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Physicists Can’t Agree on What Science Even Means Anymore

Physicists Can’t Agree on What Science Even Means Anymore

Recently, a trio of mainstream physicists accused hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other mainstream physicists of Not Doing Science.

The History of Peer Review

The History of Peer Review

The report from SpotOn, 'What might peer review look like in 2030?' has now been published. This blog contains a section on the history of peer review from Frank Norman. Read the full report from SpotOn 2016 here.

A World Without Science — Part 1: Infectious Diseases

A World Without Science — Part 1: Infectious Diseases

Advances in science and public health policy have saved over 107 million lives in 25 years.

The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

A new book advocates for the importance of basic research and the pursuit of curiosity-driven knowledge at multiple venues and public events across the country and in the United Kingdom.

The History of Women in Science Shows Us the Fight Is Worth It

The History of Women in Science Shows Us the Fight Is Worth It

The ability to participate in science has always been political. On International Women’s Day, scientists must decide how best to defend women’s rights

Watch the first trailer for HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Watch the first trailer for HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

HBO has released the first teaser for its upcoming film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The story of Henrietta Lacks was documented in Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 book of the same title.

Hunched Over a Microscope, He Sketched the Secrets of How the Brain Works

Hunched Over a Microscope, He Sketched the Secrets of How the Brain Works

A man hunched over a microscope in Spain at the turn of the 20th century was making prescient hypotheses about how the brain works. Meet Santiago Ramón y Cajal, an artist, photographer, doctor, bodybuilder, scientist, chess player and publisher.

The Look and Feel of 21st Century Science

The Look and Feel of 21st Century Science

Humanity is going through unprecedented global change. The systems that arose to organize societies in the last 400 years are breaking down — and now is the time to envision what will come next.

On Publishing and the Sneetches: A Wake-up Call?

On Publishing and the Sneetches: A Wake-up Call?

To claim credit for a discovery, we publish it in a peer-reviewed journal; to get a job in academia or money to run a lab, we present piles of these published papers to universities and funding agencies. Publishing is so embedded in the practice of science that whoever controls the journals controls access to the entire profession. It is, therefore, worth examining to whom we have entrusted the keys to the kingdom of science.

A History of Academic Peer Review

A History of Academic Peer Review

Although peer review is now a fundamental quality control measure implemented during the publishing process, the practice as we know it today is quite different from how it was envisioned...

Science in the age of selfies

Science in the age of selfies

A time traveler from 1915 arriving in 1965 would have been astonished by the scientific theories and engineering technologies invented during that half century. One can only speculate, but it seems likely that few of the major advances that emerged during those 50 years were even remotely foreseeable in 1915.

A Different Kind of Scientific Revolution

A Different Kind of Scientific Revolution

Barbara A. Spellman on the role of technological and demographic changes

Fabricating science: discussing fraud can rebuild community confidence and deepen understanding of how science works

Fabricating science: discussing fraud can rebuild community confidence and deepen understanding of how science works

Openly discussing the history of science, where is has gone wrong, and the incredible efforts individual scientists go to uncover fraud should inspire confidence in its self-correcting nature.