This latest overhaul of the NRC aims to boost engagement, restore lost morale. The National Research Council of Canada will set up a postdoctoral program, appoint a chief scientific adviser and establish a president’s research excellence committee as part of the lat-est round of reforms at the agency. The four-year reform plan, the result of […]
science
Obsession with novelty sidelines deeper learning
Too much focus on generating new ideas in science is driving the replication crisis. An overemphasis on novelty has meant that funders and journal editors are neglecting the equally important work of revisiting old problems, says molecular biologist, Barak Cohen, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “If we always have to be finding something […]
Automated software saves researchers valuable hours
Online tools are lightening the load for authors and journal editors. An international partnership is developing online tools that could save authors and journal editors hours in manuscript checking, while ensuring, with the help of peer review, that published science is high-quality, replicable, and useful. Read more in Nature Index.
Canada’s New Arctic Research Facility Prepares to Open
The Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay will serve as a base for scientists studying everything from the region’s changing cryosphere to how to best deploy renewable energy projects in northern communities. THIS OCTOBER, AS winter begins to draw near in the Canadian Arctic, a new research facility will finally open its doors. The Canadian High […]
Mapping the spread of predators and prey
Bogus journals and their victims are widespread, study finds. The advent of open-access publishing has made scientific literature more accessible, but it has also given rise to ‘predatory’ publishers — shady outfits that will reproduce just about anything that resembles a research paper, without the safeguards of peer review or quality editorial standards. David Moher, […]
Federal government getting pressed on many sides to adopt Naylor report
Researchers, university administrators, students and others across Canada rally in an unprecedented effort to ensure the government doesn’t ignore the report’s recommendations. Canada’s academic community has launched a full court press to encourage the government to adopt the recommendations of the report of Canada’s Fundamental Science Review panel, also known as the Naylor report. The report, requested […]
Cybersecurity for the travelling scientist
Virtual private networks, tracking apps and ‘burner’ laptops: how to protect sensitive data when you take your research on the road. Mark Gerstein has had his fair share of scares when it comes to losing track of his electronic devices — and, along with them, access to his private information and research data. “I’m very […]
Ivy Asks…What do whales eat?
The first in a series of science videos for kids that I am making with my daughter Ivy. She wanted to know what whales ate, so we asked the experts at the Huntsman Fundy Discovery Aquarium. See more on the Ivy Asks YouTube channel.
A scientist elected to Canada’s Parliament shares his hopes as Trudeau prepares to take power
One scientist will be among the new faces in the 338-member House of Commons: Richard Cannings, a bird biologist, author, and former curator of the vertebrate museum at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Cannings, a member of Canada’s left-of-center New Democratic Party (NDP), will represent British Columbia’s (BC’s) South Okanagan—West Kootenay riding, or […]
Academia gets social
Brian Owens examines the rise of academic social networking websites, such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate, and asks researchers how these sites are shaping their careers. A few years ago, Jorge Castillo-Quan, a post-doc studying the biology of ageing at University College London, UK, wrote a report about how insulin and cortisol interact to affect brain […]