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Why is the Science Museum Still Being Contaminated by Shell's Dirty Money? | George Monbiot

Why is the Science Museum Still Being Contaminated by Shell's Dirty Money? | George Monbiot

It is extraordinary that the museum is receiving funding from a fossil fuel giant for an exhibition on, of all things, the climate, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot.

Microbes Are 'unknown Unknowns' Despite Being Vital to All Life, Says Study

Microbes Are 'unknown Unknowns' Despite Being Vital to All Life, Says Study

Understanding these tiny organisms could be key to tackling threats such as coronavirus, but new research shows how little we know

The Replication Crisis Devastated Psychology. This Group is Looking to Rebuild It.

The Replication Crisis Devastated Psychology. This Group is Looking to Rebuild It.

The Psychological Science Accelerator could be the future of the field around the globe - if they can sustain it.

Why Are There Still So Few Black Scientists in the UK?

Why Are There Still So Few Black Scientists in the UK?

There have been many reports but little action: the UK's university science departments have a serious diversity problem - experts explain what needs to change.

Why I Won't Review or Write for Elsevier and Other Commercial Scientific Journals

Why I Won't Review or Write for Elsevier and Other Commercial Scientific Journals

This author asks: Can scientists who are so meticulous in preparing their papers and so generous with their time in reviewing them for free not find better ways to advance science than relying on profiteering journals?

Time to Regulate AI That Interprets Human Emotions

Time to Regulate AI That Interprets Human Emotions

The pandemic is being used as a pretext to push unproven artificial-intelligence tools into workplaces and schools.

No, It's Not The Incentives - It's You

No, It's Not The Incentives - It's You

Troubling narrative: the mere existence of perverse incentives is a valid and sufficient reason to knowingly behave in an antisocial way, just as long as one first acknowledges the existence of those perverse incentives. 

The Absurdity of University Rankings

The Absurdity of University Rankings

Rankings are artificial zero-sum games. Artificial because they force a strict hierarchy upon universities. Artificial also because it is not realistic that a university can only improve its reputation for performance exclusively at the expense of other universities’ reputations.

We Need to Talk About the Lack of Investment in Digital Research Infrastructure

We Need to Talk About the Lack of Investment in Digital Research Infrastructure

Research software infrastructure is critical for accelerating science, and yet, these digital public goods are often unsustainably funded. Solving this problem requires an appreciation of the intrinsic value of research software outputs, and greater investment of time and effort into effectively funding maintenance of software at scale.

Leveraging Open Science to Accelerate Research

Leveraging Open Science to Accelerate Research

The advancement of science — an intrinsically iterative process — is contingent on reporting practices that enable data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable to permit independent scrutiny, replication, and follow-on investigations. The urgency associated with the pandemic has created an imperative to accelerate the adoption of open science.

Wikidata and Open Science: a Model for Open Data Work

Wikidata and Open Science: a Model for Open Data Work

Wikidata is a language-independent factual database belonging to the Wikimedia family which includes the particularly well-known Wikipedia. In an interview, Timo Borst explains the dimensions and particular significance of this database, especially in the context of Open Science.

The UK Will Never Become a 'Science Superpower' if it's Cutting Research Budgets

The UK Will Never Become a 'Science Superpower' if it's Cutting Research Budgets

The government promised to increase funding for vital scientific R&D to 2.4% of GDP - but its target is already slipping.

The H-index, or the Academic Equivalent of the Stag's Antlers

The H-index, or the Academic Equivalent of the Stag's Antlers

Philip Ball: It was meant to bring rigour to the tricky question of who deserves a grant or a post, but is the h-index's numerical score simplistic?

Next Steps for REF? We Need to Repair the Sector's Health First

Next Steps for REF? We Need to Repair the Sector's Health First

A while ago I was invited to speak at the Westminster Forum in a panel session entitled “Research environments in the REF – stimulating positive cultures and wellbeing, academic independence and interdisciplinary research“...