Subscribe to our newsletter

Send us a link

Lab Wars, a game of scientific sabotage

Lab Wars, a game of scientific sabotage

Two researchers today launch a game that captures this anarchic spirit. Board-game fans Caezar Al-Jassar, a postdoc at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, and Kuly Heer, a clinical psychologist, have designed the card game Lab Wars to represent the scientific rat race, with extra sabotage.

University Research and the Fetishisation of Excellence

University Research and the Fetishisation of Excellence

The rhetoric of “excellence” is pervasive across the academy. It is used to refer to research outputs as well as researchers, theory and education, individuals and organisations, from art history to zoology. But what does “excellence” mean? Does it in fact mean anything at all? And is the pervasive narrative of excellence and competition a good thing?

Let's talk about preprint servers

Let's talk about preprint servers

After ASAPbio, Cell Press CEO Emilie Marcus was left with many questions about preprint servers and her company's policy towards them.

A new complementary index for analyzing research performance

A new complementary index for analyzing research performance

A researcher collaborating with many groups will normally have more papers (and thus higher citations and h-index) than a researcher spending all his/her time working alone or in a small group. While analyzing an author’s research merit, it is therefore not enough to consider only the collective impact of the published papers, it is also necessary to quantify his/her share in the impact. For this quantification, here I propose the I-index which is defined as an author’s percentage share in the total citations that his/her papers have attracted.

Government slammed for losing track of its own research

Government slammed for losing track of its own research

Government can't say how many policy studies it paid for or published, report reveals.

Postdoc mysteries

Postdoc mysteries

Given the awkwardness of tracking postdocs’ long and irregular work hours and the risk of unpredictable overtime costs, many universities are likely to opt for hiking postdoc salaries to the threshold.

What does research reproducibility mean?

What does research reproducibility mean?

The language and conceptual framework of “research reproducibility” are nonstandard and unsettled across the sciences. In this Perspective, we review an array of explicit and implicit definitions of reproducibility and related terminology, and discuss how to avoid potential misunderstandings when these terms are used as a surrogate for “truth.”

The Natural Selection of Bad Science

The Natural Selection of Bad Science

The persistence of poor methods results partly from incentives that favor them, leading to the natural selection of bad science. This dynamic requires no conscious strategizing - no deliberate cheating nor loafing - by scientists, only that publication is a principle factor for career advancement.

Why aren’t there more women in science? The industry structure is sexist

Why aren’t there more women in science? The industry structure is sexist

Women outnumber men in a raft of science courses – but when they start their careers, they find many insurmountable barriers.

Why is scientific sexism so intractably resistant to reform?

Why is scientific sexism so intractably resistant to reform?

Harassment drove me out of physics 30 years ago and little has changed. Why is scientific sexism so intractable?

Sci-Hub: What It Is and Why It Matters

Sci-Hub: What It Is and Why It Matters

The controversies surrounding Sci-Hub touch on many hot-button topics in librarianship. This primer lays out multiple perspectives on the issues.

Does mobility boost early scientific careers?

Does mobility boost early scientific careers?

Young scientists are expected to change country and jobs every few years on average to get a chance to progress their academic career. Mobility in science stems from a long tradition. It is favoured for bringing very enriching experiences. But post docs and their scientific work do not always benefit from mobility. Here, EuroScientist looks into how being on the move every few years affects the life of researchers and looks at ways of enhancing work/life balance.

Most scientists believe there is a crisis in reproducibility

Most scientists believe there is a crisis in reproducibility

Placing trust in science can be easier when findings are confirmed, but a new survey finds that most scientists believe there is a reproducibility "crisis."

The developing world needs basic research too

The developing world needs basic research too

The establishment of an agency in Indonesia that will support 'frontier research' is a welcome development, argues Dyna Rochmyaningsih.

Sci-Hub: What It Is and Why It Matters

Sci-Hub: What It Is and Why It Matters

The controversies surrounding Sci-Hub touch on many hot-button topics in librarianship. This primer lays out multiple perspectives on the issues.