Research papers that omit 'mice' from titles receive misleading media coverage

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2021-06-15 23:00:15

June 15, 2021

by Public Library of Science

There is increasing scrutiny around how science is communicated to the public, but what is the relationship between how scientists report their findings and how media reports it to the public? A study published in PLOS Biology by Marcia Triunfol at Humane Society International, in Washington, DC and Fabio Gouveia at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil suggests that when authors of scientific papers omit the basic fact that a study was conducted in mice (and not in humans) from the article title, journalists reporting on the paper tend to do the same.

Alzheimer's Disease is an exclusively human condition that does not occur naturally in other species, but around 200 rodent models have been developed to study it. News stories frequently lead with headlines omitting that Alzheimer's Disease research findings are based on research using mice, not humans.