Unscientific revolution: how the lack of real research is ruining technological projects
Modern technology has made knowledge accessible to almost everyone. Armed with information, a man is independent and self-sufficient as never before.
However, even at such a time of information freedom, actual facts are very often ahead of false, but more attractively packed data (which very often happens, for example, in the field of innovative developments).
We have already written about what traps lay scientists in the process of conducting quantitative and qualitative research. Today we will tell you how important it is to back up the results of your work with accurate scientific data in a technology-based business.
')
PROPaul Albertella / Flickr / SS
One of the most famous examples in this area is the unprofitable for its clients, the biotechnology company Theranos. The founder’s scientific application, Elizabeth Holmes, consisted of refusing to take blood from a vein and collecting a small amount of blood, from which the company promised to obtain 240 different tests.
The innovativeness of the method was reflected in the company's slogan: One tiny drop changes everything - “One tiny drop changes everything”. This was made possible thanks to the company's unique design - Edison analysis equipment.
According to the creators, the Theranos technologies allowed for blood testing, including the presence of cancer markers and checking cholesterol levels, which allowed the company to gain the support and respect of leading experts, and Elizabeth Holmes was promoted to a member of the Harvard Scientific Society.
Despite the fact that the developed equipment is described in patents only in general terms and is not represented in scientific journals, the company declared the reliability of research methods. Moreover, the creators of the project set a record low cost of analysis, which was 50% of the average in the United States. The startup quickly raised an investment of $ 400 million and was valued at $ 9 billion, giving its creator a billion-dollar fortune and a place in the Forbes rating.
However, instant success can not but alarm. Scientists and researchers sounded the alarm after information about cases appeared when doctors sent patients to retake blood tests, not being satisfied with the results calculated by Theranos.
In 2014, the innovativeness of the company's methods was questioned after the Vademecum publication checked the company's patents and found no revolutionary new technologies.
Some time later, Theranos scandalous exposure was published in the Wall Street Journal. Based on the correspondence of former employees of the company, the experts accused the startup of violating the law. As it turned out, the obtained blood volume was not enough for the stated number of tests, therefore, no more than 15 types of tests were performed on the Edison equipment, and the rest were carried out using standard methods and with the help of technologies from other manufacturers.
Moreover, the researchers found that the blood volume delivered by the patients was not enough for a full-fledged analysis, so the staff diluted the blood. In response to the attacks of the Wall Street Journal, Theranos claimed the charges were insolvent and that their working methods were in compliance with the federal laws of the United States. However, the exact number of tests conducted on their own equipment Edison, the creators of the project could not name.
Following the Wall Street Journal, Forbes has changed its position. The publication has published information that the company's annual revenue does not exceed $ 100 million, and the cost of the startup itself is equal to $ 800 million, and $ 724 of them are attracted investments. In this scenario, the share of Elizabeth Holmes in the project was almost zero.
An active discussion of Theranos provoked the interest of state structures, and in April 2016, the United States authorities carried out a check on the company's activities, after which it was forced to revise the results of analyzes performed over 2 years and send corrected data to its customers. In addition, Theranos no longer conducted tests on Edison's own equipment.
It is not surprising that in the case of Theranos, the business received wide publicity and caused a public outcry, because the health of thousands of clients directly depended on the company's actions. It is puzzling how a startup managed to hold out for so long in a market that is tightly controlled by government structures. Currently, Elizabeth Holmes conducts a dialogue with the federal authorities in order to prove the scientific viability of its own design.
The result of the writings of researchers from San Francisco, who presented to the public a smart group called Vessyl, was also doubtful . The innovativeness of the development consisted in determining the liquid poured into a mug based on the data read by the built-in sensor, which contains information about several thousand types of beverages. The sensor transmits information to the iPhone, and the company's own application helps optimize fluid intake during the day.
It was stated that the smart mug is also capable of counting the calorie content of the drink, its sugar, caffeine and other elements. The creators ensured that the smart mug should hold the charge for a week, and one hour is enough for recharging.
Doubts in the scientific environment caused a sensor embedded in the mug. According to the manufacturer, it is made by the latest technology, but when considering the sensor is completely invisible to the eye. The curiosity of the scientific community was not satisfied even after a direct appeal to the company, which refused to disclose the production technology.
Sales of the product were to begin in the first quarter of 2015, but the creators put them off for several quarters. However, a small proportion of customers received the goods, albeit of inadequate quality. The scientists' suspicions proved to be well-founded: there was no talk of any innovative technology, because the cup could not even be charged.
In some cases, companies did not even produce a product, collecting fortunes on presales and gullible venture capitalists. That was a promising BioRing project. Its creators talked about a revolutionary method that would allow the ring owner to control calorie intake and consumption, heart rate, physical activity intensity, calculate the distance traveled and deal with stress.
The laconic design of the ring, presented in black, white and blue colors, was complemented by water resistance and a protective coating from scratches. The ring should determine the level of glucose in the blood, which in itself could plug the belt of any attempts to invent a remedy for diabetes. The slogan of the company “Eat better. Sleep better. Train better. Live better ”promised a quality improvement in living standards. In addition, the creators reported their willingness to further develop various applications that are compatible with the ring.
On the product page on the Indiegogo platform there is a diagram of the ring, a video from the co-founder of the company, James Lee, the technical characteristics of the ring, as well as the project schedule, according to which after the idea was born in November 2014 by November 2016, the company had to start mass production and presented send the first batch of goods.
The creators reported on the readiness of the current prototype and well-functioning production and logistics, but the matter never reached the project. As a result, the business of producing "magic rings" is in the past, and the technology itself has been subjected to sharp criticism, which the project representatives could not refute.
Another ghostly project called Luci guaranteed to customers that thanks to their product, dreams could become conscious. The creator of the project Luci, whose name comes from the English. Lucid - conscious, tells that the concept of development originated after he was lucky to see a conscious dream for the first time in his life.
At that time, no technology allowed us to relive a similar experience again, which led to the creation of a new product. The developers said that after long-term studies of various types of effects on the human brain, it was determined that the product would awaken a person’s mind during sleep using a voice signal.
Luci is a narrow ribbon for the head, which is placed above the eyebrows. According to the official product page on the Kickstarter platform, a start-up needed only 3 months to produce a product, but the project closed without showing real results. However, later on the platform a message appeared that the Luci project is real, and the device should go on sale later.
However, such a fraud is not a sign of exclusively recent years, and sometimes a specific interested person is not even behind the next illusion. The story contains many examples where erroneous ideas are rooted in the mind of a person due to the strong emotions that they evoke, even if unfounded.
Indicative can be called the attitude of society to vaccines. At one time, the invention of vaccines saved many lives, stopping the spread of epidemics. However, a quarter of a century ago, the results of one medical research showed a possible link between autism and the use of thimerosal, a compound found in some vaccines.
Later, the test results were declared untenable, however, the fear of vaccination was born. Research in this area was continued, and no direct vaccine-to-autism ratio was found. Thimerosal was no longer used for medical purposes, but the incidence of autism did not decrease, which should have removed suspicion of vaccines. However, the subconscious fear of vaccination remained with many.
So, British scientists have stated the connection between the onset of autism in eight children and the recent vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella. The test results were invalidated after falsification was discovered by the data author. Other attempts to confirm the effect of vaccinations on autism have also proven unsuccessful.
However, many began to refuse vaccinations, which led several years ago to outbreaks of measles and mumps in thousands of children in the United States, Canada and European countries. It is obvious that people were frightened by sensational research, which, though later proved to be erroneous, had time to influence the consciousness of the masses.
The stability of such misconceptions only demonstrates how easily a false idea or idea can be entrenched in a person’s mind. Even if we assume that the founders of all these projects are not swindlers and really believed in their business, their stories (and especially the disappointing outcome of Theranos) are a good example of how dangerous it is to ignore research principles and not to back up loud statements with a real scientific basis.
Our other posts on Habré:
However, even at such a time of information freedom, actual facts are very often ahead of false, but more attractively packed data (which very often happens, for example, in the field of innovative developments).
We have already written about what traps lay scientists in the process of conducting quantitative and qualitative research. Today we will tell you how important it is to back up the results of your work with accurate scientific data in a technology-based business.
')
PROPaul Albertella / Flickr / SSTheranos on guard of health
One of the most famous examples in this area is the unprofitable for its clients, the biotechnology company Theranos. The founder’s scientific application, Elizabeth Holmes, consisted of refusing to take blood from a vein and collecting a small amount of blood, from which the company promised to obtain 240 different tests.
The innovativeness of the method was reflected in the company's slogan: One tiny drop changes everything - “One tiny drop changes everything”. This was made possible thanks to the company's unique design - Edison analysis equipment.
According to the creators, the Theranos technologies allowed for blood testing, including the presence of cancer markers and checking cholesterol levels, which allowed the company to gain the support and respect of leading experts, and Elizabeth Holmes was promoted to a member of the Harvard Scientific Society.
Despite the fact that the developed equipment is described in patents only in general terms and is not represented in scientific journals, the company declared the reliability of research methods. Moreover, the creators of the project set a record low cost of analysis, which was 50% of the average in the United States. The startup quickly raised an investment of $ 400 million and was valued at $ 9 billion, giving its creator a billion-dollar fortune and a place in the Forbes rating.
However, instant success can not but alarm. Scientists and researchers sounded the alarm after information about cases appeared when doctors sent patients to retake blood tests, not being satisfied with the results calculated by Theranos.
In 2014, the innovativeness of the company's methods was questioned after the Vademecum publication checked the company's patents and found no revolutionary new technologies.
Some time later, Theranos scandalous exposure was published in the Wall Street Journal. Based on the correspondence of former employees of the company, the experts accused the startup of violating the law. As it turned out, the obtained blood volume was not enough for the stated number of tests, therefore, no more than 15 types of tests were performed on the Edison equipment, and the rest were carried out using standard methods and with the help of technologies from other manufacturers.
Moreover, the researchers found that the blood volume delivered by the patients was not enough for a full-fledged analysis, so the staff diluted the blood. In response to the attacks of the Wall Street Journal, Theranos claimed the charges were insolvent and that their working methods were in compliance with the federal laws of the United States. However, the exact number of tests conducted on their own equipment Edison, the creators of the project could not name.
Following the Wall Street Journal, Forbes has changed its position. The publication has published information that the company's annual revenue does not exceed $ 100 million, and the cost of the startup itself is equal to $ 800 million, and $ 724 of them are attracted investments. In this scenario, the share of Elizabeth Holmes in the project was almost zero.
An active discussion of Theranos provoked the interest of state structures, and in April 2016, the United States authorities carried out a check on the company's activities, after which it was forced to revise the results of analyzes performed over 2 years and send corrected data to its customers. In addition, Theranos no longer conducted tests on Edison's own equipment.
It is not surprising that in the case of Theranos, the business received wide publicity and caused a public outcry, because the health of thousands of clients directly depended on the company's actions. It is puzzling how a startup managed to hold out for so long in a market that is tightly controlled by government structures. Currently, Elizabeth Holmes conducts a dialogue with the federal authorities in order to prove the scientific viability of its own design.
Mug instead of a nutritionist
The result of the writings of researchers from San Francisco, who presented to the public a smart group called Vessyl, was also doubtful . The innovativeness of the development consisted in determining the liquid poured into a mug based on the data read by the built-in sensor, which contains information about several thousand types of beverages. The sensor transmits information to the iPhone, and the company's own application helps optimize fluid intake during the day.
It was stated that the smart mug is also capable of counting the calorie content of the drink, its sugar, caffeine and other elements. The creators ensured that the smart mug should hold the charge for a week, and one hour is enough for recharging.
Doubts in the scientific environment caused a sensor embedded in the mug. According to the manufacturer, it is made by the latest technology, but when considering the sensor is completely invisible to the eye. The curiosity of the scientific community was not satisfied even after a direct appeal to the company, which refused to disclose the production technology.
Sales of the product were to begin in the first quarter of 2015, but the creators put them off for several quarters. However, a small proportion of customers received the goods, albeit of inadequate quality. The scientists' suspicions proved to be well-founded: there was no talk of any innovative technology, because the cup could not even be charged.
BioRing, the ring of the future
In some cases, companies did not even produce a product, collecting fortunes on presales and gullible venture capitalists. That was a promising BioRing project. Its creators talked about a revolutionary method that would allow the ring owner to control calorie intake and consumption, heart rate, physical activity intensity, calculate the distance traveled and deal with stress.
The laconic design of the ring, presented in black, white and blue colors, was complemented by water resistance and a protective coating from scratches. The ring should determine the level of glucose in the blood, which in itself could plug the belt of any attempts to invent a remedy for diabetes. The slogan of the company “Eat better. Sleep better. Train better. Live better ”promised a quality improvement in living standards. In addition, the creators reported their willingness to further develop various applications that are compatible with the ring.
On the product page on the Indiegogo platform there is a diagram of the ring, a video from the co-founder of the company, James Lee, the technical characteristics of the ring, as well as the project schedule, according to which after the idea was born in November 2014 by November 2016, the company had to start mass production and presented send the first batch of goods.
The creators reported on the readiness of the current prototype and well-functioning production and logistics, but the matter never reached the project. As a result, the business of producing "magic rings" is in the past, and the technology itself has been subjected to sharp criticism, which the project representatives could not refute.
Lucid dreams with Luci
Another ghostly project called Luci guaranteed to customers that thanks to their product, dreams could become conscious. The creator of the project Luci, whose name comes from the English. Lucid - conscious, tells that the concept of development originated after he was lucky to see a conscious dream for the first time in his life.
At that time, no technology allowed us to relive a similar experience again, which led to the creation of a new product. The developers said that after long-term studies of various types of effects on the human brain, it was determined that the product would awaken a person’s mind during sleep using a voice signal.
Luci is a narrow ribbon for the head, which is placed above the eyebrows. According to the official product page on the Kickstarter platform, a start-up needed only 3 months to produce a product, but the project closed without showing real results. However, later on the platform a message appeared that the Luci project is real, and the device should go on sale later.
What are unsafe data dangerous
However, such a fraud is not a sign of exclusively recent years, and sometimes a specific interested person is not even behind the next illusion. The story contains many examples where erroneous ideas are rooted in the mind of a person due to the strong emotions that they evoke, even if unfounded.
Indicative can be called the attitude of society to vaccines. At one time, the invention of vaccines saved many lives, stopping the spread of epidemics. However, a quarter of a century ago, the results of one medical research showed a possible link between autism and the use of thimerosal, a compound found in some vaccines.
Later, the test results were declared untenable, however, the fear of vaccination was born. Research in this area was continued, and no direct vaccine-to-autism ratio was found. Thimerosal was no longer used for medical purposes, but the incidence of autism did not decrease, which should have removed suspicion of vaccines. However, the subconscious fear of vaccination remained with many.
So, British scientists have stated the connection between the onset of autism in eight children and the recent vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella. The test results were invalidated after falsification was discovered by the data author. Other attempts to confirm the effect of vaccinations on autism have also proven unsuccessful.
However, many began to refuse vaccinations, which led several years ago to outbreaks of measles and mumps in thousands of children in the United States, Canada and European countries. It is obvious that people were frightened by sensational research, which, though later proved to be erroneous, had time to influence the consciousness of the masses.
The stability of such misconceptions only demonstrates how easily a false idea or idea can be entrenched in a person’s mind. Even if we assume that the founders of all these projects are not swindlers and really believed in their business, their stories (and especially the disappointing outcome of Theranos) are a good example of how dangerous it is to ignore research principles and not to back up loud statements with a real scientific basis.
Our other posts on Habré:
- “Other blogs”: Lecturers, graduates and students of the ITMO University on Habré
- Interview with the author of the course "Programming and Web Application Development"
- Research in image processing and computer modeling
- Open online courses from ITMO University
- Second Generation Cloud Computing: CLAVIRE System
- How to combine science and art: a little about the Art & Science Cluster of ITMO University
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/322524/
All Articles