Lots of good science is never published because they get a null or negative result from a utility perspective. That's just part of the scientific method. And th

Lots of good science is never published because they get a null or negative result from a utility perspective. That's just part of the scientific method. And the job of a PhD student is to get their PhD, which requires them to demonstrate a good understanding of how to do science, but shouldn't require them to publish in a top-tier journal or make a seminal discovery. That's for your postdoc...