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Academic Freedom on the Decline

Academic Freedom on the Decline

The Academic Freedom Index (AFI) 2022 reveals that almost two out of five people worldwide live in countries where academic freedom has declined substantially during the past ten years.

Overlooked and Underfunded: Experts Call for United Action to Reduce the Global Burden of Depression

Overlooked and Underfunded: Experts Call for United Action to Reduce the Global Burden of Depression

The world is failing to tackle the persisting and increasingly serious global crisis of depression it is facing, according to a Lancet and World Psychiatric Association Commission on depression, which calls for a whole-of-society response to reducing the global burden of depression.

Solar and Wind Power Are Key to Decarbonizing Switzerland

Solar and Wind Power Are Key to Decarbonizing Switzerland

A team of researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) has studied various scenarios for reducing the Swiss carbon footprint tied to electricity consumption. The authors recommend the implementation of a domestic generation mix of wind and photovoltaic energy.

Experience of Climate Extremes Increase Green Voting in Europe

Experience of Climate Extremes Increase Green Voting in Europe

What role do experiences with climate change and extreme events play in shaping environmental attitudes and to what extent can they explain the recent rise in environmental concerns and willingness to vote for Green parties across Europe?

Covid-19 Commission Urgently Needed, Scientific Experts Say

Covid-19 Commission Urgently Needed, Scientific Experts Say

A COVID-19 commission must be created by the U.S. government, experts argue in the latest issue of Science. Members of Obama's PCAST offer recommendations for such a commission to examine to prepare for future pandemics.

Mandates Likely Work to Increase Vaccine Uptake

Mandates Likely Work to Increase Vaccine Uptake

Rather than causing a backlash, vaccine mandates promote vaccination uptake, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania.

Report Cards on Women in STEM Fields Finds Much Room for Improvement

Report Cards on Women in STEM Fields Finds Much Room for Improvement

Data from a four-year study of institutional 'report cards' undertaken as part of the New York Stem Cell Foundation's (NYSCF) Initiative on Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE) suggest that although a growing number of women are training in the sciences, efforts to promote and maintain women in more senior scientific roles are still largely inadequate. The study is being reported Sept. 5 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

ERC Consolidator Grants: 630 Million Euro from the EU to 329 Top Researchers

ERC Consolidator Grants: 630 Million Euro from the EU to 329 Top Researchers

The ERC has announced today the awarding of the Consolidator Grants that go to 329 top researchers across Europe.

DFG to Fund Electron Microscopes for University Research

DFG to Fund Electron Microscopes for University Research

DFG approved the funding of 17 high-performance electron microscopes with a total sum of €43 million. Funding for seven microscopes, amounting to €24 million, was awarded in the spring.

Funders Need to Take More Responsibility for the Efficiency of the Research They Fund

Funders Need to Take More Responsibility for the Efficiency of the Research They Fund

A new study has found that funding agencies are not as open as they could be about what they are doing to prevent this waste and that governments responsible for the public money they distribute are not holding them to account.

China Faces Science Reform Challenges, Including Favoritism

China Faces Science Reform Challenges, Including Favoritism

In this Policy Forum, Cong Cao and Richard P. Suttmeier highlight the immense work and challenges China will encounter as it attempts to reform its scientific and technological development strategy.

Study Outlines Steps That Growing Startups Must Follow to Succeed

Study Outlines Steps That Growing Startups Must Follow to Succeed

A road map for the founding entrepreneur who seeks to retain the CEO position as a company gains market traction and begins a period of rapid growth.

Race, not gender, is key factor in NIH awards

Race, not gender, is key factor in NIH awards

Race not gender appears to be the most significant factor influencing the award of a National Institutes of Health Research Project Grant, according to a new study led by a University of Kansas economist.

Crossref to accept preprints in change to long-standing policy

Crossref to accept preprints in change to long-standing policy

Crossref will enable members to register preprints in order to clarify the scholarly citation record and better support the changing publishing models of its members.

Data sharing pilot to report and reflect on data policy challenges

Data sharing pilot to report and reflect on data policy challenges

This week, FORCE2016 is taking place in Portland, USA. The FORCE11 yearly conference is devoted to the utilisation of technological and open science advancements towards a new-age scholarship founded on easily accessible, organised and reproducible research data.

Springer opens research articles that can make a difference

Springer opens research articles that can make a difference

Springer is launching a new online initiative called Change the World, One Article at a Time: Must-Read Articles from 2015. The initiative focuses on articles published in 2015 in Springer journals which deal with some of the world's most urgent challenges. Those articles which are already open access are freely available online on a permanent basis and all other articles have been made freely available until July 15, 2016.

Five companies control more than half of academic publishing

Five companies control more than half of academic publishing

[3]A study at the University of Montreal shows that Reed-Elsevier, Springer, Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor & Francis, and Sage now publish more than 50% of all academic articles. This number has been rising, thanks to mergers and acquisitions, from 30% in 1996 and only 20% in 1973.