One in five genetics papers contains errors thanks to Microsoft Excel
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One in five genetics papers contains errors thanks to Microsoft Excel
ByJessica Boddy Aug. 29, 2016 , 1:45 PM
Autoformatting in Microsoft Excel has caused many a headache—but now, a new study shows that one in five genetics papers in top scientific journals contains errors from the program , The Washington Post reports . The errors often arose when gene names in a spreadsheet were automatically changed to calendar dates or numerical values. For example, one gene called Septin-2 is commonly shortened to SEPT2 , but is changed to 2-SEP and stored as the date 2 September 2016 by Excel. The researchers, who published their analysis in Genome Biology , say the issue can be fixed by formatting Excel columns as text and remaining vigilant—or switching to Google Sheets, where gene names are stored exactly as they’re entered.
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