Researchers or Corporate Allies? Think Tanks Blur the Line
Think tanks are seen as independent, but their scholars often push donors’ agendas, amplifying a culture of corporate influence in Washington.
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Racism in the Research Lab
We all need to acknowledge racism and its heavy-handed presence in our communities. We must realize that such conversations do not belong just to minority scientists.
So Many Research Scientists, So Few Openings as Professors
There is such a surplus of Ph.D.s that in the most popular fields, like biomedicine, fewer than one in six reach their goal in academia.
Artificial Intelligence’s White Guy Problem
Sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination are being built into the machine-learning algorithms that underlie the technology behind many “intelligent” systems that shape how we are categorized and advertised to.
A Family-Friendly Policy That’s Friendliest to Male Professors
The underrepresentation of women among the senior ranks of scholars has led dozens of universities to adopt family-friendly employment policies. But a recent study of economists in the United States finds that some of these gender-neutral policies have had an unintended consequence: They have advanced the careers of male economists, often at women’s expense.
Scientists Talk Privately About Creating a Synthetic Human Genome
Scientists are now contemplating the fabrication of a human genome, meaning they would use chemicals to manufacture all the DNA contained in human chromosomes.
Sharing Knowledge, for a Price
While we may be drawn to the fantasy of Robin Hood, it is easy to see the danger of putting one individual’s idea of right and wrong ahead of society’s democratically enforced laws.
As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops
Women’s median annual earnings stubbornly remain about 20 percent below men’s. Why is progress stalling?
Handful of Biologists Went Rogue and Published Directly to Internet
It could be possible to publish quickly online without alienating oneself from the traditional journal system.
Should All Research Papers Be Free?
Drawing comparisons to Edward Snowden, a graduate student from Kazakhstan named Alexandra Elbakyan is believed to be hiding out in Russia after illegally leaking millions of documents.
Lasker Awards go to five scientists and gateses
The "American Nobels" will go this year to three scientists who helped deaf people to hear, two others who made fundamental discoveries about how the brain works, and two of the world's best-known philanthropists, Bill and Melinda Gates.
Fire ants, goshawks and dog tongues. Oh my: the best of ScienceTake
ScienceTake 100th video: trying to offer compelling imagery, a glimpse at how science is done and answers to questions that are rarely asked.
When teamwork doesn't work for women
New evidence suggests that the underrepresentation of women reflects a systemic bias in that marketplace: a failure to give women full credit for collaborative work done with men.
Why Preventing Cancer Is Not the Priority in Drug Development
There’s more money to be made investing in drugs that will extend cancer patients’ lives by a few months than in drugs that would prevent cancer in the first place.
Albert Einstein and relativity in the pages of The Times
One hundred years after Albert Einstein made public his theory of general relativity, many of us struggle to understand it.
Breakthrough prizes give top scientists the rock star treatment
The richest awards in science were handed out Sunday night when the Breakthrough Prize organization presented a total of $21.9 million to physicists, mathematicians, life scientists and one talented high school student.
What really keeps women out of tech
Technology companies know they have a gender and diversity problem in their work force, and they are finally taking steps to try to fix it.
The folly of big science awards
Major awards honor the scientists who are usually in the least need of recognition and funding, which squeezes out opportunities for other scientists.
Why Is Science So Straight?
STEM culture must rein in the pressure to separate professional and personal identities.
Psychology Is Not in Crisis
Failure to replicate is not a bug; it is a feature. It is what leads us along the path of scientific discovery.
A scientific ethical divide between China and West
China is spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually in an effort to become a leader in biomedical research. But some experts worry that medical researchers in China are stepping over ethical boundaries long accepted in the West.
A list of retracted scientific studies
This list recounts some prominent retractions that have occurred since 1980.
Scientists who cheat
Cheating in scientific and academic papers is a longstanding problem, but it is hard to read recent headlines and not conclude that it has gotten worse.
The real reason college tuition costs so much
There are no valid arguments to support the recent trend toward seven-figure salaries for high-ranking university administrators.
Failure in real science is good
Real scientific controversies are self-correcting shows the BICEP2 and Planck example.
Is the professor bossy or brilliant?
Male professors are brilliant, awesome and knowledgeable. Women are bossy and annoying, and beautiful or ugly. These are a few of the results from a new interactive chart that was gaining notice on social media.
Venture capitalists return to backing science start-ups
After years of shying away from science, engineering and clean-technology start-ups, investors are beginning to take an interest in them again.
Young, brilliant and underfunded
"More people over 65 are funded by research grants than those under 35."
To get more out of science, show the rejected research
The research conducted using federal funds is driven - and distorted - by the academic publishing model.
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