Many fields of experimental research are now facing a daunting challenge: despite the fact that separate research teams may work on the same system, the end results of their experiments can be widely varied. In his research, Dr Stanley Luck, at the Science, Technology and Research Institute of Delaware, explores the reasons behind this inherent inability to reproduce experimental results. Based on his analysis, he now suggests two key requirements that must be met to overcome this crisis, which could have a profound influence over the techniques employed by experimental researchers in the future.