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Surveillance is underestimating the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic

Surveillance is underestimating the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic

So far in the COVID-19 pandemic, surveillance systems are not monitoring ill health and long-term implications of COVID-19, only deaths are reported.

The Limitation Initiative is Harmful to Education, Research and Innovation

The Limitation Initiative is Harmful to Education, Research and Innovation

The ETH Board, swissuniversities, the Swiss National Science Foundation, Innosuisse – the Swiss Innovation Agency, and the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences reject the Limitation Initiative. They organised a joint press call in order to state their views on the Limitation Initiative and affirm the importance of research cooperation with Europe.

Are Children Able to Continue Learning During School Closures?

Are Children Able to Continue Learning During School Closures?

In response to the unprecedented educational challenges created by school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 90 per cent of countries have implemented some form of remote learning policy. This UNICEF factsheet estimates the potential reach of digital and broadcast remote learning responses, finding that at least 463 million students around the globe remain cut off from education, mainly due to a lack of remote learning policies or lack of equipment needed for learning at home. 

Two Metres or One: What is the Evidence for Physical Distancing in Covid-19?

Two Metres or One: What is the Evidence for Physical Distancing in Covid-19?

Rigid safe distancing rules are an oversimplification based on outdated science and experiences of past viruses, publication argues.

Four Scenarios on How We Might Develop Immunity to Covid-19

Four Scenarios on How We Might Develop Immunity to Covid-19

As the world wearies of trying to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 virus, many of us are wondering what the future will look like as we try to learn to live with it.

A Roadmap to Restore Science in Government Decisions

A Roadmap to Restore Science in Government Decisions

We do not have to live in a constant state of fear that our health is being put at-risk. We can restore and strengthen science-based decision-making processes that are protected from political interference. Today, we are releasing our first set of recommendations providing a roadmap for how the fede

So Much Tear Gas Has Been Sprayed on Portland Protesters That Officials Fear It's Polluted the Water

So Much Tear Gas Has Been Sprayed on Portland Protesters That Officials Fear It's Polluted the Water

Tear gas from the near-nightly sieges in Portland may be trickling into the Willamette River, officials fear.

Why the United States is Having a Coronavirus Data Crisis

Why the United States is Having a Coronavirus Data Crisis

Political meddling and years of neglect of public-health data management mean the country is flying blind.

Biogen Conference Likely Led to 20,000 COVID-19 Cases in Boston Area, Researchers Say

Biogen Conference Likely Led to 20,000 COVID-19 Cases in Boston Area, Researchers Say

A new study shows the Biogen conference held at Boston's Marriott Long Wharf hotel in February played a far greater role in spreading the coronavirus than previously thought.

Some People Can Get the Pandemic Virus Twice, a Study Suggests. That is No Reason to Panic

Some People Can Get the Pandemic Virus Twice, a Study Suggests. That is No Reason to Panic

A man in Hong Kong was found to be reinfected with COVID-19, but what that means for vaccines and immunity is unclear

Redwoods Survive Wildfire at California's Oldest State Park

Redwoods Survive Wildfire at California's Oldest State Park

When a massive wildfire swept through California's oldest state park last week it was feared many trees in a grove of old-growth redwoods, some of them 2,000 years old...

Top US Virus Expert Warns on Fast-tracking Vaccine

Top US Virus Expert Warns on Fast-tracking Vaccine

US President Donald Trump reportedly is considering skipping regulatory steps to get out a vaccine.

Why Antibody Tests Won't Help You Much

Why Antibody Tests Won't Help You Much

Most antibody tests are useful only for large population surveys, diagnosis in certain children or when initial diagnostic testing fails, according to an expert panel.

ELife Launches Executable Research Articles for Publishing Computationally Reproducible Results

ELife Launches Executable Research Articles for Publishing Computationally Reproducible Results

Authors with a published eLife paper can now enrich their work with embedded code blocks and computed outputs to make their results more transparent, interactive and reproducible.

Challenge to Scientists: Does Your Ten-year-old Code Still Run?

Challenge to Scientists: Does Your Ten-year-old Code Still Run?

Missing documentation and obsolete environments force participants in the Ten Years Reproducibility Challenge to get creative.

Gender and Other Potential Biases in Peer Review: Cross-sectional Analysis of 38 250 External Peer Review Reports

Gender and Other Potential Biases in Peer Review: Cross-sectional Analysis of 38 250 External Peer Review Reports

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) set out to examine whether the gender of applicants and peer reviewers and other factors influence peer review of grant proposals submitted to a national funding agency.

FDA, Under Pressure, Authorizes Blood Plasma As Covid-19 Treatment

FDA, Under Pressure, Authorizes Blood Plasma As Covid-19 Treatment

The decision could generate intense controversy inside the administration and the broader scientific community because of a dearth of reliable data.

Blockchain, the Amazing Solution for Almost Nothing

Blockchain, the Amazing Solution for Almost Nothing

Blockchain technology is going to change everything: the shipping industry, the financial system, government … in fact, what won't it change? But enthusiasm for it mainly stems from a lack of knowledge and understanding. The blockchain is a solution in search of a problem.

Grad Students Challenge University-mandated COVID-19 Agreements

Grad Students Challenge University-mandated COVID-19 Agreements

"We don't … understand the extent of how this could impact us legally; we're just scared because we know it could," one student says

Open Letter on Plan S in Horizon Europe

Open Letter on Plan S in Horizon Europe

In an open letter to the European Commission and the European Research Council, the President of CESAER emphasises the full support for open access to scientific publications and the implementation of Plan S in Horizon Europe

Trump administration bars FDA from regulating some laboratory tests, including for coronavirus

Trump administration bars FDA from regulating some laboratory tests, including for coronavirus

The Trump administration this week blocked the Food and Drug Administration from regulating a broad swath of laboratory tests, including for the coronavirus, in a move strongly opposed by the agency. The new policy stunned many health experts and laboratories because of its timing, several months into a pandemic.Some public health experts worry defective tests could end up on the market, but others cheer the change, saying it is long overdue.

China's Research-misconduct Rules Target 'paper Mills' That Churn out Fake Studies

China's Research-misconduct Rules Target 'paper Mills' That Churn out Fake Studies

China’s science ministry is set to introduce its most comprehensive rules so far for dealing with research misconduct. The measures, which come into effect next month, outline what constitute violations and appropriate punishments. But critics say that enforcement will continue to be a problem.