news

Send us a link

Subscribe to our newsletter

The Security Crackdown by Canadian Government is Hampering Research Collaboration with China

The Security Crackdown by Canadian Government is Hampering Research Collaboration with China

The Canadian government's stepped up security for foreign research collaborations has created a climate of fear in which some scientists have stopped submitting grant applications and others have quietly severed ties with collaborators in China.

Brussels' Research Bubble Has High Hopes for New Commissioner Nominee

Brussels' Research Bubble Has High Hopes for New Commissioner Nominee

Research policy experts are breathing a sigh of relief that Brussels is about to get a new research commissioner who has credentials suggesting she's up to the task, after the European Commission president picked Iliana Ivanova to take over the running of the EU's €95.5 billion Horizon Europe R&D programme. Ivanova is a Bulgarian member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and a former member of the European Parliament. Her experience as an EU auditor is seen as a positive sign.

For the First Time Ever, the White House Adopts a Model Scientific Integrity Policy 

For the First Time Ever, the White House Adopts a Model Scientific Integrity Policy 

The White House has published its very first scientific integrity policy to serve as an example of what other agencies should strive for when developing or updating their own policies this year.

African Academy of Sciences Elects First Woman President

African Academy of Sciences Elects First Woman President

South Africa’s Lise Korsten to lead unsettled continental science body. The African Academy of Sciences has elected a new governing council headed by a woman—the first in the organisation’s 37-year history.

European Research Integrity Code Updated to Reflect Advances in Artificial Intelligence

European Research Integrity Code Updated to Reflect Advances in Artificial Intelligence

A new version of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity has been published that includes guidance on artificial intelligence (AI), navigating EU data protection laws and how to approach changes to research impact assessments.

Head of ERC: "Put More Money into Basic Research to Stop the Brain Drain from Eastern Europe"

Head of ERC: "Put More Money into Basic Research to Stop the Brain Drain from Eastern Europe"

The EU should double its budget for research to increase the scientific capital of the EU13 countries in the east and stop Europe from falling further behind the US and China, European Research Council (ERC) president Maria Leptin tells Science|Business after a visit to Slovenia and Croatia. The aim should be to help countries in eastern Europe to attract talent to emerging research clusters, helping to bridge the divide with the world class research systems in western Europe.

War Shattered Ukrainian Science - Its Rebirth is Now Taking Shape

War Shattered Ukrainian Science - Its Rebirth is Now Taking Shape

The war is far from over but Ukraine's government is already considering how to build back - and use the opportunity to move on from a Soviet-era system.

More Carrot, Less Stick: How to Make Research Assessments Fairer

More Carrot, Less Stick: How to Make Research Assessments Fairer

Research-assessment exercises are often misused to judge researchers or cut their funding - changes to the United Kingdom's scheme are a promising start.

Atoms Vs Apples: How Quantum Effects Challenge Gravity's Rules - Advanced Science News

Atoms Vs Apples: How Quantum Effects Challenge Gravity's Rules - Advanced Science News

New research reveals that quantum effects defy the universality of free fall, providing a potential experimental pathway to test quantum gravity.

Scientific Communication Failures Linked to Faster-Rising Seas

Scientific Communication Failures Linked to Faster-Rising Seas

Scientists failed for decades to communicate the coming risks of rapid sea-level rise to policymakers and the public, a new study has found. That has created a climate catch-22 in which scientists …

To Increase Women in STEM Jobs, Increase Female Leadership

To Increase Women in STEM Jobs, Increase Female Leadership

New research suggests that women remain underrepresented in STEM fields in federal jobs. But one factor seems to make a difference in women's STEM employment levels: more women in supervisory positions.

Commission Puts Forward €13.6B Research Budget for 2024, with €12.8B for Horizon Europe

Commission Puts Forward €13.6B Research Budget for 2024, with €12.8B for Horizon Europe

The European Commission wants the EU to spend a total €13.6 billion on research and innovation next year, with €12.8 billion going to Horizon Europe. That is €400M more for the research programme than 2023, but in the face of rampant inflation the European Parliament doesn't see this as a major increase.

Revealed: the Millions of Dollars in Time Wasted Making Papers Fit Journal Guidelines

Revealed: the Millions of Dollars in Time Wasted Making Papers Fit Journal Guidelines

For scientists submitting their papers to journals, there’s an all-too-familiar drill: spend hours formatting the paper to meet the journal’s guidelines; if the paper is rejected, sink more time into reformatting it for another journal; repeat. Now an analysis has put a price tag on all that busy work.

CNRS: Research Sets Sail for the Ocean

CNRS: Research Sets Sail for the Ocean

Oceans, which cover 70% of the planet, are in peril. Global research is mobilising to study and rescue it, and the CNRS is on the front lines, with over 1,000 scientists and 50 laboratories involved. An overview of the actions underway and the major challenges ahead, from the coasts to the depths of the sea.

Fight Against Insecurity of Research Careers is About to Enter the Spotlight

Fight Against Insecurity of Research Careers is About to Enter the Spotlight

Half of postdocs say they don’t have access to social security and many don’t have permanent contracts either. Now campaigners are putting pressure on the EU to lean on member states to improve working conditions for Europe’s young scientists.

EU and US Hatch Transatlantic Plan to Rein in ChatGPT

EU and US Hatch Transatlantic Plan to Rein in ChatGPT

The EU is calling on companies to join an international push to self-regulate generative artificial intelligence (AI) products such as ChatGPT, the chatbot launched last November that can write essays, engage in philosophical conversations and write computer code.

Why is India Dropping Evolution and the Periodic Table from School Science?

Why is India Dropping Evolution and the Periodic Table from School Science?

India's curriculum body needs to explain why it has removed foundational topics from school textbooks.

Horizon Europe Was €34B Short in First Two Years According to Commission's New Analysis

Horizon Europe Was €34B Short in First Two Years According to Commission's New Analysis

A new European Commission report says the EU's €95.5 billion funding programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe, needed an extra €34 billion to fund all high-quality proposals received in 2021 to 2022.

Emotions: The Ultimate Lobbying Weapon

Emotions: The Ultimate Lobbying Weapon

No matter how they're used, and to whatever end, it's time to acknowledge that emotions are key in lobbying activities - and not always in the most visible or evident way.

Research on Extremist Narratives in Europe to Combat Them

Research on Extremist Narratives in Europe to Combat Them

Researchers from the Centre for Studies on Dictatorships and Democracies (CEDID) of the UAB participate in the recently launched Horizon Europe project ARENAS (Analysis of and Responses to Extremist Narratives).

The Ecosystem: The Race is on to Choose Europe's Regional Innovation Valleys

The Ecosystem: The Race is on to Choose Europe's Regional Innovation Valleys

The European Commission plans to designate 100 locations across Europe as Regional Innovation Valleys, in a bid to strengthen innovation in EU priority areas and encourage collaboration between more and less advanced regions. 

Switzerland Announces €625M in Backup Funding for Horizon Europe Applicants

Switzerland Announces €625M in Backup Funding for Horizon Europe Applicants

The Swiss Federal Council has announced €625 million in grants for researchers to participate this year in Horizon Europe and other EU programmes, such as Euratom, ITER and Digital Europe. Switzerland is not an associated country in Horizon Europe and is currently locked out of other EU programmes as well, which means Swiss researchers have no access to funding from the European Commission. However, they can participate in about two thirds of Horizon Europe calls, provided they have their own money.