TIL scientists renamed 27 human genes in 2020 because Microsoft Excel kept auto-converting their names into dates, causing widespread errors in published genetic research.
Gene symbols like SEPT1 and MARCH1 were automatically turned into dates (e.g., “Sep-01,” “Mar-01”) when opened in Excel. These mistakes showed up in supplementary data and even peer-reviewed papers. To stop the damage, the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee officially renamed the affected genes (e.g., SEPT1 to SEPTIN1, MARCH1 to MARCHF1).
A prior study found that around 20% of genomics papers with Excel files contained gene name errors, largely due to this issue.
Gene symbols like SEPT1 and MARCH1 were automatically turned into dates (e.g., “Sep-01,” “Mar-01”) when opened in Excel. These mistakes showed up in supplementary data and even peer-reviewed papers. To stop the damage, the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee officially renamed the affected genes (e.g., SEPT1 to SEPTIN1, MARCH1 to MARCHF1).
A prior study found that around 20% of genomics papers with Excel files contained gene name errors, largely due to this issue.