A searchable index of real negative results, null findings, and replication failures from the published literature — so you can learn what didn't work before repeating it.
WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record (title, authors, DOI) compiled from open scholarly databases, with the abstract shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed (e.g. Creative Commons); otherwise a short excerpt is shown for reference under fair use. WASTE classifies each work by failure type; classifications are automated and approximate.
19893 results in Negative / Null Result Report · page 537 of 664
Bar Or M, Schonberg T · 2025 · Preprint
Understanding habit formation in humans remains a fundamental challenge, partly due to the constraints of laboratory-based studies. Thus, this study investigated whether prolonged, real-world engagement with a novel smartphone-based task…
Nielsen SP, Mathiesen L, Møller P · 2025 · Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology
This review examines the association between early life exposure to phthalates in human males and Leydig cell endocrine function. A systematic search was performed in PubMed and EMBASE, identifying 17 studies for analysis. Association…
Zhu J, Yi Y, Ma L et al. · 2026 · Italian journal of pediatrics
BACKGROUND: Observational epidemiology studies suggested a relationship between single-carbon metabolism and vitamin levels with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk. We aimed to explore the causal relationship between them at the genetic…
Rosales MR, Pulido JC, Sideris J et al. · 2026 · PloS one
Introduction Motor impairments have been reported in infants at elevated likelihood of autism and those later diagnosed with autism. However, empirical studies comparing higher to lower likelihood infants are lacking, limiting our…
Bouwman V, Pittig A, Engelhard I et al. · 2025 · Preprint
Although exposure-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is generally effective for anxiety disorders, many people do not benefit. A better understanding of treatment predictors is required. This study investigated whether the dynamics of…
Gusmão B, Zürn MK, Topolinski S · 2026 · Cognition & emotion
Individuals attribute a higher truth value to repeated compared to novel information, the well-known truth effect. Also, information that contradicts what we have heard earlier is considered falser than both repeated and completely new…
Nieves-Méndez C · 2025 · Frontiers in human neuroscience
This perspective article explores the transformative potential of brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) in undergraduate systems engineering programs, a domain characterized by high attrition and a widening gap between rapid technological…
Alotaibi AM, Alosaimi MH, Orfali RS et al. · 2025 · Brain research bulletin
Hallucinations are often associated with alterations in brain activation, particularly in language-related and sensory processing areas. Existing models suggest different frameworks for understanding the relationship between brain…
Newton JD, Ellis T, Ruther M et al. · 2026 · Environmental research
Living near green areas with high vegetation may contribute to an active lifestyle, stress reduction, and enhance social cohesion, and consequently may be associated with improved cancer survival. Epidemiologic studies focused on greenness…
Okunoye G, George Samuel C, Abdullahi H et al. · 2026 · Cureus
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication with significant maternal and neonatal risks, and its prevalence is particularly high in Qatar. Myo-inositol has been proposed as an insulin-sensitizing supplement that…
Jun S, Bido-Medina R, Oviedo J et al. · 2025 · Preprint
Systemic viral infections with neurotropic potential pose significant global health challenges. The Zika virus (ZIKV) is known for its pronounced neurotropism, with recent infectious clusters raising renewed public health concerns. While…
Verhelst H, Gerrits R, Karlsson EM · 2025 · Neurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.)
Developmental dyslexia is a common learning disability marked by reading and spelling difficulties. While previous imaging studies aiming to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms of this disorder have reported white matter alterations,…
Andersson PF, Testori M, Lo Iacono S · 2026 · PloS one
The willingness to engage in costly punishment of free riders (prosocial punishment) is crucial to foster group cooperation and understand public goods provision. While prosocial punishment is common across societies, its motivations…
Aguado J, Gutierrez L, Forns J et al. · 2025 · American journal of epidemiology
Studying the effect of duration of treatment on prognostic outcomes using real-world data is challenging because only people who survive for a long time can receive a treatment for a long time. Specifying a target trial helps overcome such…
McLone SG, Coleman CM, Matzke HJ et al. · 2026 · American journal of epidemiology
Firearm violence is a public health crisis in the United States and negatively impacts individuals and communities. We used data from The Healthy Chicago Survey, a citywide survey of 8754 respondents from 2020 to 2021, and police-reported…
Garcia Campos LS, Lempert KM · 2025 · Frontiers in psychology
Introduction Uncertain decisions can be risky (with known probabilities) or ambiguous (with unknown probabilities). Previous studies have found that negative affect can increase risk aversion and ambiguity aversion, but it is unknown if…
Suberry A, Okun S, Ayalon L · 2026 · The Gerontologist
Background and objectives Ageism often emerges in childhood, yet rigorously evaluated school-based interventions-especially in multicultural settings-are scarce. The study evaluated the efficacy of a 90-min educational intervention to…
Merz LM, von Hohenberg BC, Bergmann NT et al. · 2025 · Science advances
Expanding gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) populations in Europe and North America contribute to increased risks of livestock predation, which can threaten human livelihoods and lead government agencies to target wolves for lethal removal. Public…
Seizer L, Kratzer L, Löchner J et al. · 2026 · Clinical psychology & psychotherapy
Psychotherapy process research increasingly uses intensive longitudinal monitoring to capture dynamic patterns of change in patients. In this study, 283 psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with depression (n = 70), PTSD (n = 148),…
Hauser I · 2022 · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
This paper reconsiders a classic claim about phonetic variability-that speech sounds in larger phonemic inventories should exhibit less within-category variability in production. Although this hypothesis is intuitive, existing literature…
Gonzalez-Nahm S, Griffith E, Maguire RL et al. · 2026 · Childhood obesity (Print)
Objective To assess the longitudinal associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and child adiposity between ages 2 and 12 years. Methods Repeated measures linear regression models with autoregressive covariance were used to assess…
Wei C, Ng VWS, Wei Y et al. · 2025 · BMC psychiatry
AIMS: Preclinical studies have suggested potential anticancer effects of valproate, but clinical evidence is limited and inconclusive. This study aims to reexamine the relationship between valproate use and cancer incidence, using lithium…
Winkelman JW, Levine MJ · 2026 · AACE endocrinology and diabetes
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a highly prevalent metabolic disorder and a well-established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), mediated by hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, chronic inflammation, and obesity-related metabolic dysfunction.…
Acierno J, Tedaldi E, Ginn J et al. · 2026 · Communications psychology
Social norms have a reliable and oftentimes strong influence on individual attitudes and behaviors across environmental and other domains. This influence has been theorized to differ by cultural tightness-the extent to which people adhere…
D'Agostini M, Vanden Bossche L, Burger AM et al. · 2025 · Psychophysiology
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been tested as a strategy to facilitate fear extinction learning based on the hypothesis that taVNS increases central noradrenergic activity. Four studies out of six found taVNS…
· 2025 · Nature
Neutrinos are the most abundant fundamental matter particles in the Universe and play a crucial part in particle physics and cosmology. Neutrino oscillation, discovered about 25 years ago, shows that the three known species mix with each…
Xiang Y, Xu L, Sun Y et al. · 2025 · Medicine
Mobile phone use has become ubiquitous in modern life, raising public concern over its potential effects on male reproductive health. While several observational studies have reported associations between prolonged phone use and decreased…
He J, Sabroso-Lasa S, Coscia C et al. · 2026 · Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
Background Observational studies consistently report reduced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) risk among individuals with atopic conditions (asthma and rhinitis); however, the underlying biological mechanism remains unclear. This…
Schleimer JP, Rencken CA, Wagenaar BH et al. · 2026 · JAMA network open
Importance Background checks aim to prevent illegal firearm transfers. Existing research has shown little evidence for the effect of point-of-sale comprehensive background check (CBC) policies on firearm-related violence at the state…
Nielsen SP, Mathiesen L, Moller P · 2024 · Preprint
not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Abstract This review examines the association between early life exposure to phthalates in human males and Leydig cell endocrine function. A systematic search was performed in PubMed and…