Reducing versus Embracing Variation as Strategies for Reproducibility: The Microbiome of Laboratory Mice

摘要

The rate at which biomedical animal experiments fail to reproduce expected results is of raising concern in the animal research community. One of the explanations of irreproducibility is that animals used in repeated experiments are not identical to the original animals: there is variation in the animals’ bodies, even if they are genetically similar. For example, there might be substantial differences between the microorganisms inhabiting the experimental groups of mice. For animal researchers, it is essential to know how to deal with this variation in animal experiment design. Both reducing and embracing variation are suggested as strategies for reproducibility. In this theoretical review, we use mouse microbiome variation as an example to analyze this ongoing discussion, drawing on both animal research and philosophy of science. This analysis helps articulate options for animal researchers to deal with variation in the future design of animal experiments, contributing to reproducibility.