S&S: Careers & Training
- Are you failing at scientific social media?
- David Roy Smith (dsmit242{at}uwo.ca)1
Many scientists use social media to communicate their work and reach out to new audiences, but is this an efficient use of time? How can blogging, tweeting or posting to Facebook be optimized to effectively disseminate and discuss research or find new collaborators and projects?
- © 2015 The Author
- Are scientists a workforce? – Or, how Dr. Frankenstein made biomedical research sickA proposed plan to rescue US biomedical research from its current ‘malaise’ will not be effective as it misdiagnoses the root cause of the disease
A proposed plan to rescue US biomedical research from its current ‘malaise’ will not be effective as it misdiagnoses the root cause of the disease
- Yuri Lazebnik, Founder (yuri.lazebnik{at}gmail.com)1
A group of prominent scientists and science administrators recently published a plan for rescuing US biomedical research from what they have identified as an incapacitating and widespread malaise. The plan is unlikely to work because it misdiagnoses the root cause of the disease. The author suggests a new diagnosis.
- © 2015 The Authors
- From ribosomes to royal chartersAn interview with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan from the LMB in Cambridge, UK, and President Elect of the Royal Society
An interview with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan from the LMB in Cambridge, UK, and President Elect of the Royal Society
- Holger Breithaupt (breithau{at}embo.org)1
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, President Elect of the Royal Society, talks about the role of academic societies in an increasingly technological society and the challenges for European science to remain competitive.
- © 2015 The Author
- Next generation partnerships in translational science and medicinePartnerships between academics, big pharma, biotech firms, philanthropists and patients look set to change the way science advances
Partnerships between academics, big pharma, biotech firms, philanthropists and patients look set to change the way science advances
Academic biomedical research and clinical studies are increasingly funded by and conducted in collaboration with partners from industry, patient organizations, charities, and philanthropists. These new partnerships are a much‐needed source of funds and expertise to advance translational medical research.
- © 2015 The Authors
- Lip sync conferences
- Frank Gannon, Director and CEO (frank.gannon{at}qimrberghofer.edu.au)1
The trend for scientific meetings to feature ageing stars who repeat their old hits, or up‐and‐comers too afraid to present their latest data, is a hindrance to communication. What could be done to restore meetings as venues to discuss new science?
- © 2015 The Author
- Squaring excellence and equalityThe focus on funding excellent science and promoting mobility is causing poorer countries and regions to haemorrhage talent to their science‐rich neighbours
The focus on funding excellent science and promoting mobility is causing poorer countries and regions to haemorrhage talent to their science‐rich neighbours
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
EU and US research funding agencies are struggling to reconcile their mission to support high‐quality research with trying to help underperforming regions and underrepresented minorities catch up with traditional centres of research.
- © 2015 The Author
- Blinded by the lightAnonymization should be used in peer review to prevent bias, not protect referees
Anonymization should be used in peer review to prevent bias, not protect referees
- David M Shaw, Senior Research Fellow (david.shaw{at}unibas.ch)1
What are the pros and cons of different peer review blinding systems? Should only author identities be anonymized? Is blinding authors to the identities of reviewers unethical?
- © 2015 The Author
- Herding, social influences and behavioural bias in scientific researchSimple awareness of the hidden pressures and beliefs that influence our thinking can help to preserve objectivity
Simple awareness of the hidden pressures and beliefs that influence our thinking can help to preserve objectivity
- Michelle Baddeley (m.baddeley{at}ucl.ac.uk)1
Scientists, like anyone, are subject to unconscious biases, trends and social pressures that can distort or even block the path to knowledge. Awareness of these biases and the danger of following the herd can help scientists, reviewers and editors to objectively judge new knowledge.
- © 2015 The Author
- Levelling the lingo playing field
- Andrea Ballabeni1
- 1Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Boston, MA, USA
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Tel: +1 617 960 7731;
E‐mail: aballab{at}hsph.harvard.edu
English is the relatively undisputed lingua franca of science. Would it be better to allow non‐native speaking authors to declare their English language skills upfront so that readers can focus on the science in a paper, rather than the prose?
- © 2015 The Author
- Lost in post‐translation
The names we choose to describe or define biological concepts can have a huge impact on the way we think. It is time to reflect on whether certain terms, even those as fundamental as “translation”, are still appropriate for the scientific lexicon.
- © 2015 The Authors
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