The mostly unread world of academic papers
According to one study, which was presumably read by more than three people, half of all academic papers are read by no more than three people.
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Stem-cell method faces fresh questions
Papers describing acid-bath technique under more scrutiny after institute’s investigation finds errors in methodology
Women trail men in securing research council grants
Research Councils UK analysis reveals gender difference in success rates
Billionaires with big ideas are privatizing American science
Billionaires with big ideas are privatizing American science
As government financing of basic science research has plunged, private donors have filled the void, raising questions about the future of research for the public good.
Industry-funded academic inventions boost innovation
Brian D. Wright and colleagues present data challenging the assumption that corporate-funded academic research is less accessible and useful to others.
Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014
EU more innovative but the differences between Member States are still high and diminish only slowly. The EU has closed half of the innovation gap towards the US.
Financial conflicts of interest and reporting bias
Financial conflicts of interest and reporting bias
Financial conflicts of interest may bias conclusions from systematic reviews on sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and weight gain or obesity.
How stereotypes impair women's careers in science
Without provision of information about candidates other than their appearance, men are twice more likely to be hired for a mathematical task than women. If ability is self-reported, women still are discriminated against, because employers do not fully account for men’s tendency to boast about performance.
Book review
More people than ever are going to graduate school to seek a PhD these days. When they get there, they discover a bewildering environment: a rapid immersion in their discipline, a keen competition for resources, and uncertain options for their future, whether inside or outside of academia.
Science advice to governments
Science advice to governments
Auckland, August 28-29, 2014
Senate confirms France Córdova as NSF director
The US Senate confirmed astrophysicist France Córdova to lead the agency, roughly a year after former director Subra Suresh resigned mid-term.
Patent filings at the European Patent Office reach all-time high
Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Netherlands file most applications per capita.
Research council plans austere future
Research council plans austere future
The Spanish National Research Council will not issue a call for new PhD, postdoctoral and technical staff in the next two years, according to its latest action plan for 2014-2017.
Back to basics on research funding
Core science gets budget boost in a bid to change research culture and increase innovation.
WWW born at CERN 25 years ago
In March 1989 Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist working at CERN, submitted a proposal to develop a radical new way of linking and sharing information over the internet. The document was entitled Information Management: A Proposal . And so the web was born.
Science self-corrects - instantly
Science is now able to self-correct instantly. Post-publication peer review is here to stay.
Europe faces up to big pharma over clinical data
Is 2014 the year that Europe gets drug companies to publish all their data on the safety and effectiveness of medicines?
The art of science advice to government
Peter Gluckman, New Zealand's chief science adviser, offers his ten principles for building trust, influence, engagement and independence.
Why faculty members work so much?
As I am writing this article, I should be writing something else: an email to an editor, an email to an author, a letter of recommendation, notes for tomorrow’s classes, comments on students’ papers, comments on manuscripts, an abstract for an upcoming conference, notes for one of the books I’m working on.
Developing an effective market for open access article processing charges
Research Councils UK, the Wellcome Trust, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics worried about high open access fees charged by “hybrid” journals could refuse to pay fees above a set threshold, a report suggests.
NIH to probe racial disparity in grant awards
NIH will assess whether grant reviewers are biased against minority applicants.
A rough guide to science advice
As scientists and policymakers gather in Auckland for a global summit on scientific advice, what lessons can we identify that apply across diverse national systems?
'Publish or perish' diminishing scientific returns
"The future of science (& humanity) isn't about funding, it's about supporting scientists to take risks once again."
"Wir brauchen in Europa die kreative Zerstörung"
Nobelpreisträger Edmund Phelps spricht Europa Innovationskraft ab. Die Menschen seien zu behütet. Der Kontinent lebe von der Substanz.
Martin Hairer: "Researchers should follow their hearts, not fashion"
As someone looking back from a high point in his career, what advice would Martin Hairer give to a young mathematician who was just starting out?
Can open access publishing be a smart career move?
It can seem like a magic word is needed to get published in the top academic journals. Is open access a genuine alternative?
Science advice to governments
Introduction to the topics being discussed at the Auckland conference on ‘Science Advice to Governments’.
Offers of admissions to prospective international graduate students in the US
Offers of admissions to prospective international graduate students in the US
Annual figures: offers of admission from U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students.
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