Science

Rebuffed on pricing and open access, universities refuse full-access renewals

The UK’s Science Media Centre director Fiona Fox says new visibility of experts will be crucial in combating doubts on official advice during troubled times

Colleagues’ doubts about whether he deserved a prize make Aymen Idris wish people did not see his achievement as tokenism

People may be more motivated to pursue a STEM career by figures thought of as ‘persistent’ but not geniuses   

But social media spats also reflect people’s desire for truth, social justice and greater openness, says Jingtai Tang

A recent posting on bioRxiv may have been erroneous, but the mistakes were picked up within hours, notes Kristen Sadler

Canada’s excess of directive funding programmes risks hobbling scientific imagination and progress, says Jim Woodgett

UKRI and other funders must prevent good intentions on open access from undermining good science, says Lee Cronin 

Academics are key to lifting public engagement with climate change and stopping the spread of nonsense passing as news, says David Lloyd

Sharing of information improves after Chinese president Xi Jinping warns officials against withholding data

Australian university joins race to control virus

Inability to begin reruns of experiments highlights the problem of weak methodologies of journal papers, say Center for Open Science director

Hong Kong experts, drawing on experiences from the 2003 Sars epidemic, emphasise transparency

Plans opposed by islanders who consider Mauna Kea to be sacred ground

Many campuses on continent lack basic scientific tools

In an era of anti-expert populism, it is more important than ever to stand up for scientific truth. But it is also harder, coming with a high risk of personal attack. Anna McKie speaks to those who have paid a high price for their advocacy, and draws out the lessons for those who want to take up the cause

To preserve its appeal, the subject needs to overcome its reputation as a mere feeder for the oil and gas industries, say four geologists

Scientific excellence is not the only relevant criterion – either morally or legally, says Alex Conway 

Universities have the right track record on place-making and innovation, argues Brookings Institution fellow and report co-author

Making participant-derived data available is not a panacea but, with careful support and management, it can improve reproducibility, says Jonathan Grigg

Home Office will nearly double number of fellowships where visa applications are fast-tracked, while ‘MIT of north’ plan is also floated

Technicians and teachers will also receive more awards under learned society’s plan to ‘reflect how science is carried out today’

Nuclear armageddon is the global peril that time forgot. But amid all the concern about environmental degradation, disarmament remains imperative, says Nobel laureate John Polanyi

The dream of robot researchers is edging closer with automated laboratory producing five years of experiments in just two weeks, experts claim

Technology organisation says gender balanced intake is a sign of things to come

New rules will soon require UK institutions to listen to early career researchers. Jack Grove looks at how to engage a group often seen as hard to reach

Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser appears to have big plans for the research community, but his ‘scientist-as-hero’ vision may misunderstand the nature of modern scholarship

Scholars say group awards would place focus on discovery itself and help to mitigate bias

Researchers call for end to ‘pervasive illusion that scientists must be dispassionate observers’, and better emotional support

US NIH finding raises hopes of focused funding, but concerns of bandwagon outlook

Much important scientific research takes place outside laboratories. The history of science can only be enriched, argues Vanessa Heggie, if we give equal attention to other sites

Awarded trio includes John Goodenough, the oldest ever laureate at 97

James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz share the 2019 award

Many scientists believe publicly debating the Alternative for Germany is pointless, but one new study suggests rebutting deniers can be useful

Sir Peter Ratcliffe, William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza awarded 2019 prize

Trump adviser plans multi-agency tour of universities confused by crackdown

French-born scientist’s discoveries explained the organising principle of the adaptive immune system

Science’s decision sparks debate about how journals should respond to concerns about reproducibility

UK’s exit removes a ‘powerful brake’ against extreme ideas at a time of increased lobbying, say experts 

Institutions largely silent over how they allowed their researchers to take financier's funding, despite his interest in eugenics and 2008 sex conviction

Researchers should be required to pass exams accredited by professional bodies to prove they have the skills to publish, argues John Sumpter

An independent service to check data and algorithms is the only way to resolve the research replication crisis, say Christophe Pérignon and Christophe Hurlin

Despite reservations over staying on in Trump administration, National Institutes of Health director is glad he did

Pan-continental prosperity will suffer if the UK’s near-absence from the European University project is a sign of things to come, says Martin Paul

Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London join forces to bring insights from physics, AI and data into cancer science

Survey affirms need for boosting human-based concerns in admissions and curricula

Michael Kosterlitz tells THE how colour blindness shaped his career and why Nobel winners shouldn’t be taken too seriously

Provision of teacher residencies and mentoring by universities seen as key to long-term science improvement

US’ top producer of research papers hopes stance will force major gains in open access

Only a quarter of biology conferences set rules on attendee behaviour and penalties for misconduct are even rarer, study finds

Physicist and broadcaster says academics must have freedom and support to communicate with society, to ‘avoid mistakes of past’

Economist Lord Jim O'Neill warns political ‘nonsense’ a barrier to urgently-needed research

Based on survey of more than 140,000 people, Wellcome Global Monitor finds affluent respondents are more likely to be positive about science

Preliminary data show 99 out of 100 patents citing hypothetical examples did not make their prophetic nature clear

Gradual changes to lifestyles will not save the planet. Universities need to go beyond Cambridge's recent lead and think bigger, says Peter Harper

Western ‘settler’ nations such as Canada and Australia are wrestling with how to redress historical injustices visited on their native populations. One proposal is for universities to embrace Indigenous knowledge. But what does that mean in practice? Will it achieve its aims? And where does it leave science? Matthew Reisz considers the arguments

Improving the culture surrounding mental health for postgraduates and PhD students also crucial to maintaining a healthy research system, Chris Skidmore tells leaders

Peter Gluckman, president-elect of the International Science Council, says ‘Dr Google’ poses a bigger threat to evidence-based policymaking than populist politicians

New policy would allow for removal of members following two-thirds vote of governing council

Minister tells THE summit that space project on which she works typifies national priority to diversify economy