Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science’s (IOVS), Editor-in-Chief, Prof. David C. Beebe, has proposed that experimental results from cell lines should be confirmed with supporting primary tissue or in vivo data prior to publication. Prof. Beebe’s comments follow from a recently published perspective by researchers at North Texas Eye Research Institute, University of North Texas Health Science Center, showing that the widely used rat retinal ganglion cell line, “RGC-5”, is neither of rat or retinal ganglion cell origin. Since the original introduction of the cell line in 2001, it is estimated that over 220 scientific papers have been published on the mistaken basis of RGC-5’s been a rat retinal ganglion cell model. Commenting in the journal’s editorial, Prof. Beebe cautioned that despite the convenience and lower costs involved in cell-line work, “when possible, results obtained using cell lines should be confirmed using cultured primary tissues or in vivo. Studies that “go the extra distance” to confirm the results of in vitro studies will generally receive a more favorable assessment at IOVS”.