Bonferroni Sometimes Loses

What Is the Bonferroni Correction?

The Bonferroni correction is an adjustment made to P values when several dependent or independent statistical tests are being performed simultaneously on a single data set. To perform a Bonferroni correction, divide the critical P value (α) by the number of comparisons being made. For example, if 10 hypotheses are being tested, the new critical P value would be α/10. The statistical power of th...

Holm ’ s Sequential Bonferroni Procedure

The more statistical tests we perform, the more likely we are to reject the null hypothesis when it is true (i.e., a “false alarm,” also called a “Type 1” error). This is a consequence of the logic of hypothesis testing: We reject the null hypothesis for rare events, and the larger the number of tests, the easier it is to find rare events which are false alarms. This problem is called the infla...

What's wrong with Bonferroni adjustments.

HIV Pathogenesis: Nef Loses Control

In this issue of Cell, Schindler et al. (2006) show that the Nef protein from nonpathogenic strains of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) induces the downregulation of host T cell receptor/CD3, whereas Nef from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) does not. This loss of function in the Nef of HIV-1 may partly explain the pathogenicity of this virus.

Migration: Who Gains, Who Loses

Arvind Panagariya Analytically as well as politically, migration is a more complex phenomenon than international trade. The latter involves two-way flows of goods and services that allow the real aggregate income to grow in each country involved. Therefore, the arguments for protection against imports typically rest on the detrimental effects on the income distribution or the existence of prior...