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Big Bang finding challenged

Big Bang finding challenged

Signal of gravitational waves was too weak to be significant, studies suggest.

A Longitude Prize for the twenty-first century

A Longitude Prize for the twenty-first century

The UK Government’s new prize for substantial innovation to address pressing societal problems should be welcomed, says Martin Rees.

Tracking the dynamics of individual scientific impact

Tracking the dynamics of individual scientific impact

The impact factor (IF) of scientific journals has acquired a major role in the evaluations of the output of scholars. However, at the end of the day one is interested in assessing the impact of individuals. Here we introduce Author Impact Factor (AIF).

Gather and use genetic data in health care

Gather and use genetic data in health care

An article on what is needed for personalized medicine to be reality. "Research into how genetic variants can guide successful treatments must become part of routine medical practice and records", says Geoffrey Ginsburg.

Foreign aid turns to research

Foreign aid turns to research

The UK has launched a five-year US$630 million fund to support science and innovation partnerships with researchers in developing countries that will focus on economic development.

Credit where credit is due

Credit where credit is due

Liz Allen, Amy Brand, Jo Scott, Micah Altman and Marjorie Hlava are trialling digital taxonomies to help researchers to identify their contributions to collaborative projects. Research today is rarely a one-person job.

Western science severs ties with Russia

Western science severs ties with Russia

NASA Scientific relations between Russia and the West have reached their lowest ebb since the cold war, after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

Don't hide the decline

Don't hide the decline

US scientists should not be placated by the ‘flat budget’ myth. Funds are decreasing, and the situation will get worse.

Incoming NSF director faces challenges in Congress

Incoming NSF director faces challenges in Congress

Former Purdue University president France Córdova inherits an agency at a crossroads.

Industry-funded academic inventions boost innovation

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.

Budget cuts bite at NIH and NSF

Budget cuts bite at NIH and NSF

The NIH awarded 750 fewer new research grants in 2013 compared with 2012, an 8.3% drop. The 2013 sequestration also hit the US NSF, which awarded 690 fewer grants.

The art of science advice to government

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.

Track and trace

Track and trace

More than half a million researchers have now signed up for an online science passport: a unique 16-digit identity number, with an accompanying online profile, from the Open Researcher and Contributor ID ( ORCID) project. There, researchers can maintain an up-to-date record of their professional pursuits.

"Ich habe meine Vorbehalte gegen diese ewige Forderung nach Transparenz"

"Ich habe meine Vorbehalte gegen diese ewige Forderung nach Transparenz"

Antonio Loprieno, Rektor der Uni Basel, im Interview

NIH plans to enhance reproducibility

NIH plans to enhance reproducibility

Francis S. Collins and Lawrence A. Tabak discuss initiatives that the US National Institutes of Health is exploring to restore the self-correcting nature of preclinical research.

Data sharing will pay dividends

Data sharing will pay dividends

As public pressure builds for drug companies to make more results available from clinical trials, the industry should not forget that it relies on collective goodwill to test new therapies.

The greater good

The greater good

Governments, funding agencies and universities must all do their bit to ensure that research is appropriately assessed and rewarded.

The DIY dilemma

The DIY dilemma

The do-it-yourself-biology movement has an image problem. More commonly called DIYbio, it tends to conjure up pictures of T-shirt-clad misfits marshalling limited scientific skill in their basements as they try to make cool-but-fringe things such as glow-in-the-dark plants.