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A peek at peer review helps young scientists

A peek at peer review helps young scientists

Winning a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is hard, especially if it's your first one. New data from a pilot project called the Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Program suggest that sitting in judgment of other grant applicants can help young scientists improve their odds when they apply for their own grants.

Genuine research keeps students in science

Genuine research keeps students in science

A new study of a novel undergraduate program at the University of Texas (UT), Austin, has found that giving college freshmen the opportunity to do research as part of their coursework significantly increases their chances of completing college and graduating with a science degree.

What does research reproducibility mean?

What does research reproducibility mean?

The language and conceptual framework of “research reproducibility” are nonstandard and unsettled across the sciences. In this Perspective, we review an array of explicit and implicit definitions of reproducibility and related terminology, and discuss how to avoid potential misunderstandings when these terms are used as a surrogate for “truth.”

Why pursue the postdoc path?

Why pursue the postdoc path?

Complex, diverse rationales require nuanced policies: evidence suggests a need for increased attention to career planning among students, their mentors, graduate schools, and funders

When the payoff for academics drops, commercialization suffers

When the payoff for academics drops, commercialization suffers

A 2002 law in Norway that ended the country's long-running practice of giving academics 100% ownership of their intellectual property and adopted a U.S.-style system caused the per capita number of patents from academics to drop by 53% in the next 5 years.

No deadline, fewer requests

No deadline, fewer requests

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has found a potentially powerful tool to help it tamp down the workload created by some 48,000 grant proposals annually: It can simply eliminate deadlines.

Creating a more inclusive academy

Creating a more inclusive academy

Although there has been a welcome increase in discussion about gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), broad participation of women from all backgrounds in academic STEM will not be achieved until institutions are transformed.

Ethics review for international data-intensive research

Ethics review for international data-intensive research

Research that analyzes large aggregate data sets, possibly including detailed clinical and genomic information of individuals, may require different ethics assessment.

Italian scientists protest ’serious neglect’ of research

Italian scientists protest ’serious neglect’ of research

Researchers gathered at Sapienza University of Rome last week to discuss the cuts in Italy's research budget.

For female scientists, mixed funding results at US agencies

For female scientists, mixed funding results at US agencies

A new study by a congressional watchdog agency finds that female scientists are less likely than men to receive research grants from the U.S. government.

How can non-scientists influence the course of scientific research?

How can non-scientists influence the course of scientific research?

Science communication should be more than the dissemination of results to the public; it should also flow in the other direction, with members of the public able to communicate their priorities to scientists and those who fund them. But how?