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A newsletter and curated collection of 14998 articles on science policy
Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation
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News
Early Career Researchers
Careers

In Academia, Lower Socioeconomic Status Hinders Sense of Belonging

web
Early Career Researchers
Careers

In Academia, Lower Socioeconomic Status Hinders Sense of Belonging

Ph.D. students who belong to minoritized groups experience challenges with interpersonal understanding and social ties. 

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Diversity
Racism

Overcoming Racism in Science: A Nature Special Issue

nature
Diversity
Racism

Overcoming Racism in Science: A Nature Special Issue

A guest-edited collection of features, comment and analysis examines researchers' experiences of racism, the impacts of systemic racism and how science can and must change.

nature
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Opinion
Publication

Focus on PhD Quality, Not Publications: We Need to Encourage Scholars to Become Inquisitive Explorers, Papers Will Naturally Follow

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Publication

Focus on PhD Quality, Not Publications: We Need to Encourage Scholars to Become Inquisitive Explorers, Papers Will Naturally Follow

Does forcing students to mandatorily publish a research paper before thesis submission lead to a high-quality PhD thesis, or does high-quality PhD work lead to publications in good journals? This question is unlike the chicken...

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Publishing
Peer Review

ELife Ends Accept/reject Decisions Following Peer Review

elife
Publishing
Peer Review

ELife Ends Accept/reject Decisions Following Peer Review

eLife will emphasise the public peer review of preprints, restoring author autonomy and promoting the assessment of scientists based on what, not where, they publish.

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Sustainability
Funding

Science, Technology and Innovation is Not Addressing World's Most Urgent Problems

web
Sustainability
Funding

Science, Technology and Innovation is Not Addressing World's Most Urgent Problems

A major new international study finds that global science research serves the needs of the Global North, and is driven by the values and interests of a small number of companies, governments and funding bodies.

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Publishing
Peer Review

Scientific Publishing: Peer Review Without Gatekeeping

elife
Publishing
Peer Review

Scientific Publishing: Peer Review Without Gatekeeping

eLife is changing its editorial process to emphasize public reviews and assessments of preprints by eliminating accept/reject decisions after peer review.

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Opinion
Society
COVID-19

Science is Ready to Tackle Global Crises

sciencebusiness
Society
COVID-19

Science is Ready to Tackle Global Crises

Science led the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic and can rise to other challenges, as long as there is sustained investment in research and research infrastructures, according to the head of the European Molecular Biology Lab.

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Space

Not Science Fiction: Methane-Eating "Borgs" Have Been Assimilating Earth's Microbes

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Space

Not Science Fiction: Methane-Eating "Borgs" Have Been Assimilating Earth's Microbes

A newly discovered type of transferable DNA structure with a sci-fi name appears to play a role in balancing atmospheric methane. In Star Trek, the Borg are a ruthless, hive-minded collective that assimilate other beings with the intent of taking over the galaxy. Here on nonfictional planet Earth

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Opinion
Public Health

Making Better Use of Natural Experimental Evaluation in Population Health

bmj
Public Health

Making Better Use of Natural Experimental Evaluation in Population Health

Rather than arguing about the suitability of natural experimental methods to inform decisions we need to focus on refining their scope and design, say Peter Craig and colleagues Natural experiments have long been used as opportunities to evaluate the health impacts of policies, programmes, and other interventions. Defined in the UK Medical Research Council's guidance as events outside the control of researchers that divide populations into exposed and unexposed groups, natural experiments have greatly contributed to the evidence base for tobacco and air pollution control, suicide prevention, and other important areas of public health policy.1 Although randomised controlled trials are often viewed as the best source of evidence because they have less risk of bias, reliance on them as the only source of credible evidence has begun to shift for several reasons. Firstly, policy makers are increasingly looking for evidence about "what works" to tackle pervasive and complex problems, including the social determinants of health,23 and these are hard to examine in randomised trials. In Scotland, for example, legislation to introduce a minimum retail price per unit of alcohol included a sunset clause, which means that the measure will lapse after six years unless evidence is produced that it works. This has resulted in multiple evaluations, including natural experimental studies using geographical or historical comparator groups.4 Similarly, the US National Institutes of Health has called for greater use of natural experimental methods to understand how to prevent obesity,5 and a consortium of European academies for their greater use to understand policies and interventions to reduce health inequalities.3 Secondly, a wider range of analytical methods developed within other disciplines, mostly by economists or other social or political scientists, are being increasingly applied to good effect. A good example is the use of synthetic control methods …

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Climate

How Weathercasters Helped Change Public Opinion on Climate Change

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Climate

How Weathercasters Helped Change Public Opinion on Climate Change

The Clinton administration's outreach to meteorologists persuaded some television weathercasters to include climate as part of their day-to-day presentations and others to follow suit over time, improving Americans' understanding of the climate crisis.

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Environment

Stronger Pollution Protections Mean Focusing on Specific Communities

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Environment

Stronger Pollution Protections Mean Focusing on Specific Communities

Targets specific locations is something that activists and experts have been pushing for in terms of pollution reduction.

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Open Science
Open Access

Lero Launches Charter to Make Science Research Freely Available

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Open Science
Open Access

Lero Launches Charter to Make Science Research Freely Available

A new open access charter by Lero, the SFI research centre for software, aims to make publicly-funded research in Ireland openly available.

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Sustainability
Climate
Society
Ethics

Science, Technology and Innovation is Not Addressing World's Most Urgent Problems

web
Sustainability
Climate
Society
Ethics

Science, Technology and Innovation is Not Addressing World's Most Urgent Problems

Science, technology and innovation research is not focused on the most pressing problems: taking climate action, addressing complex underlying social issues, tackling hunger and promoting good health and wellbeing.

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Publications
Diversity
STEM

Do Introductory Courses Disproportionately Drive Minoritized Students out of STEM Pathways?

web
Diversity
STEM

Do Introductory Courses Disproportionately Drive Minoritized Students out of STEM Pathways?

This study found that the association between low performance in an introductory STEM class and failure to obtain a STEM degree is stronger for underrepresented minority (URM) students than for other students, even after controlling for academic preparation in high school and intent to obtain a STEM degree. 

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Metrics
Asia

Applying Quantified Indicators in Central Asian Science: Can Metrics Improve the Regional Research Performance? - Scientometrics

springer
Metrics
Asia

Applying Quantified Indicators in Central Asian Science: Can Metrics Improve the Regional Research Performance? - Scientometrics

 This study discusses the implications of research metrics as applied to the transition countries based on the framework of ten principles of the Leiden Manifesto. They can guide Central Asian policymakers in creating systems for a more objective evaluation of research performance based on globally recognized indicators. 

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Opinion
Fake News
Science

It Isn't Fake Science, Because It Isn't Science at All. It's Dupery.

scholarlykitchen
Fake News
Science

It Isn't Fake Science, Because It Isn't Science at All. It's Dupery.

What if even by saying "fake science" you inadvertently participate in a scam? What if this phrase legitimizes fraud, lies, and deceit?  Let's call it what it is - dupery.

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Opinion
Sustainability
Research

Do the Science on Sustainability Now

nature
Sustainability
Research

Do the Science on Sustainability Now

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are not a priority for research in high-income countries. That must change.

nature
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Opinion
Research
ERC

The Importance of Frontier Research

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Research
ERC

The Importance of Frontier Research

ERC President Professor Maria LeptinSpeech at European Academy of Sciences ceremony. 

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News
Collaboration
EU
US

US and EU Officials Agree to Boost R&D Ties in Cancer, Climate, Aviation

sciencebusiness
Collaboration
EU
US

US and EU Officials Agree to Boost R&D Ties in Cancer, Climate, Aviation

US and EU officials agreed to expand R&D collaboration on cancer, climate change, green aviation and other fields, signaling a further warming of transatlantic science relations.

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Infrastructures
Energy

Research Infrastructures Are About to Get Vocal About the Energy Crisis

sciencebusiness
Infrastructures
Energy

Research Infrastructures Are About to Get Vocal About the Energy Crisis

The impact of the war in Ukraine is reverberating through research infrastructures, with rising energy costs and shortages of equipment manufactured abroad hitting these important shared facilities and forcing some to temporarily close their doors.

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Universities
Higher Education

Learning from Failure in Higher Education Institutions

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Universities
Higher Education

Learning from Failure in Higher Education Institutions

This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Adam Shore, Director of the School of Business and Management at Liverpool John Moores University, Chair of the Chartered Association of Business Schools' Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Committee, and Board Director of the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE). This blog is the sixth in our series on leadership […]

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Publications
Public Policy
EU

Supporting and Connecting Policymaking in the EU Member States With Scientific Research

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Public Policy
EU

Supporting and Connecting Policymaking in the EU Member States With Scientific Research

Scientific knowledge can help policymakers understand, identify and assess policy options. A new EU document identifies the rationale behind building capacity of science-for-policy ecosystems, as well as the challenges encountered at the science-policy interface.

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China

What Xi Jinping's Third Term Means for Science

nature
China

What Xi Jinping's Third Term Means for Science

At the Chinese Communist Party's 20th congress, Xi laid out his vision for science and innovation to drive the country's growth.

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Opinion
Fake News
Science

To Fight Misinformation, We Need to Teach That Science Is Dynamic

scientificamerican
Fake News
Science

To Fight Misinformation, We Need to Teach That Science Is Dynamic

Science is a social process, and teaching students how researchers work in tandem to develop facts will make them less likely to be duped by falsehoods.

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News
Trust
Science
Fake News

Most Americans Do Trust Scientists and Science-based Policy-making

phys
Trust
Science
Fake News

Most Americans Do Trust Scientists and Science-based Policy-making

Most Americans think government investments in scientific research are "worthwhile investments for society over time", according to a survey on public perceptions of science.

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Brazil
Science
Politics

'Huge Relief' in Brazilian Scientific Community After Lula's Win

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Brazil
Science
Politics

'Huge Relief' in Brazilian Scientific Community After Lula's Win

The sentiment is widely shared in Brazil’s scientific community, where many feared a second term for Bolsonaro might be catastrophic for issues they care about, including support for science, climate policy, and deforestation.

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News
Careers

Four Evidence-backed Reasons to Say 'no' to Early-morning Meetings

nature
Careers

Four Evidence-backed Reasons to Say 'no' to Early-morning Meetings

Everyone hates them and they're rarely essential, say Adaira Landry and Resa E. Lewiss. So why are we still getting the calendar invites?

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Opinion
Open Access
Publishing

Reflections on Guest Editing a Frontiers Journal

blogs
Open Access
Publishing

Reflections on Guest Editing a Frontiers Journal

The authors critically discuss their experience as guest editors for a Frontiers journal. They aim to foster open scholarly debate about Frontiers publishing practices, triggered by Frontiers hindering such debate on their own pages.

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Opinion
Social Media

The Guardian View on Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover: the Unfulfilled Promises Pile Up

theguardian
Social Media

The Guardian View on Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover: the Unfulfilled Promises Pile Up

The world's richest man promises more than he has delivered. His social network purchase is likely to go the same way

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Web
Science
Culture

Playing with the Space-time Continuum

horizon-magazine
Science
Culture

Playing with the Space-time Continuum

Science fiction movies love time travel - but there's little hope of it soon becoming science fact. We take a look at why it continues to fascinate us.

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