Imagine you get a prescription for a new medicine from your doctor. Or you go to the store to purchase an over-the-counter drug. We've all been there at some point in our lives. We trust that those drugs are safe because they are backed by years of scientific research and have been through a rigorous regulatory approval process. Now, what if it turns out that the data that was used to gain approval to enter into the clinical trials that led to the approval of those drugs cannot be reproduced? What would that mean? Let's go for a walk down one of the darkest halls in the history of science. What do I mean by replication? First things first, just what is meant by replication and how does it differ from reproducibility? Replication is in many ways the cornerstone of true science. To confirm the results by repetition is essential. Environmental health scientists Stefan Schmidt summed it up as follows: "It is the proof that the experiment reflects knowledge tha