ScienceGeist

The new and improved Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2020 were published this week with as much online fanfare as THE could muster. Unfortunately,

Many outside observers might reasonably assume that science usually works like this. Yet open science is very far from the norm for most research.  Why is openly accessible science so important?

Editors of academic journals have started noticing a trend: Women - who inevitably shoulder a greater share of family responsibilities - seem to be submitting fewer papers, while men are submitting up to 50 percent more than they usually would.

Experts have voiced growing frustration over the UK government’s claim that it is “following the science”, saying the refrain is being used to abdicate responsibility for political decisions.

The European Commission is working on an investment plan to fuel the EU’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said must increase the “firepower” of the bloc’s 2021-27 budget, and R&D commissioner Mariya Gabriel has said must prioritise investment in R&D.

Many initiatives are keeping track of research on COVID-19 and coronaviruses. These initiatives, while valuable because they allow for fast access to relevant research, pose the question of subject delineation. We analyse here one such initiative, the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19).

The study replicates the NIPS experiment of 2014, showing that the ratings of peer review are not robust, and that altering reviewers leads to a dramatic impact on the ranking of the papers. This paper also shows that innovative works are not highly ranked in the existing peer review process, and in consequence are often rejected.

No, there is no silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic for climate change.

For Elizabeth Gadd, the Covid-19 pandemic makes it clear that long standing issues with academic publications need to be addressed quickly and definitively.

A public forum for researchers to discuss the science of science, current events, and science policy issues.

Secure contact tracing could be a powerful tool to fight the spread of COVID-19. A unique, decentralized system developed as part of an international consortium, including EPFL and ETH Zurich, will soon be launched with the support of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb is frustrated whenever the coronavirus crisis is referred to by the term he coined for an unpredictable, rare catastrophe.

Herd immunity hopes dealt blow by report suggesting only 2%-3% of people have been infected

The world is experiencing a major pandemic with a high mor-tality. One can hope that the outbreak will end spontaneously aftermost people are infected, but the SARS-2 coronavirus may becomeendemic and continue to cause cycles of respiratory disease andfatal pneumonias.

To create a better post-COVID-19 world requires democratic civic universities dedicated to producing knowledge and educating ethical, empathetic stude...

Health agencies, leading pharmaceutical companies to join forces to accelerate pandemic response.

Emma Hardy says there will be no return to 'business as usual' after Covid-19 crisis. 

What plants can teach us about surviving a pandemic.

There's no scientific consensus on when it's safe to reopen schools, businesses, restaurants, and bars

Coronavirus death counts are based on positive tests and driven by hospital deaths. But data from major metropolitan areas shows a spike in at-home deaths, prompting one expert to say current numbers were just "the tip of the iceberg."

It is urgent to understand the future of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. This research group used estimates of seasonality, immunity, and cross-immunity for betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1 from time series data from the USA to inform a model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Scientists say one-time lockdown will not bring pandemic under control.

The current COVID-19 crisis has prompted hand-wringing and self-reflection among some museum professionals. What, they are asking, is the point of a museum that remains closed to the public?

The goal of the ETH4D Research Challenges is to enable collaborations on project-​based research between ETH researchers, non-​academic partners and partners from the Global South to develop effective solutions for poverty reduction combining technologies, policies and a profound understanding of human behaviour.

After the fossil fuel industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars undermining climate science, it's easy to see how epidemiology came next.

Confused about mask wearing? Sure, it’s complicated. But not as complicated as some people imply. 

The ERC's Scientific Council notes with regret the statement made by Mauro Ferrari concerning his resignation on 7 April. We here present the facts of the situation. On Friday 27 March, all 19 active members of the ERC's Scientific Council individually and unanimously requested that Mauro Ferrari resign from his position as ERC's President.

Business can play a powerful role in funding the pandemic's only viable exit strategy.

Due to the confusing situation in the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers have decided that the Open-Access-Tage 2020 will not be held as an on-site event in Bielefeld.

How does research translate into societal impact, particularly in light of a refugee crisis?