| name | experimental-design |
| description | Design executable biomedical experiments from literature gaps or hypotheses, including testability, power, protocol, reagents, cost, preregistration, and failure modes. |
Experimental Design
Use this skill when the user asks what experiment to do next, how to test a biological mechanism, how to close a literature gap, or how to turn a hypothesis into an executable protocol.
Workflow
- Ground the gap with
bio-lit and bio-audit when citations are available.
- If the claim is contested, use
bio-critique or an explicitly configured scientific-debate workflow before selecting the hypothesis; do not assume a pack-local debate MCP tool exists.
- Call
hypothesis_testability_score before writing a protocol.
- Call
power_analysis_plan; do not defer power analysis until after the experiment.
- Call
agentic_experiment_plan for the integrated output.
- If causal edges are produced, persist curated results through
bio-kg.
Required Output
Return a structured plan with:
- literature gap and hypothesis
- testability score and blockers
- sample-size/power assumptions
- model system, intervention, controls, primary endpoint, and statistics
- ELN-importable protocol sections
- reagent/equipment checklist and lookup hints
- rough cost and timeline
- preregistration template
- pre-mortem failure modes and stopping rules
Never present generated protocols as already executed. Mark placeholders that need local lab values, quotes, approvals, or pilot data.