Cited by 412Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksGenomics and Phylogenetic StudiesAdvanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications

Too many roads not taken

Open access
Edwards, Aled M., Isserlin, Ruth, Bader, Gary D., Frye, Stephen V., Willson, Timothy M., Yu, Frank H.·2011·Nature

Abstract

Most protein research focuses on those known before the human genome was mapped. Work on the slew discovered since, urge Aled M. Edwards and his colleagues.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/470163a

Cites

9 of 9 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The bias toward well-described proteins is confirmed across publications, patents, NIH funding, GWAS, mouse phenotype data, molecular probes, and STRING queries.

    “The bias towards well-described proteins2 is confirmed not only with respect to publications but also with respect to patents, NIH funding patterns, GWAS and mouse phenotype data (data not shown), availability of molecular probes such as antibodies and small molecules, and even queries in the STRING18database”

    From Unexplored therapeutic opportunities in the human genome (2018) · cites this paper as [2]

    “Too many roads not taken” (page not supplied) documents a persistent publication bias toward a small group of proteins, and “biased approach” says antibodies and small molecules are available for only a handful of well-studied proteins. The paper discusses GWAS links and a knockout phenotype, but does not establish the claimed bias across GWAS or mouse phenotype data. Our copy also does not report the claimed patterns in patents, NIH funding, or STRING queries. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Research efforts continue to focus on genes and proteins of known function, with similar trends in gene and protein annotation databases.

    “Analysis of publication trends has revealed that research efforts continue to focus on genes and proteins of known function, with similar trends seen in gene and protein annotation databases [2,4,5].”

    From Functional unknomics: Systematic screening of conserved genes of unknown function (2023) · cites this paper as [4]

    In “Too many roads not taken” (page not available), the paper reports that most protein research remains concentrated on proteins known before the human genome was mapped, supporting the publication-trends portion of the claim. Our copy does not report a corresponding trend in gene or protein annotation databases, or establish the same pattern for genes generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Scientific factors proposed for bias include a lack of specific reagents and a tendency to focus on proteins that are abundant and widely expressed.

    “In addition, scientific factors have been proposed, including a lack of specific reagents like antibodies or small molecule inhibitors, and a tendency to focus on proteins that are abundant and widely expressed and so likely to be present in cell lines and model organisms [4,7,9].”

    From Functional unknomics: Systematic screening of conserved genes of unknown function (2023) · cites this paper as [4]

    The “biased approach” section says antibodies and chemical inhibitors are available for only a handful of well-studied proteins, supporting the lack-of-reagents explanation. The passages do not say that researchers favor proteins because they are abundant, widely expressed, or likely to occur in cell lines and model organisms. Page numbers are not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • A large share of biomedical research and therapeutic development concentrates on a small portion of the human genome.

    “A large proportion of biomedical research and the development of therapeutics is focused on a small fraction of the human genome.”

    From Unexplored therapeutic opportunities in the human genome (2018) · cites this paper as [2]

  • Biological research largely ignores less well known, but potentially important, genes.

    “that biological research largely ignores less well known, but potentially important, genes [2,4,6,7].”

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Authors
Edwards, A. M., Isserlin, R., Bader, G. D., Frye, S. V., Willson, T. M., & Yu, F. H.
Affiliations
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • GlaxoSmithKline (United States) (US)
  • Seoul National University (KR)
Corresponding author
Edwards, Aled M.
Venue
Nature
Published
2011-02-09
Volume
470
Issue
7333
Pages
163-165
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2012750155
Cited by
411
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 27
FWCI
13.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Seoul National University
  • University of Toronto
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Spectroscopy › Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications
Keywords
protein research, human genome, proteomics, protein discovery, research priorities
MeSH terms
Humans, Ion Channels, Protein Kinases, Bibliometrics, Human Genome Project, Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear, Biomedical Research

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