The maze of impact metrics
So much science, so little time. Amid an ever-increasing mountain of research articles, data sets and other output, hard-pressed research funders and employers need shortcuts to identify and reward the work that matters.
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The gender gap map in science
A portrait from UNESCO shows where women are well represented among employed scientists, and where they are rare.
List of vanity publishers
List of potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers.
2013 Thomson Reuters's top 100 global innovators study
2013 Thomson Reuters's top 100 global innovators study
Scientific Research Centers dropped sharply in their representation on this year’s list, the majority of which were lost from S. Korea. Absent from this year’s list are Government Agencies. This is not an indication that such organizations are not innovating, but rather that other sectors are innovating at a faster rate for the period covered.
Back to Work!
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives tonight voted to end a partial shutdown of the U.S. government that has paralyzed science funding agencies, disrupted research projects and meetings, and threatened to wipe out an entire season of field studies.
Big Pharma braces for retirement of favorite regulator
Janet Woodcock, Head of the Food and Drug Administration’s pharmaceutical division, announced plans to retire within the year.
Fears over physical science funding in the UK
Although UK's research funding might be protected, the research councils themselves face a squeeze on their operational costs.
Russia pins hopes on new space-agency chief
Dmitry Medvedev appointed Oleg Ostapenko as new director of Russia's crisis-ridden space agency, Roscosmos.
Science, Peer Review, Open Access and Controversy
Following Nature's Future of Publishing special issue this spring, Science has just published a similar series of articles. Needless to say, there is a definite ideological bent to the articles included in both and more misleading information about open access.
Social sciences need a collective voice
Social sciences need a collective voice
Social science may be faring better politically in UK than US, says Ziyad Marar.
Professoren in der Politik
Schon mancher Wissenschaftler ist an der politischen Praxis gescheitert. Andere fühlen sich dort wohl. Auch diesmal haben wieder einige Akademiker den Sprung gewagt.
Arbeitslose Akademiker: Topfschlagen im Niemandsland
Leiharbeiter mit Staatsexamen, Ingenieure in der Spülküche: Selbst Akademiker können arbeitslos werden - und zwar schneller, als sie ahnen. Wer einmal gezwungen ist, sich unter seiner Qualifikation zu verkaufen, sitzt in der Falle.
Superpowered invention
Leonid Gokhberg and Dirk Meissner compare accounts on the trajectory of innovation in two towering economies.
Why is science behind a paywall?
Scientists' work follows a consistent pattern. They apply for grants, perform their research, and publish the results in a journal. The process is so routine it almost seems inevitable. But what if it's not the best way to do science?
opendata.admin.ch
opendata.admin.ch
Open Government Data-Pilotportal
Science Breaks Free
Inside portrait of the research crowd-funding platform Microryza, at their office/home in San Francisco.
The future of scientific peer review (conference videos)
Discussion about open-access publishing and the future of scientific communication and peer-review at the Open Science Summit 2012.
Golden Goose awards announced for obscure science
The Golden Goose Award officially recognizes scientists in the U.S., whose federally funded basic research has led to innovations or inventions which have a significant impact on humanity or society.
Listen as Albert Einstein reads 'The Common Language of Science'
Here's an extraordinary recording of Albert Einstein from the fall of 1941, reading a full-length essay in English.
Secretive and subjective, peer review proves resistant to study
At the International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication, efforts to explore the scientific literature have shifted away from peer review and into other areas, such as bias and authorship. With a dearth of available data and funding, large systematic studies of how peer review works and doesn't aren't easy to get off the ground.
Aktuelle Forschung bleibt hinter Paywall
Kurz vor der Wahl hat der Bundesrat ein Gesetz durchgewunken, das wissenschaftlichen Urhebern mehr Rechte einräumt. Weder Forscher noch Verlage sind zufrieden damit.
A win for German science?
The just-elected parliament will face several key decisions on research funding, which will have far-reaching consequences for German scientists. Several big funding programs run out between 2015 and 2019, and the next government will shape their replacements. There is broad support across parties, however, for continuing the programs in some form.
Sao Paulo's success story
The success of Sao Paulo's way of funding science has made it a model throughout Brazil: Sao Paulo produces 50 per cent of Brazilian science through FAPESP which receives one per cent of state tax revenue. The model allows for long-term planning and other states are now emulating it.
Mozilla plan seeks to debug scientific code
Software experiment raises prospect of extra peer review.
Research: A standard for policy-relevant science
The increasing concern about unreliability in scientific literature is a problem for people like me - I am the science adviser to DEFRA, the UK government department for environment, food and rural affairs. To counsel politicians, I must recognize systematic bias in research.
Furedi criticises 'methodologically naive' education research
A leading sociologist has attacked the application of so-called "'evidence'-based policy" - and much of the research lying behind it - to education
Obama's rankings won't solve crisis in US academy
More government cash is the only way to cut student costs, argue Rudy Fichtenbaum and Hank Reichman
What is good science? And what gets public funding?
I've heard that we should stop talking about "pure" science and "applied" science; that we should only be talking about "good" science and "bad" science. Last year, CSIRO Chief Executive Megan Clark said as much during question time at her National Press Club address, and this year I heard it recommended again at the Universities Australia Conference.
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