Hi,
"To conduct their study, published in Friday's issue of the journal Cell, the scientists compared the performance of mice with the altered gene to normal mice in a series of standard lab tests."
From the Globe&Mail.
Is it wrong to remove the bold comma since "published..." is a non-essential clause? No, it's not wrong, but 'no comma' makes the phrase seem more essential. With the comma, it suggests the study may also be found in other places. Without the comma, it suggests more that other versions of the study (maybe mice-less ones?) may be found in other places.
If "To conduct their study" is taken out, will the sentence imply that the scientists were published? Yes.
Best wishes, Clive