The 'unknown unknowns' will never be eliminated. Certainly it's worthwhile to try to improve methods communication, but there are limits. You really have to t

The 'unknown unknowns' will never be eliminated. Certainly it's worthwhile to try to improve methods communication, but there are limits. You really have to try it yourself before you can understand the degree of troubleshooting that's required of a good experimentalist. You could have scientists live-streaming all their work, and you'd still have the same issues you do now. Even a simple experiment, something most wouldn't blink an eye at, has dozens and dozens of variables that could influence the result. The combinatoric complexity is staggering. The reality is that you try things, find some that work, and then convince yourself that it's a real result with some further work. The methods that endure are the ones that replicate well and work robustly. Molecular biology is still built on Sanger sequencing, electrophoresis, and blotting, all in the context of good crossing and genetics, because that's what works. Some of the genomic tools are starting to get there, I'd venture to say that RNAseq is reasonably standardized and robust at this point. Interpreting genomic data is another story...