Although scientists clamour to publish the results of successful experiments, they are less excited about trumpeting those that simply confirm the null hypothesis ― that a particular genetic marker isn't associated with an inherited disease, for instance, or that there is no difference between mice given a candidate drug and those in the control group. Whether a result of an eagerness to move on ― or perhaps, in some instances, a desire not to reveal to competitors the avenues they have been fruitlessly exploring ― most researchers don't bother to write up negative results. Even when they do, journals might be unreceptive. Unless a paper convincingly overthrows a widely held belief, negative findings tend to be of less interest than positive ones.
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