Embracing Failure As an Intrinsic Part of Science
When we reject failure, we create a culture of punishment, artificial rewards, and scientific bias. There are people running analyses and experiments right now which others will have undoubtedly done before, but just not communicated their results.
The UK Will Never Become a 'Science Superpower' if it's Cutting Research Budgets
The government promised to increase funding for vital scientific R&D to 2.4% of GDP - but its target is already slipping.
It's Time for Science to Take Down Bullies in Its Own Ranks
Academics too often use intellectual attainment to excuse abusive behavior. That needs to stop.
Proposed changes to rules for policing fraud in U.S.-funded biomedical research draw a mixed response
Proposed changes to rules for policing fraud in U.S.-funded biomedical research draw a mixed response
Academics like keeping definition narrow but worry about tighter deadlines and more record-keeping.
The Road to FP10 is Paved with Missing Details
Brussels research lobbies, together with leading MEP Christian Ehler, are calling for more detail and clarity about the European Commission's €175 billion plan for the tenth Framework Programme (FP10).
Welcome to The Great Acceleration
The author argues that the two biggest forces driving change in the scholarly communication landscape are consolidation and regulation. By consolidation, he means that there’s a now constant cycle of mergers and acquisitions, reducing the number of independent players in the market. By regulation, we’re talking about the increasing number of rules and the compliance burden being put on researchers.
I'm Striking Because Insecure Academic Contracts Are Ruining My Mental Health
I'm Striking Because Insecure Academic Contracts Are Ruining My Mental Health
A recent University and College Union (UCU) survey reported that 70% of the 49,000 researchers in higher education in the UK are currently employed on fixed-term contracts, as are 37,000 teaching staff (the majority of whom are paid hourly). The authors argues that the yearly search for new work is harming their health and is forcing them to put their life on hold.
1% of People Cause Half of Global Aviation Emissions
Exclusive: Researchers say Covid-19 hiatus is moment to tackle elite 'super emitters'
Research blogs and the discussion of scholarly information
The research blog has become a popular mechanism for the quick discussion of scholarly information. However, the characteristics of this form of scientific discourse are not well understood, for example in terms of the spread of blogger levels of education, gender and institutional affiliations.
The State of Open Data Report 2018
The State of Open Data 2018 looks at global attitudes towards open data. It includes survey results of researchers and a collection of articles from industry experts, as well as a foreword from Ross Wilkinson, Director, Global Strategy at Australian Research Data Commons.
Repairing an Institutional Reputation Tarnished by Fraudulent Publishing
Repairing an Institutional Reputation Tarnished by Fraudulent Publishing
Given the reality of fraudulent publishers and their deceptive practices, will institutions consider more strongly guiding author choice of publishing venue in order to protect institutional reputation?
Earth is Reflecting Less Light. It's Not Clear if That's a Trend
A decrease in Earth's reflectance shows our planet is absorbing more solar radiation, but it's not clear if the trend will last.
Researcher at the Center of an Epic Fraud Remains an Enigma to Those Who Exposed Him
Researcher at the Center of an Epic Fraud Remains an Enigma to Those Who Exposed Him
After years of detective work, it's still unclear why a Japanese doctor faked dozens of clinical trials.
The Citation Black Market: Schemes Selling Fake References Alarm Scientists
The Citation Black Market: Schemes Selling Fake References Alarm Scientists
Scientist and Parent: Planning During Pregnancy
Colleagues, funders and institutions can support pregnant researchers in a variety of ways.
Will AI Accelerate or Delay the Race to Net-zero Emissions?
Huge US University Cancels Subscription with Elsevier
University of California and Dutch publisher fail to strike deal that would allow researchers to publish under open-access terms.
Macron: 'We Are Not Fast Enough in Investing in the Future'
Emmanuel Macron has urged EU member states to put more money into the collective Brussels pot so Europe can invest in key technologies of the future. The French president said he is "not frustrated but impatient" for the EU to take on bigger projects.
Open Editors: A Dataset of Scholarly Journals’ Editorial Board Positions
Editormetrics analyse the role of editors of academic journals and their impact on the scientific publication system. However, such analyses would best rely on open, structured and machine-readable data on editors and editorial boards, whose availability still remains rare.
Journal Shares Peer Reviews of Rejected Papers with Rival Titles
BMC Biology's 'portable peer review' policy aims to save editors and researchers time and effort, but academics question whether authors will want to share details of past rejections.
Are We Seriously Talking About Closing Schools Again?
That's exactly the opposite of what we should be doing right now.
Germany Commissions World Leading Computer As It Eyes Quantum Leadership
Germany Commissions World Leading Computer As It Eyes Quantum Leadership
Germany's Jülich Supercomputing Centre has added a quantum computer to its existing high performance computing infrastructure, enabling the centre to get involved in practical applications of quantum computing at a very early stage, as the technology moves out the lab and into commercial use.
Replacing Academic Journals
Replacing traditional journals with a more modern solution is not a new idea. Here, the authors propose ways to overcome the social dilemma underlying the decades of inaction.
Celebrating 25 Years of Preserving the Web
Since 1996, the Internet Archive has been capturing the World Wide Web but also doing so much more to preserve our digital world behind the scenes.