Science

India’s National Education Policy aims to establish a seamless connectivity between humanities and science, says Rup Narayan Das

‘Every young student of science has had a fantasy about winning a Nobel prize,’ says one laureate – and ever more rival prizes are being established. But with a cast of thousands currently pursuing the holy grail of a vaccine for Covid-19, might awards committees finally jettison their problematic focus on lone genius, asks Jack Grove

The halting of trials for a coronavirus treatment following the publication of dubious data highlights the perils of opacity, says Ron Iphofen

Authors Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West put the case for scepticism at a time when science has become deeply polarising

Changes to EU plans could deter UK government by making it net contributor to Horizon Europe, UUKi director warns

Liverpool chemists create AI-powered machine that works in standard laboratory and has already discovered a new catalyst

Prizewinners argue that researchers have ‘stuck to a line’ about the pandemic’s danger in order to get politicians to listen – risking open debate

We will need wisdom and common purpose to update multiple layers of norms, says Jinghai Li

The global race against coronavirus to develop a vaccine cannot be won by principal investigators alone, says John Tregoning

Exploring the often unsavoury history behind many significant advances can be enlightening and empowering for students, argues Daniel Akinbosede

Study analysing impact of previous epidemics suggests that confidence in science will be maintained but coronavirus will damage perception of scientists

Using critical comments about a preprint, Bild launched a front-page attack on Christian Drosten. Scientists fear this will chill academic discussion of preliminary results

Initiative hopes to drive promising performers into fundamental science and basic research

Policy experts express fears that public and politicians will hold scientists responsible for the economic and social damage of lockdown

The Sainsbury Laboratory director will oversee a huge increase in R&D spending as head of UK’s main research funder

Protecting the European research budget offers better long-term hopes of saving the European project

A renewed European Research Area can be a fresh call to arms for scientific excellence across the continent, says Jan Palmowski

Filling the gaps between disciplines and between science and technology could lead to greater progress than AI, says Jinghai Li 

Survey results from Germany also suggest people think public disagreement between scientists is good, as it will lead to better results

With August goal in mind, diagnostic development could get TV-based model

Weekly broadcast from University of Toronto vice-president has captured the attention of thousands

Partnership approach during pandemic raises hopes of bursting scientific silos 

After rejection of virtual peer review, federal agency halts new awards, prompting concerns for younger researchers

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