Some studies suggest half of all published research findings are false, and many results from biomedical research labs can’t be reproduced by other scientists. The consequences of this are far from trivial. Most ideas for new drugs fail to pan out because the underlying science turns out to be unreliable. And US taxpayers spend over $30 billion a year to support health research. From bench scientists to journal editors to the National Academy of Sciences, efforts are being made to understand the sources of what some have referred to as the “reproducibility crisis” and find ways to improve matters. NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris will talk about this important topic and his new book in which he explores it, Rigor Mortis.

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