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'Export rules' threaten research

'Export rules' threaten research

The US government is considering policy changes that could dramatically affect how researchers handle equipment and information that have national-security implications. Scientists would need to reconsider what they can discuss with graduate students from other countries, or when traveling abroad on work trips.

National ORCID implementation launched

National ORCID implementation launched

Italy will be implementing ORCID on a national scale. 70 universities and 4 research centers will initially participate in the consortium.

National consortium for ORCID set to improve UK research visibility and collaboration

National consortium for ORCID set to improve UK research visibility and collaboration

ORCID will now be offered to UK higher education institutions through a national consortium arrangement operated by Jisc.

Queen Mary University of London considers making PhD students employees

Queen Mary University of London considers making PhD students employees

Importance of doctoral candidates in research makes it likely that many institutions will make the change, says principal.

Emerging trends in peer review: a survey

Emerging trends in peer review: a survey

"Classical peer review" has been subject to intense criticism for slowing down the publication process, bias against specific categories of paper and author, unreliability, inability to detect errors and fraud, unethical practices, and the lack of recognition for unpaid reviewers. This paper surveys innovative forms of peer review that attempt to address these issues.

Incidence of data duplications in a randomly selected pool of Life Sciences

Incidence of data duplications in a randomly selected pool of Life Sciences

This study questions the reliability of life science literature, it illustrates that data duplications are widespread and independent of journal impact factor and call for a reform of the current peer review and retraction process of scientific publishing.

A human right to citizen science

A human right to citizen science

The flourishing of citizen science is an exciting phenomenon with the potential to contribute significantly to scientific progress. However, we lack a framework for addressing in a principled and effective manner the pressing ethical questions it raises. We argue that at the core of any such framework must be the human right to science.

Science chief wants to work ERC magic on innovation

Science chief wants to work ERC magic on innovation

Carlos Moedas has proposed setting up a European Innovation Council to fund applied research and innovation.

French scientists welcome new research minister

French scientists welcome new research minister

Thierry Mandon replaces Geneviève Fioraso, who stepped down in March for health reasons, leaving France without anyone heading the research brief for three months.

Election results delight scientists

Election results delight scientists

Researchers hope that a more pluralistic parliament will put an end to interference and slipping standards.

Explosive intervention set to transform climate change debate

Explosive intervention set to transform climate change debate

Pope Francis squarely blames the burning of fossil fuels for climate change in the leaked draft of his long-awaited environmental encyclical.

Brexit and science: let's not make the same mistake as the Swiss

Brexit and science: let's not make the same mistake as the Swiss

What lessons does the Swiss ambivalence towards European Union hold for the UK?

Funders must encourage scientists to share

Funders must encourage scientists to share

To realize the full potential of large data sets, researchers must agree on better ways to pass data around, says Martin Bobrow.

Retraction of scientific papers for fraud or bias is just the tip of the iceberg

Retraction of scientific papers for fraud or bias is just the tip of the iceberg

Investigating fraud is hard work, and it is easier for journal editors to ignore the problem and perpetuate the myth that peer review of trial reports ensures their scientific quality.

The web will either kill science journals or save them

The web will either kill science journals or save them

Scientific research is awesome-we read it, we build upon it, we innovate with it, and we love it. But the process of getting research from the scientists who spend months or years with their data to the academics who want to read it can be messy.

Dora the brave

Dora the brave

The DORA Declaration points out that using the Journal Impact Factor as a proxy measure for the value or quality of specific research and individual scientists leads to biased research assessment. How can we resist misusing metrics?