Demand characteristics confound the rubber hand illusion

Reports of experiences of ownership over a fake hand following simple multisensory stimulation (the ‘rubber hand illusion’) have generated an expansive literature. Because such reports might reflect suggestion effects, demand characteristics are routinely controlled for by contrasting agreement ratings for ‘illusion’ and ‘control’ conditions. However, these methods have never been validated, and recent evidence that response to imaginative suggestion (‘phenomenological control’) predicts illusion report prompts reconsideration of their efficacy. A crucial assumption of the standard approach is that demand characteristics are matched across conditions. Here, a quasi-experiment design was employed to test demand characteristics in rubber hand illusion reports. Participants were provided with information about the rubber hand illusion procedure (text description and video demonstration) and recorded expectancies for standard ‘illusion’ and ‘control’ statements. Expectancies for control and illusion statements in synchronous and asynchronous conditions were found to differ similarly to published illusion reports. Therefore, rubber hand illusion control methods which have been in use for 22 years are not fit for purpose. Because demand characteristics have not been controlled in illusion report in existing studies, the illusion may be, partially or entirely, a suggestion effect. Methods to develop robust controls are proposed. That confounding demand characteristics have been overlooked for decades may be attributable to a lack of awareness that demand characteristics can drive experience in psychological science

HGNC: The Why and How of Standardised Gene Nomenclature

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) aims to approve a unique gene symbol and gene name for every human gene. Standardisation of gene symbols is necessary to allow researchers and curators to refer to the same gene without ambiguity. Consistent use of gene symbols in publications and across different websites makes it easy for researchers to find all relevant information for a particular gene and facilitates data mining and retrieval. For each gene that we name we curate relevant information including symbol aliases, chromosomal location, locus type, sequence accessions and links to relevant databases. Therefore, our website is a central resource for human genetics. 
 
We endeavour to approve gene symbols that are acceptable to researchers to encourage widespread use of our symbols. In order to achieve this, we contact researchers that work on particular genes for advice before approving symbols and allow researchers to submit gene symbols to us directly for our consideration. We attend conferences to discuss difficult nomenclature matters and to gain community agreement. We interact with annotators of genes and proteins to provide symbols and names that accurately reflect the nature of each gene and its products. We also work with the gene nomenclature committees for other organisms, and aim to approve equivalent gene symbols for orthologous genes in human and other vertebrate species, especially mouse and rat. 
 
We will demonstrate the steps that are required to name a gene, and will show how and where the nomenclature of a particular gene is used. We will also explain the nature of our collaborations with particular journals and other databases in striving to achieve the use of a common gene nomenclature by all