Research

Britain’s claims to ‘science superpower’ status look shaky as it is being outperformed by smaller nations on top-rated papers, says study lead

When Purdue biologist David Sanders ran for election to Indiana’s senate last autumn, he assumed a commitment to evidence and personal engagement would give him traction. But while his pitch was well received on doorsteps, the system’s dark arts fended him away from the legislature’s threshold

Trailblazing physicist Donna Strickland hopes new institute will tackle waning public trust in science

Hate campaign directed towards America’s chief pandemic scientist makes it harder to find permanent leader for world’s biggest research funder

Attempt to balance interests of employers and researchers pleases no one, and weekend Twitter storm forces the plan ‘back to the assembly hall’

While scores of doctoral students have at long last received permission to travel Down Under, the waiting list is long

Clarivate’s delisting of academic publications will send a message that research integrity is paramount, says campaigner

‘Misinterpretation’ of Research Excellence Framework guidance on staff selection judged not to have materially benefited university

Flaws in reporting health intervention studies mean years of research have ‘limited scientific use’, says University of Cambridge study

Ability of a university to work in flexible, interdisciplinary fashion meant Hopkins researchers could ‘fill gap’ between WHO and governments

Ex-Birmingham v-c and Hefce chief exec tells MPs that England’s regulator lacks skills needed to engage properly with universities

Repeated power outages cause widespread disruption on campuses, with fears that more students will drop out as a result

China studies programmes and language courses are on the decline, just as understanding of the superpower is needed most

Three-year scheme will support institutional projects that address racism and racial inequalities

The exascale machine referenced in the budget will be expensive, but the price of strategic missteps is higher, say Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield

After claims of image manipulation in papers by Marc Tessier-Lavigne, neuroscientist promises vindication amid signs of faculty unease

The UK’s ‘rock star historian’ Peter Frankopan talks to Matthew Reisz about his ambitious follow-up to his Silk Roads chronicle and the perils of being seen as a modern-day sage

The AI chatbot may soon kill the undergraduate essay, but its transformation of research could be equally seismic. Jack Grove examines how ChatGPT is already disrupting scholarly practices and where the technology may eventually take researchers – for good or ill

Academics left ‘traumatised’ by ‘absurd’ and ‘Byzantine’ corporate booking systems that drain departmental travel funds

New guidelines on use of ChatGPT follows plagiarism concerns and authorship controversies caused by rise of generative AI

A year after his ordeal, Chinese American semiconductor specialist Gang Chen reflects on how a 12-month government investigation changed his life and work

It would be extraordinary if the UK chose to switch to Plan B at the very moment the main obstacle to Plan A was being removed, says Joanna Burton

Requests to withdraw from less lucrative areas of Europe’s research scheme will delay UK membership and cost universities billions of pounds, warn science policy experts

Academics lay out plan for knowledge from Global South to take ‘rightful place’

Government red tape on foreign research collaborations is ‘overwhelming’ and ‘demoralising’ staff, says report, which calls for national ‘clearing house’ to ease security assessments

Even as Covid travel restrictions are lifted, Xi-era crackdown on freedoms is making on-the-ground research much more difficult

Crick director Sir Paul Nurse urges government to diversify institute mix and ‘rescue’ ailing centres with more funding and autonomy

A consensus has emerged on changes that would make the second half of the multi-national programme even more successful, says Jan Palmowski

Those focused on dissecting pop culture face hostility from politicians, the media and fellow academics, but their work remains vital, ‘Kylie scholar’ Liz Giuffre tells Rosa Ellis

As NIH pushes for improvement on racial and gender measures, drag attributed to growing segment of non-diverse principal investigators

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says discussions will begin once new Northern Ireland framework is confirmed

‘Mother of ERA’ now charting its demise, as the ‘law of diminishing returns’ prompts a rethink

Former leaders call for science and technology delivery unit to end Whitehall ‘micromanagement’ of research funding and for ‘bespoke’ research councils

University hiring professor to direct Centre for Coastal Communities, based in Essex seaside town hit by deprivation

Preventing expert reviewers from reading applicants’ CVs could damage Netherlands’ hard-won research excellence, warns senior researcher

‘Exponential growth’ in past few years sees China gain on the US in race to be the leading nation in global research output

Answering congressional call after George Floyd killing, National Academies’ expert panel sees value in pressuring those controlling resources

Government backs parliamentary committee’s calls for action but promises ‘positive partnership’ with the sector

Podcast appearances, op-eds and public lectures should all count in hiring and tenure decisions, according to new, broader definition of scholarship

New umbrella body president must safeguard world-leading institutions through a difficult time; luckily, the Neapolitan physicist is ready for a fight

Obliging everyone to undertake post-publication review would aid discoverability in a world without traditional journals, says Robert de Vries

Better alignment of pay and benefits, working cultures and expectations will clear the way for research to have impact, say nine Future Leaders fellows

Debates rage about the appropriateness of objects displayed in many anthropological exhibitions amid accusations they perpetuate poisonous imperialist narratives. However, Adam Kuper believes institutions should be wary of capitulating to activist demands, he tells Matthew Reisz

Australian regulator advises against shortcuts, such as recruiting moonlighting big hitters, as universities confront new research quality benchmarks

With AAU providing teamwork and guidance, leading subset of black-serving US institutions hopes that banding together will help overcome decades of public neglect

Cardiff University academic Flint Dibble says the popularity of Netflix show Ancient Apocalypse means non-engagement is no longer possible

Machine learning study finds university prestige and citations have no association with replicability, but author experience is key

Many sources of scrutiny already exist, but the idea of a perfect research project is an unattainable fantasy, says Andrew Barnas

CAS in danger of losing relevance as university research gains ground, study finds

When her broadcasting career took off in her mid-fifties, Mary Beard became one of Britain’s best-known and most-discussed academics. Jack Grove speaks to the retiring Cambridge classicist about her eventful career, including her run-ins with sexist TV critics, Twitter trolls and Boris Johnson

Funders should review how interviews, eligibility criteria and internal selection policies work against marginalised groups, says study co-funded by Wellcome and Oxford

But having a fellow academic as a partner helps, major study finds

Four Fields Medal winners and former European Research Council president among advisory board for independent research institute

George Freeman ‘still pushing’ and ‘still hopeful’ on association, but thinks forthcoming plan for UK global science role could be catalyst

Covid-19 trials were as well designed, if not better designed, than other, similar medical experiments, finds Oxford study

Mass polls of global scientists could help to debunk myths about extent of division on contested issues

Identifying deception often requires analysis of patterns across large collections of articles. Publishers must work together, says David McDade

But situation may change with scale-up of programme, potentially causing talent shortfall in US, authors suggest

New Research England head reflects on her roundabout route into academia and the future of research evaluation

With hostility from the Home Office over international student numbers, membership of Horizon Europe slipping away and heavy demands placed on institutions by regulators, UK university staff will be wondering how 2023 will play out. Patrick McGhee and Emma Rees read the runes