Study flags over 18,000 potentially altered images in antibody catalogs of 15 vendors
Metascientist Reese Richardson uncovered more than 18,000 questionable images across 15 antibody suppliers and published a database of the findings.
On August 25, metascientist Reese Richardson from Northwestern University reported that more than 18,000 images linked to antibody products appear digitally altered, covering 15 different vendors. Using software to adjust contrast across roughly 270,000 images and manual review, he identified extensive editing, including repeated backgrounds in about 13,800 images. The four firms with the highest counts are G-Biosciences (6,388), Thermo Fisher (5,580), LSBio (2,695) and Origene (2,236).
Thermo Fisher’s spokesperson said reviews have found no evidence of performance impact, while LSBio called the issue minor and pledged investigation; G-Biosciences and Origene did not comment. Researchers such as Simona Colantonio and Harvinder Virk say the pattern suggests a widespread issue that undermines confidence in antibody reliability, a problem already costing the sector over US$1 billion annually.
Why it matters
Misleading antibody data can waste billions of research dollars and compromise biomedical discoveries.
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