Concern rises about potential research chill as new rules are extended across federal research-funding agencies. A pilot project by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to identify and minimize national security risks in federally funded research will soon roll out at all federal research-funding bodies. But researchers whose grants were rejected under the […]
science
How Nature readers are using ChatGPT
Eighty percent of respondents have used AI chatbots — and 57% say they use it for ‘creative fun’. Researchers are keen to experiment with using generative AI tools such as the advanced chatbot ChatGPT to help with their work, according to a survey of Nature readers. But they are also concerned about the potential for […]
Largest-ever study of journal editors highlights ‘self-publication’ and gender gap
Analysis shows that some researchers publish a considerable proportion of their own work in journals they edit. The gender gap among senior journal editors is bigger than many people thought, and some editors publish a surprising number of their own papers in the journals that they edit, finds the first study to look at these […]
Energy crisis squeezes science at CERN and other major facilities
LHC to end 2022 data-taking season two weeks early to save on electricity, among other measures. As energy prices spike as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, possibly causing a global economic downturn and stoking fears of rolling blackouts — especially in Europe — science laboratories are not being spared. The situation has raised […]
The scientists who switched focus to fight climate change
Four researchers describe how they found different ways of responding to the planet’s biggest threat — from quitting tenure to overhauling their academic programme. It was during a car journey to California in temperatures sometimes exceeding 40 °C that Sophie Gilbert decided she needed to make a major career change. Driving to visit family from […]
The rise of preprints
How COVID-19 has transformed the way we publish and report on scientific research. Peer review, despite its flaws, is one of the most important pillars of the scientific process. So preprint servers, which make scientific papers that have yet to be reviewed or published available online, have been slow to catch on in many fields. […]
Canada announces new innovation agency — and it’s not modelled on DARPA
The unit will instead mimic Finnish and Israeli agencies. But some researchers worry Canada might be too big and regionalized for the scheme to succeed. The Canadian government has announced that it will invest Can$1 billion (about US$780 million) over the next five years to create a funding agency focused on innovation in science and […]
Sanctions Against Russia Are Slowing Medical Progress
Many Western nations are severing ties with Russia in response to the war in Ukraine and it is hitting the scientific community hard. Economic sanctions against Russia have forced drug manufacturers to stop recruiting patients to clinical trials and launching new studies. Therapeutic areas with an ongoing or planned clinical trial with at least one […]
Ukrainian Scientists Strain to Work as War Rages
Pavlo Bazilinskyy got out just in time. In February, the scientist was visiting family in Ukraine and recovering from a nasty case of COVID-19 before starting a new job at the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. With the threat of war looming, Bazilinskyy moved his mother from Chernihiv, a city north of the capital […]
Beauty and wonder of science boosts researchers’ well-being
Appreciating the phenomena they study helps scientists to persevere in the face of setbacks. Scientists’ ability to experience wonder, awe and beauty in their work is associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and better mental health, finds an international survey of researchers. Read more in Nature.