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Twitterstorm Shows Why Scientific Evidence Matters
An MP’s dismissive tweet that scientists have ‘no experience of the real world’ highlights a chasm in mutual understanding.
Young, Talented and Fed-up
Scientists starting labs say that they are under historically high pressure to publish, secure funding and earn permanent positions — leaving precious little time for actual research.
Let Researchers Try New Paths
Demand for steady output stymies discovery. To pursue the most important research, scientists must be allowed to shift their focus.
Nature Special Issue on Young Scientists
The research enterprise sometimes keeps scientists from pursuing the best ideas: intense competition forces researchers to prioritize publishing papers over tackling important questions. A special issue explores the problems facing early and mid-career scientists, and how to solve them.
Young Scientists Under Pressure
Young researchers are having to fight harder than past generations for a smaller share of the academic pie.
Science Group Seeks to Guide Silicon Valley Philanthropists
Uncertain government funding drives effort to beef up private support for research
Women Need to Be Seen and Heard at Conferences
A neuroscience initiative is boosting the number of female invited speakers at meetings. Other disciplines should do the same.
Facebook Couple Commits $3 Billion to Cure Disease
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative aims to have major impact by 2100.
Encourage Governments to Heed Scientific Advice
To stop evidence-based policy losing its clout, researchers need to engage with policymakers and understand their needs, says Bill Colglazier.
Can we Open the Black Box of AI?
Artificial intelligence is everywhere. But before scientists trust it, they first need to understand how machines learn.
Worldwide brain-mapping project sparks excitement and concern
Worries include how to coordinate research programmes and resources from different countries.
Curation is under-resourced
Curation is under-resourced
Science funders and researchers need to recognize the time, resources and effort required to curate open data.
Where Nobel winners get their start
Undergraduates from small, elite institutions have the best chance of winning a Nobel prize.
A statement about data
A statement about data
Nature Physics now requires its published papers to include information on whether and how their underlying data are accessible to others.
Corporate culture has no place in academia
‘Academic capitalism’ contributed to the mishandling of the Macchiarini case by officials at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, argues Olof Hallonsten.
Women postdocs less likely than men to get a glowing reference
Women and men applying for geoscience postdocs receive very different letters of support from their mentors.
Science on GitHub
Science on GitHub
Scientists are turning to a software–development site to share data and code.
Keep it complex
When knowledge is uncertain, experts should avoid pressures to simplify their advice. Render decision-makers accountable for decisions, says Andy Stirling.
Gender bias found in Earth-science society journals
Women publish and review less than men in American Geophysical Union journals, but have a higher acceptance rate.
Open-access journal eLife to start charging fees
The open-access journal eLife is dropping one of its most distinctive features: free publishing. From 2017, it will charge a fee of $2,500 for all accepted papers.
Why big pharma wants to collect 2 million genomes
For the head of AstraZeneca’s genomics initiative, the challenge is not just getting the sequences, but in putting them to use — wisely.
Can Cuban science go global?
Tensions between Cuba and the United States are easing. But researchers still struggle to join the scientific world.