Some journals in biomed research, and all experiments with public funding not restricted in some manner to security clearances, require some form of
public data accessibility such as GEO or aforementioned... but there are often no standards for how you present data. I have trawled through lots of
worthless genetic or bioinformatic data because the structuring and labeling was proprietary or shoddy. I have even seen PDF files of .CSV data that
effectively truncated cells, rendering them completely unusable. Some of that is probably "government work" and sub par researcher inspired, but some
is inarguably calculated to maintain a strategic positioning in the field.
I have yet to see obscuration of actual gene constructs or primers, though I have seen IP claimed such as in Taq polymerase... though any biology lab
above highschool level should be capable of designing their own primers and illegally pumping out their own.
Even without restriction endonuclease site information, a differential digest, Southern blot, and subsequent PCR should yield that information. The
actual transformation would be the trickiest part, in my experience. I've seen membrane receptors localize in the nucleus... where they are never
otherwise found, within stable human constructs. These were apparently very difficult to get from transients and became a bit of a joke where I work
to everyone outside the lab which made them. |