Why Computers Won't Make Themselves Smarter
We fear and yearn for "the singularity." But it will probably never come.
Researchers Are Hatching a Low-Cost Coronavirus Vaccine
A new formulation entering clinical trials in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam could change how the world fights the pandemic.
Whose Commons? Data Protection as a Legal Limit of Open Science
What legal, as well as ethical and social, factors will ultimately shape the contours of open science? Should all restrictions be fought, or should some be allowed to persist, and if so, in what form?
Why Science Needs Philosophy
Present-day scientists often perceive philosophy as completely different from science. However, philosophy can have an important and productive impact on science.
We Are Living in a Climate Emergency, and We are Going to Say So
It’s time to use a term that more than 13,000 scientists agree is needed.
Statement of Scientists and Scholars Concerning the Protests for More Climate Protection - #scientists4future
Statement of Scientists and Scholars Concerning the Protests for More Climate Protection - #scientists4future
The concerns of the young protesters are justified.
"Biological Variability Makes Reproducibility More Difficult"
Research findings based on HeLa cells cannot always be reproduced by other scientists. To get to the bottom of this lack of reproducibility, a group of system biologists working with ETH Professor Ruedi Aebersold has embarked on a massive project: molecular cell measurement.
They Relied on Chinese Vaccines. Now They're Battling Outbreaks.
More than 90 countries are using Covid shots from China. Experts say recent infections in those places should serve as a cautionary tale in the global effort to fight the disease.
James Watson and the Insidiousness of Scientific Racism
Opinion: Black scientists are in the best position to understand what is so broken about the ideas of Watson and his army.
Two-stage Calls - A real improvement in times of low success rates?
The relatively low success rates for applicants in most parts of Horizon 2020 have been heavily and unanimously criticized by the stakeholders. In response, the European Commission introduced more generally a proposal evaluation in two stages, in order to ease the burden of unsuccessful applicants during the first stage. This approach received a very positive feedback from the scientific communities.
Local, Not Global, Links Boost Productivity
Scientists who collaborate locally publish more papers and are more highly cited than those who engage in long-distance relationships.
All Science Should Inform Policy and Regulation
In the context of a recent proposal to exclude research from consideration at the Environmental Protection Agency, John Ioannidis points out that "perceived perfection is not a characteristic of science, but of dogma" and envisions how governments can promote a standard of openness in science.
Academia Is the Alternative Career Path
All graduate students should be planning their post-PhD employment from year one. Supported and nurtured by their institutions and their supervisors. There is a catch for supervisors: they are themselves academics, and so will understandably have little clue about what might constitute useful training for the current job market. The onus must so fall on broader shoulders, of the institutions and funders.
Meta-Research: Gender Inequalities Among Authors Who Contributed Equally
An analysis of papers in which two or more authors shared first-author position found that male authors were more likely than female authors to appear first in the author list.
Why a Lot of Important Research Is Not Being Done
Lawsuits have an intimidating effect on an already difficult enterprise.
Global Research Collaboration with Israel Sharply Down This Year
Global Research Collaboration with Israel Sharply Down This Year
Significantly fewer academics, particularly in Europe, are authoring preprints with researchers in Israel this year, a sign that academic boycotts could be starting to scientifically isolate the country.
There Is an Absence of Scientific Authority over Research Assessment as a Professional Practice, Leaving a Gap That Has Been Filled by Database Providers
There Is an Absence of Scientific Authority over Research Assessment as a Professional Practice, Leaving a Gap That Has Been Filled by Database Providers
To what extent does the academic research field of evaluative citation analysis confer legitimacy to research assessment as a professional practice?
The ”Immune System” of a Safe and Equal Europe is in Danger, According to Researchers
Europe Wrestles with a Plan to Build the 'Amazon of Science'
The European Open Science Cloud is a giant effort to provide a single point of access to all scientific data. But getting all the infrastructures to integrate and engendering a culture of sharing is a daunting task, say those involved in its creation.
Post-publication Criticism is Crucial, but Should be Constructive
In an era of online discussion, debate must remain nuanced and courteous.
'You're Just Not Welcome': Researchers Grapple with US Plan to Revoke Chinese Student Visas
The "Problem" of Predatory Publishing Remains a Relatively Small One and Should Not Be Allowed to Defame Open Access
The "Problem" of Predatory Publishing Remains a Relatively Small One and Should Not Be Allowed to Defame Open Access
A recent investigation led by an international group of journalists raised concerns over the scale of the problem of deceptive publishing practices, but the problem of predatory publishing was overstated while at the same time discrediting open access publishing.
Why GitHub is important for book publishing
The history of the 21st century will be the story of non-hierarchical systems of human organization enabled by the Internet.
How Science Transformed the World in 100 Years
We need to be more concerned than ever about how society uses scientific discoveries, says Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society UK.
'Science-Adjacent' Conferences and Why They Matter
The multidisciplinary conferences that use ‘science’ as an adjective can be a fantastic source of new collaborations and ideas.
Rosalind’s Ghost: Biology, Collaboration, and the Female
Women are still underrepresented in terms of authorships, including first and/or last authorships (whichever is more prestigious), coauthorships, and in the granting of scientific prizes.
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