100s labs ordered the wrong "p16" antibody.
They wanted to study p16-INK4a, but bought p16-ARC antibodies.
312 papers got it wrong.
Now the literature is polluted with false mechanistic pathways.
As a reminder: validate your reagents.
But also read the datasheet and use your brain.
Johan Duchêne
Today I'm posting a new blog about an astonishing scientific own goal. Hundreds of papers have reported using a totally wrong antibody to investigate the tumor suppressor p16. This mistake has happened because scientists have muddled the names of two proteins.
forbetterscience.com/2026/06/02/m...
