{"entity":{"id":"idea-tr2-raw-image-deposit","kind":"idea","name":"Deposit the raw blots, gels and microscopy images behind every figure","aka":[],"tldr":"Published figures are cropped and processed. Requiring the original, uncropped image files to be deposited lets anyone check that the figure shows what it claims.","summary":"Western blot and microscopy figures are the most common site of error and manipulation in biomedical papers. Some journals now request uncropped blots as supplementary files; deposit in a public repository with checksums and metadata (instrument, exposure, processing steps) would make verification and re-analysis possible and would deter selective cropping and splicing.","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"BioImage Archive","url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/bioimage-archive/"}],"tags":[],"related":["idea-tr2-automated-stats-check","idea-tr2-data-link-enforcement"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-reproducibility"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"hypothesis":"Mandatory raw image deposit reduces image-related corrections and retractions at adopting journals by at least half over five years relative to non-adopting journals.","rationale":"Sequencing data deposit became universal within a decade of being mandated and enabled a generation of re-analysis; imaging data can follow.","test":"Two journals mandate deposit; audit a random sample for compliance and for discrepancies between raw and published images; track corrections.","maturity":"early-clinical","actor":"policy","cost":"small","horizonYears":1},"route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-raw-image-deposit/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-tr2-data-link-enforcement","kind":"idea","name":"Journals check that data links actually work, and flag papers whose data vanish","route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-data-link-enforcement/"},{"id":"idea-tr2-random-audit","kind":"idea","name":"Random audits of published, funded research, like tax audits","route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-random-audit/"},{"id":"idea-tr2-automated-stats-check","kind":"idea","name":"Run automated statistics and image checks on every cancer manuscript before review","route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-automated-stats-check/"},{"id":"idea-tr2-timestamped-eln","kind":"idea","name":"Time-stamped electronic lab notebooks submitted with the paper","route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-timestamped-eln/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-reproducibility","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Preclinical results do not reproduce","route":"/bottlenecks/b-reproducibility/"}]}}