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Do scientific fraudsters deserve a second chance?
Can scientists who commit research fraud be rehabilitated? One program is trying to keep ex-fraudsters from falling off the wagon.
The ups and downs of data sharing in science
The ups and downs of data sharing in science
Pooling clinical details helps doctors to diagnose rare diseases — but more sharing is needed.
Gender pay gap: keep the ‘pity payments’
Giving female scholars one-off sums to ‘compensate’ for the pay gap rewards biology rather than merit, argues Joanna Williams
Does a journal of homeopathy belong in science?
A homeopathy journal was recently booted from the list of respectable scientific titles — but why was it among the ranks in the first place?
To Advance Science, It's Time to Tackle Unconscious Bias
Gender and race bias aren't the only ways humans subconsciously skew which science projects get funded and published. Various types of implicit bias can undermine important research.
Scientific publishers are killing research papers
Pressure to publish short articles removes details, leaves readers confused.
A code of conduct for data on epidemics
A code of conduct for data on epidemics
As a long-term champion of open-access research data on pandemic viruses and a member of the Italian Parliament, I urge Brazil to hasten the reform of its current biosecurity legislation. This would enable sharing of vital Zika virus samples and information, as recently called for by the World Health Organization…
Predatory journals: Ban predators from the scientific record
Universities and colleges should stop using the quantity of published articles as a measure of academic performance. Researchers and respectable journals should not cite articles from predatory journals, and academic library databases should exclude metadata for such publications.
Boon or burden: what has the EU ever done for science?
More than 500 million people and 28 nations make up the European Union. It will lose one of its richest, most populous members, if the United Kingdom votes to leave on 23 June. Ahead of a possible ‘Brexit’, Nature examines five core ways that the EU shapes the course of research.
Science works best when it is open
The sharing of research results, the free circulation of knowledge, and transparency in methodology are key tenets to the scientific method.
Should All Academic Research Be Free And What Wikipedia Can Teach Us About Publishing
Should All Academic Research Be Free And What Wikipedia Can Teach Us About Publishing
It is remarkable that the sharing of academic research was the genesis of the modern web, yet today remains one of the last bastions of non-free content on the web.
How should we treat science’s growing pains?
Jerome Ravetz has been one of the UK’s foremost philosophers of science for more than 50 years. Here, he reflects on the troubles facing contemporary science. He argues that the roots of science’s crisis have been ignored for too long. Quality control has failed to keep pace with the growth of science.
Science is stuck in bad patterns. Time to evolve
Science appears to be in something of an evolutionary cul-de-sac, mired in poor methodology and misguided objectives that have changed only for the worse.
The fool’s gold of Ph.D. employment data
Making proclamations about the scientific enterprise based on sparse employment and career data about junior scientists has become a common endeavor. But this approach is fundamentally flawed.
Gene editing can drive science to openness
The fast-moving field of gene-drive research provides an opportunity to rewrite the rules of the science, says Kevin Esvelt.
Scientists aren’t gods. They deserve the same scrutiny as anyone else
Experts preaching the ‘truth’ on healthy eating or cancer cures are not immune to the murky worlds of politics and commerce.
In praise of solitude in science
Solitude often holds negative connotations. Yet, solitude in science it is not necessarily a bad thing.