Chemistry Selfies to Improve Reproducibility

Labs are documenting step by step procedures using video

Scientific reproducibility is one of the tenets of the scientific method, but in recent years there has been a growing crisis of faith in the reproducibility of much scientific research. In response, many labs are beefing up the documentation of their step-by-step procedures for each experiment. This can include video recording using their own cell phone cameras or GoPros.

In one extreme example, Mattias Björnmalm of Imperial College London used a GoPro to film himself skydiving in order to test how metal-organic framework (MOF) crystals form in low-gravity-like conditions!