The Problem with Nobel Prizes and the Myth of the Lone Genius
Jenny Rohn: Restricting Nobel prizes to three individuals has always been problematic, and increasingly glosses over the contributions of everyday scientists.
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We Hail Individual Geniuses, but Success in Science Comes through Collaboration
Ambitious Neuroscience Project to Probe How the Brain Makes Decisions
Combining expertise from 21 labs in Europe and the US, the International Brain Laboratory will attempt to answer one of the greatest mysteries of all time.
Too Few Antibiotics in Pipeline to Tackle Global Drug-Resistance Crisis
Too Few Antibiotics in Pipeline to Tackle Global Drug-Resistance Crisis
Nowhere near enough new drugs are currently in development says a WHO report, which calls for urgent investment and responsible use of existing antibiotics.
Solid and Liquid Cats, Didgeridoos and Cheese Disgust Scoop Ig Nobel Awards
Scientists from around the globe gathered for annual ceremony celebrating research that ‘first makes you laugh, then makes you think’.
Research Funding Is Harmful to Science – Time for Change
Researchers seeking science funding can be big losers in the equality and diversity game.
Oxford University Professor Resigns in Donald Trump Protest
Bo Rothstein quits Blavatnik School of Government post after learning that patron is a major financial backer of US president.
Collection of Letters by Codebreaker Alan Turing Found in Filing Cabinet
The correspondence, dating from 1949 to 1954, was found by an academic in a storeroom at the University of Manchester.
Science Should Be Taught Like Art or Music
If we can get our minds around Premier League statistics, we can handle experimental science, writes physics professor Tom McLeish
Universities Are Broke. So Let’s Cut the Pointless Admin and Get Back to Teaching
The meaningless tasks and faux-business strategies prioritised by British universities have skewed their real role, writes André Spicer
Cambridge University Press Faces Boycott Over China Censorship
Academics pressure publisher as Beijing mouthpiece says western institutions can leave if they don’t like ‘the Chinese way’
Cambridge University Press Accused of 'Selling Its Soul' over Chinese Censorship
Cambridge University Press Accused of 'Selling Its Soul' over Chinese Censorship
Academics and activists decry publisher’s decision to comply with a Chinese request to block more than 300 articles from leading China studies journal.
The Human Cost of the Pressures of Postdoctoral Research
A paper on conformal algebra has recently caused a stir on social media. Not because of the science, but rather the heartfelt plea in the acknowledgements.
Silicon Valley’s Weapon of Choice Against Women: Shoddy Science
Support for the Google ‘manifesto’ on gender difference recalls the rationale of eugenics.
'Tired of medals': new letters reveal how Alfred Russel Wallace shunned Darwin's fame
From declining royal honour to refusing to sit for a portrait, correspondences show co-discoverer of evolutionary theory avoiding publicity.
Pressure to Publish in Journals Drives Too Much Cookie-Cutter Research
Evaluating academic performance on the basis of journal publications is skewing research priorities. This does our public funders a disservice.
‘I Have to Be True To Who I Am as a Scientist’
Crispr inventor Jennifer Doudna talks about discovering the gene-editing tool, the split with her collaborator and the complex ethics of genetic manipulation.
Why I Left Physics for Economics
I recently decided to abandon the rules that govern nature for the rules that govern people and markets: economics. Why would I do such a thing?
'Exaggerations' Threaten Public Trust in Science
David Spiegelhalter, president of Royal Statistical Society, says sloppy attitude to statistics leads to misleading claims and draws parallels to rise of fake news
Is the Staggeringly Profitable Business of Scientific Publishing Bad for Science?
Is the Staggeringly Profitable Business of Scientific Publishing Bad for Science?
It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell.
In a World Ruled by Rumour, it Is Vital that Scientists Speak with Humility and Clarity
In a World Ruled by Rumour, it Is Vital that Scientists Speak with Humility and Clarity
Facts are the science world’s stock-in-trade, but in an era of fake news it is ever more important to build public trust by avoiding exaggerated claims and jargon.
Why We Can't Trust Academic Journals to Tell the Scientific Truth
Academic journals don’t select the research they publish on scientific rigour alone. So why aren’t academics taking to the streets about this?
Dozens of Recent Clinical Trials May Contain Wrong or Falsified Data, Claims Study
Fresh concerns over reliability of papers published in journals as suspicious statistical patterns prompt investigations into some of the identified trials
Essential to Good Science
Peer review recognition company Publons is set to expand under new owners. Could this boost peer review and stop it being seen as an onerous, thankless task?
It's Time for Academics to Take Back Control of Research Journals
The evolution to a high-profit industry was never planned. Academics need to make the case for lower-cost journals.
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