Research

Slashing research will be a dangerous temptation for politicians desperate for savings, warns Jan Palmowski

As their book about the deep links between education and well-being is published, Anne Case and Nobel laureate Angus Deaton tell John Morgan about their jaw-dropping discoveries of a sharp rise in ‘deaths of despair’ among white American people – and an unhealthy obsession with causality among journals

The namesake cities in the US and UK are both home to internationally renowned universities whose industry collaborations are proving highly successful. But while that is good news for national economies, where does it leave the locals priced out of their own neighbourhoods? Paul Basken and John Morgan report

The search for a coronavirus vaccine is spurring worldwide collaboration, the speed and size of which has never been seen before, say experts

Scientific advisor network starts collating examples of research influencing, and failing to influence, policy

ARC balances acknowledgement of disruptions with need to keep future funds flowing

Research losses could be small but wider national epidemic control measures may prove a ‘once-in-a-century evidence fiasco’, according to experts

‘Levelling up’ research spending may imperil regional universities’ sustainability, warn Grace Gottlieb and Graeme Reid 

Cash injection will allow Australian university to ramp up manufacture at same time as vaccine is tested

Project delays, as universities and labs shut down, prompt grant flexibility – but levels of leniency vary

As UK research laboratories close, research-intensive universities call for extra funds to cover cost of disruption to science

Exclusion of non-nationals could close the door to vital expertise, governments warned

As labs shut, researchers in Milan fear losing months of work – and urge colleagues abroad to prepare now for similar restrictions

Critics say Australian tribunal finding confuses workload measures with performance ratings

Director of new Kent centre sets out how British resources and researchers can contribute to Indigenous studies

Research centre meant to support ‘politically useful ideas’ such as Orbán’s claim of Turkic ancestry for nation as government pivots away from EU, scholars claim

Effects could be particularly significant for junior researchers, who rely heavily on conferences for early career progression, says scholar 

Consulting citation data would ameliorate the all-too-human shortcomings of departmental review, says a Russell Group professor

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

The Holberg prizewinner describes how she forged a new discipline in response to the ‘theoretically thin’ and ‘historically unimaginative’ art history she was trained in

Large-scale analysis of data on published research suggests female academics now outnumber men in some fields, but significant inequalities remain

Proposal aims to ‘propel the regeneration of manufacturing in the North and Scotland’, but Sheffield pushes back against calls to make centre independent

‘Highly effective’ research hub’s days are numbered, Australian estimates committee hears

University of Auckland centre to be led by science diplomat Sir Peter Gluckman

Move to reduce reliance on SCI citations in decision-making could affect everything from researchers’ careers to university rankings, experts say

White House challenges Congress and EU on priorities and rules for AI

Academics say they are relieved that the government will seek to participate in EU research programme, but danger of full package of agreements collapsing is ‘a real scenario’

Silence of academics allowing politicians to abandon pledges to back Horizon Europe funding in crunch talks, observers warn

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

Helping Americans understand and value science is vital to nation’s continued supremacy, conference hears

Even those in maths and statistics misunderstood the method blamed for the reproducibility crisis, research in China finds

But government says it will seek to participate in Erasmus+ only ‘on a time-limited basis’

PhD students seen as being particularly at risk, in wake of murder of Giulio Regeni and detention of Matthew Hedges

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

Brussels wants to create centre hosting ‘the best talents in the field’, but some researchers doubt that a single organisation can tackle all the challenges

Leading university networks in Africa and Europe say a body based on the European Research Council is needed to boost African research

Impersonating the Messiah is apparently a necessity for funding success – but it’s hell, says Piers Kelly

Toby Ord urges academics to reflect far more deeply on the risks of everything from asteroids to rogue artificial intelligence

Online conferences can engage new audiences but present significant organisational challenges. Jack Grove speaks to a scientist to find out how it is done

During his time as a graffiti writer, Stefano Bloch was chased by the police, threatened by gangsters and witnessed savage violence. He tells Jack Grove about how he has incorporated such experiences in a powerful memoir that also makes an important contribution to research on urban life

UK academics love the ERC, but selective participation in Horizon Europe is unlikely to be on the table, says John Womersley

Researchers support funder’s random allocation of research grants by a two-to-one margin, study says

Lawyer investigating Charles Lieber case and US admissions bribery scandal focuses on legal transgressions and disregards policy ambiguity

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

Danish-Australian paper finds researchers unconsciously adjust to accommodate assessment exercise

Analysis of 17,000 articles in the field finds lack of integration between different areas of study

In 1920, psychologist John Watson described his infamous experiments on an infant in a bid to show that the human mind is a blank slate. A hundred years on, Antonio Melechi examines the rise and fall of behaviourism, and the utopian – or dystopian – reflexes that it conditioned

Politicians, funders and university leaders all intone the mantra of interdisciplinarity. But what does the concept really mean? Will it really yield the insights it promises? And how best can it be fostered? Ellie Bothwell reports

German research institute aims to reshape academic incentives with cash bonuses

The UK’s structures for supporting and nurturing research leaders are woefully underdeveloped, says Matthew Flinders

Even as medics scramble to address the coronavirus, research into its social and political entanglements is vital, says Robert Peckham 

Harvard case was meant to get academia’s attention, and did, prosecutors proclaim

Academics studying gender-based violence highlight emotional impact of their work

Observatory looks beyond politics to psychology and ergonomics for ways to boost voters’ democratic participation

Scientists warily await details of Harvard chemistry chair’s case

Excessive criticism reflects a dearth of research funding and space in top journals. But peers needn’t play ball, says an anonymous academic

Debate over status of new agency for ‘high-risk, high-payoff research’ is non-issue compared with its direction and leadership, others suggest

A feudal approach to intellectual property has turned the academy into a modern police state, says Steve Fuller

Furore over Oxford doctoral student’s journal article reignites debate over the limits of free speech

The hunt for a new UK research supremo continues, apparently after the shortlisted candidates failed to pass muster