCFAs, primarily acetate and butyrate, emerge as key

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessChemistry

Data‐Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry as a Tool for Metaproteomics: Interlaboratory Comparison Using a Model Microbiome

Andrew T. Rajczewski, J. Alfredo Blakeley‐Ruiz, Annaliese Meyer et al. · 2025 · PROTEOMICS

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based metaproteomics is used to identify and quantify proteins in microbiome samples, with the frequently used methodology being data-dependent acquisition mass spectrometry (DDA-MS). However, DDA-MS is limited in…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Coffee and Tea Intake, Dementia Risk, and Cognitive Function

Yu Zhang, Yuxi Liu, Yanping Li et al. · 2026 · JAMA

Importance: Evidence linking coffee and tea to cognitive health remains inconclusive, and most studies fail to differentiate caffeinated from decaffeinated coffee. Objective: To investigate associations of coffee and tea intake with…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

The Origins and Control of Forest Fires in the Tropics

Clare Balboni, Robin Burgess, Benjamin Olken · 2025 · The Review of Economic Studies

Abstract Environmental externalities—uncompensated damages imposed on others—lie at the root of climate change, pollution, deforestation and biodiversity loss. Empirical evidence is limited, however, as to how externalities drive private decision making. We study one such behaviour, illegal tropical forest fires, using 15 years of daily satellite data covering over 107,000 fires across Indonesia. Weather-induced variation in fire spread risk and variation in who owns surrounding land allow us to identify how far externalities influence the decision to use fire. Relative to when all spread risk

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessAgricultural and Biological Sciences

A defined community of core gut microbiota members promotes cognitive performance in honey bees

Amélie Cabirol, Andrew Quinn, Julie Schafer et al. · 2026 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract The composition of the gut microbiota has recently been identified as a cause of cognitive variability in humans and animals. Germ-free individuals and individuals exposed to an antibiotic treatment show severe alteration of their learning and memory performance measured in various cognitive tasks. While different species of bacteria are known to interact in the gut, their cumulative or synergistic effects on cognitive performance remain elusive. Here we established a defined bacterial community - composed of core members of the corbiculate bee microbiota - which enhances honey bees’

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessImmunology and Microbiology

Immunotherapy for atherosclerosis

Claudia Monaco, Coleen A. McNamara, Bram Slütter et al. · 2025 · Physiological Reviews

Cardiovascular disease is the global number one cause of mortality and morbidity. The majority of cardiovascular diseases are caused by atherosclerosis, a lipid-driven, inflammatory disease of the middle- and large-sized arteries. The…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Dual signaling pathways of TGF-β superfamily cytokines in hepatocytes: balancing liver homeostasis and disease progression

Roohi Chaudhary, Ralf Weiskirchen, Marcelo Ehrlich et al. · 2025 · Frontiers in Pharmacology

The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily (TGF-β-SF) comprises over 30 cytokines, including TGF-β, activins/inhibins, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), and growth differentiation factors (GDFs). These cytokines play critical roles in liver function and disease progression. Here, we discuss Smad-dependent (canonical) and non-Smad pathways activated by these cytokines in a hepatocellular context. We highlight the connection between the deregulation of these pathways or the balance between them and key hepatocellular processes (e.g., proliferation, apoptosis, and epithelial-mesenchym

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Effects of regular exercise on neutrophil functions, oxidative stress parameters and antibody responses against 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal adducts in middle aged humans

Soichiro Sasaki, Takayuki Matsuura, Rei Takahashi et al. · 2026 · PubMed

Regular exercise has recognized health benefits, partly because it reportedly lowers the levels of the oxidation products of proteins and DNA at rest, in contrast with the effect of acute exercise. However, when we compared oxidative…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Relationship between central autonomic effective connectivity and heart rate variability: A Resting-state fMRI dynamic causal modeling study

Liangsuo Ma, Larry Keen, Joel L. Steinberg et al. · 2024 · NeuroImage

• Resting- state fMRI data were acquired from 34 healthy participants. • Effective connectivities (ECs) associated with HRV and heart rate were investigated. • Regression DCM and ICA were used to identify most relevant network nodes. • ECs…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

The gut-lung axis: effects and mechanisms of gut microbiota on pulmonary diseases

Jiayi Liu, Weichen Hong, Zhendong Sun et al. · 2026 · Frontiers in Immunology

The proposal of the gut-lung axis has profoundly reshaped our understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases. As a crucial component of this axis, the gut microbiota plays a central role in pulmonary immune regulation through inter-organ communication mediated by metabolic products. However, a systematic integration of mechanisms explaining how gut microbes achieve precise cross-organ immune regulation remains elusive. Existing research predominantly focuses on descriptive observations, such as the association between early-life microbiota dysbiosis and an increased risk of as

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessHealth Professions

Changes in Clinician Time Expenditure and Visit Quantity With Adoption of Artificial Intelligence–Powered Scribes

Lisa S. Rotenstein, A. Jay Holmgren, Robert Thombley et al. · 2026 · JAMA

Importance: Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled scribes have been proposed to reduce electronic health record (EHR) burden and improve clinician satisfaction. There is limited evidence about their associated results across multiple sites…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Wearable EEG-Based Brain–Computer Interface for Stress Monitoring

Brian Premchand, Liyuan Liang, Kok Soon Phua et al. · 2024 · NeuroSci

Detecting stress is important for improving human health and potential, because moderate levels of stress may motivate people towards better performance at cognitive tasks, while chronic stress exposure causes impaired performance and health risks. We propose a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) system to detect stress in the context of high-pressure work environments. The BCI system includes an electroencephalogram (EEG) headband with dry electrodes and an electrocardiogram (ECG) chest belt. We collected EEG and ECG data from 40 participants during two stressful cognitive tasks: the Cognitive Vig

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