Some 40 years after it was first recognized, the use of contaminated and misidentified cell lines in biological research remains a growing problem. But it is a problem that has a simple solution: routine, cheap, DNA profiling of laboratory cultures. It is now time to implement that solution. To do so, scientists need the funding and motivation to verify the cell lines in their possession, as well as a curated electronic database of authenticated DNA profiles against which they can compare their results. Thousands of biology labs use cell lines, yet many do not know that between a fifth and a third of the lines in common use may not be what they seem. In the past 25 years, numerous studies, as well as thernexperience of cell-culture repositories in the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, have found that 18-36% of cultures contain a misidentified species or cell type. The effect of using such cells varies depending on the project involved.
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