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Biden Made a Promise to Scientists. He Can Still Keep It.
Researchers who receive federal help consistently fail to report their results to the public. The government should hold them accountable.
Towards Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Unreliable research programmes waste funds, time, and even the lives of the organisms we seek to help and understand. Reducing this waste and increasing the value of scientific evidence require changing the actions of both individual researchers and the institutions they depend on for employment and promotion. While ecologists and evolutionary biologists have somewhat improved research transparency over the past decade (e.g. more data sharing), major obstacles remain. In this commentary, we lift our gaze to the horizon to imagine how researchers and institutions can clear the path towards more credible and effective research programmes.
French Lawmakers Approve a Ban on Short Domestic Flights
French lawmakers voted late on Saturday to abolish domestic flights on routes than can be covered by train in under two-and-a-half hours, as the government seeks to lower carbon emissions even as the air travel industry reels from the global pandemic.
The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands
The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands
Rejection of mainstream science and medicine has become a key feature of the political right in the U.S. and increasingly around the world
Cycling is Ten Times More Important Than Electric Cars for Reaching Net-zero Cities
Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus
Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus
Collaborating with devoted colleagues, Dr. Kariko laid the groundwork for the mRNA vaccines turning the tide of the pandemic.
Leicester University May Strip Professor of Title over Social Media Barbs
Leicester University May Strip Professor of Title over Social Media Barbs
Peter Armstrong, 81, has been critical of management's financial competence and 'bullying' tactics
A Guide to Plan S: the Open-access Initiative Shaking Up Science Publishing
A Guide to Plan S: the Open-access Initiative Shaking Up Science Publishing
The push to remove journal paywalls officially started this year. Here's how it works.
The World Must Learn from COVID Before Diving into a Pandemic Treaty
The World Must Learn from COVID Before Diving into a Pandemic Treaty
A treaty might help countries to prepare for the next pandemic - but first they must study what went wrong during this one.
US Universities Call for Clearer Rules on Science Espionage Amid Crackdown
As the National Institutes of Health begins implementing Trump-era guidelines, researchers voice concerns over transparency and racial profiling.
National COVID Debts: Climate Change Imperils Countries' Ability to Repay
National COVID Debts: Climate Change Imperils Countries' Ability to Repay
Analysis reveals three ways to boost green investment and achieve a resilient recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
I Called Off My Wedding. The Internet Will Never Forget
In 2019, I made a painful decision. But to the algorithms that drive Facebook, Pinterest, and a million other apps, I'm forever getting married.
What Really Caused Facebook's 500M-User Data Leak
The company's explanations have been confusing and inconsistent, but there are finally some answers.
Data Together: Fostering Cooperation Among Open Science Platforms
Collectively referred to as Data Together, the four collaborating international data organisations-CODATA, GO FAIR, RDA, WDS-have a joint commitment to work together to optimise the global research data ecosystem and to identify opportunities that will trigger federated infrastructures to service the new reality of data-driven science.
Coronavirus Tracker: the Latest Figures
The FT analyses the scale of outbreaks and tracks the vaccine rollouts around the world.
One in Three Survivors of Severe Covid Diagnosed with Mental Health Condition
Study finds 34% developed psychiatric or neurological conditions after six months.
U.S. Bet Big on Covid Vaccine Manufacturer Even As Problems Mounted
The Baltimore plant that recently had to scrap up to 15 million ruined doses had flouted rules and downplayed errors, according to internal audits, ex-employees and clients. Other doses had to be scrapped last year.
Why I Won't Review or Write for Elsevier and Other Commercial Scientific Journals
Why I Won't Review or Write for Elsevier and Other Commercial Scientific Journals
This author asks: Can scientists who are so meticulous in preparing their papers and so generous with their time in reviewing them for free not find better ways to advance science than relying on profiteering journals?
Biden, Congress Roll out Big Plans to Expand National Science Foundation
Biden, Congress Roll out Big Plans to Expand National Science Foundation
President and lawmakers push proposals to add technology directorate and boost budget.
Time to Regulate AI That Interprets Human Emotions
The pandemic is being used as a pretext to push unproven artificial-intelligence tools into workplaces and schools.
Has Covid-19 Changed Researcher Behaviour?
We hope that the scale and reach of the Covid-19 pandemic will realise sustained change in the research culture, with openness and collaboration firmly embedded.
Researchers Are Hatching a Low-Cost Coronavirus Vaccine
A new formulation entering clinical trials in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam could change how the world fights the pandemic.
Publishers Care About the Version of Record, Do Researchers?
Study of researchers indicates that a preprint or accepted manuscript can substitute for the version of record in some use cases but not all.
Why Computers Won't Make Themselves Smarter
We fear and yearn for "the singularity." But it will probably never come.
Collaboration, Empathy & Change: Perspectives on Leadership in Libraries and Archives in 2020
Collaboration, Empathy & Change: Perspectives on Leadership in Libraries and Archives in 2020
Students in the organizational theory and leadership course taught by Trevor Owe at the University of Maryland’s iSchool worked together to produce this book.
Meta-Research: Weak Evidence of Country- and Institution-Related Status Bias in the Peer Review of Abstracts
Meta-Research: Weak Evidence of Country- and Institution-Related Status Bias in the Peer Review of Abstracts
A preregistered survey experiment spanning six disciplines has found weak evidence of bias in favour of authors from high-status countries and institutions.
Do You Obey Public-Access Mandates? Google Scholar is Watching
Search-engine co-founder Anurag Acharya explains why it now tells authors when their papers should be made free to read.
No, It's Not The Incentives - It's You
Troubling narrative: the mere existence of perverse incentives is a valid and sufficient reason to knowingly behave in an antisocial way, just as long as one first acknowledges the existence of those perverse incentives.