Researcher (senior)

BMJ editor in chief raises alarm over drug trial research funded and often controlled by manufacturers themselves

Thailand’s institutions want to develop joint degrees with the UK, but hurdles remain in visa red tape and political instability

Drug company hopes to provide a new home for studies that try to replicate previous experimental results

A focus on basic cell biology and statistical population health studies means that understanding how living systems operate has been neglected, they claim

Subra Suresh fears that business short-termism, increasing research costs and worries over cybersecurity are undermining the incentives to invest

Dave Sayers shares his tips on how to boost productivity

Analysis suggests higher selectivity fails to increase journals’ impact factors

Center for Open Science hopes initiative will make results more reproducible

Committee of MPs hears that effort to conduct vaccine and treatment trials during outbreak in West Africa was ‘uncoordinated’

Warning comes after stories about Coca-Cola’s spending on science hit the headlines last year

Authors argue this means universities should spend less on senior academics and give promising younger scholars more of a chance

Glen Wright rounds up the best amusing, passive-aggressive and romantic acknowledgements in the scholarly world

After a man dies following a clinical trial in France, Christopher Roy-Toole asks whether lessons were learned after a similar incident in the UK

‘Strategic entrepreneurs’ among staff can develop successful cross-border partnerships, argues Northumbria lecturer

Scholars say they feel overwhelmed by demands, but there is scandalously little evidence on whether long hours make any sense for knowledge workers, finds David Matthews

Some surveys show faculty putting in at least 60 hours a week, but research casts doubt on whether this is a productive routine

Astronomer comes with experience of running winery and pitches salary so he is not seen as ‘outsider’ by staff

Peer Reviewers’ Openness Initiative billed as a ‘grassroots’ response to concerns over reproducibility

Analysis of seven prominent medical journals finds randomised controlled trials are far less likely to receive a press release than weaker observational studies

Despite mission statements proclaiming importance of ‘third stream’ activity, scholars do not see it as a priority

Plos Biology launches new section looking at how experiments are run and incentive systems for scientists

Narrow science base could hurt ability to meet new challenges, report says

City University London vice-chancellor among academics recognised

Performance targets to boost league table position are questioned as analysis shows little change in Russell Group REF order

Chair of review into research excellence framework also defends decision to have steering committee dominated by Russell Group

From writing papers to urinating on other people’s work, cats have a rich history of scholarly work, finds Glen Wright

Baron Stern of Brentford has previously raised concerns that the research excellence framework forces academics to focus too much on publishing articles

Philosophers Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum speak up for the benefits of writing collaboratively

Author of report into reshaping of research council system defends proposal to create a new ministerial committee

Prosecutors accuse academics of colluding with publishers to boost their standing and sell more books

Students who had an opportunity to learn a foreign language more likely to want to study abroad, research reveals

Investment pays off for the economy, finds groundbreaking US study

Donald Braben looks at the implications of Sir Paul Nurse’s review of research councils

Dispute over British Journal of Educational Technology prompts resignations among editorial team

Use the Force if you want, but to really destroy the Death Star, Heriot-Watt University may be the place to start

Senior figures in UK science fear that culture leading to research misconduct has not been changed

New publishing model aims to make research accessible to all without charging authors

A qualified welcome for George Osborne’s real-terms protection of research, but uncertainty over how new overseas aid spending will operate

Survey also finds that women do more work with the general public than male researchers

Global Challenges Fund could be enabler of world-class science tackling global issues, says Malcolm von Schantz

Unexpected creation of a ‘Global Challenges Research Fund’ means that if they want more money, academics may have to contribute to international development

However, there is confusion over the final value of the settlement, which may include 'tucking in' of Global Challenges fund

New ministerial committee could wield power over research agenda, but support expressed for new pot of interdisciplinary funding

Commitment not to merge the research councils appears to contradict plans for a bonfire of the quangos in BIS

Landmark gift from foundation started by Irish-American billionaire will fund work in US and Ireland

Analysis of top-ranked groups also finds they have ‘accountable autonomy’ from the university

Scholar contends that civic universities were a ‘Renaissance nobody notices’

Green Paper recommends use of metrics, despite July report’s reservations

Science and Technology Committee raises fears that resource spending has not kept up with new infrastructure

Envy of Japan’s Nobel prize record is fuelling massive investment in sciences and higher education, including in international partnerships, says president of Ghent branch campus

Author of new book The Cunning of Uncertainty fears pressure for scientific certainty is leading researchers to make promises they cannot deliver

PaperRank service will allow researchers to rate papers online in bid to accelerate and open up process

Iain Foulkes on how scientists can win part of huge grant to push forward the frontiers of cancer research

Machiavellian tactics used by university leaders and their minions are often viewed as malevolent, but they are vital to running an organisation, says new study

The measure of scholarly impact is now being manipulated so much that it has ceased to be meaningful, editorial claims

David Crystal sets the record straight on claims the Australian accent originated in drunken speech

Matthew Reisz reflects that some jobs are really not for him – even on Halloween

The quality of scholarly editing is ‘extremely uneven’, says Brian Bloch

Funding, staffing and alternative providers among issues to be considered as part of £5 million initiative

Success rates fall at five out of six councils amid warnings that the process could become ‘more of a lottery’ as reviewers are stretched