This article reports on how some scientists impersonate outside reviewers for journals and give high marks to their own manuscripts. Scientists appear to have figured out a new way to avoid any bad prepublication reviews that dissuade journals from publishing their articles: Write positive reviews themselves, under other people's names. In…

On the surface, a gathering held for young research faculty last week at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory was a clear expression of determination by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help them compete for grants. The agency fears that continued Congressional budget cuts, combined with the growing number of scientists who work later into…

Massive open online courses (MOOC's) are the latest development in online education. Over the past decade, millions of students have taken free online versions of existing courses at well-known universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but such courses often offered little more than reading lists and lecture notes. MOOC's are…

James M. Fadool, an associate professor of biology at Florida State University, got a federal grant of more than $300,000 to study eye defects using zebra-fish. Some of that money went to pay another researcher, $1,536 biweekly, to assist with the research and manage the lab where the fish were kept. But an audit by the Office of Inspector General…

Fifteen years ago, the Australian state of Queensland was famous more for its beaches than for its brain power. Fellow Australians thought of Queenslanders as miners, farmers, or surfers, not as professors or scientists. When Queensland announced in 1998 that it was planning to become a "Smart State," or a knowledge economy, locals…

Censored papers on bird flu, which could help terrorists, have critics wondering if academic scientists can police their own work. The near-publication has brought out general critics of the federal panel, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, and the voluntary self-policing approach that it embraces instead of regulation. Members…

Scientific journals have been retracting unreliable articles at rapidly escalating rates in the past few years, raising concern about whether research faces a burgeoning ethical crisis. Various causes have been suspected, with the common theme being that journals are seeing more cases of plagiarism and fudging of data as researchers and editors…

As more women choose careers in the sciences, the stakes are higher than ever before. Having women in key decision-making positions in the scientific and technological work force is critical to the future of society. Successful senior female scientists serve as a prime source of leadership for top academic administrative positions. A more diverse…

There have been many efforts in recent years to draw more women into STEM fields. While women have made gains, they are still far less likely than men to major in such fields, especially engineering and computer science. Why? This article presents the responses and the thoughts of a group of scholars and experts.

This article reports that academic researchers are optimistic that President Barack Obama's approach to science heralds a new era of support for their work. When Mr. Obama named his top science and technology advisers only weeks after being elected, many scientists celebrated. After eight years of an administration that many academics believed…

Not long ago, academic scientists welcomed calls from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) asking them to volunteer as peer reviewers. Many were glad for the opportunity to help distribute billions of dollars in federal biomedical-research grants even though the service required a big time commitment--the equivalent of one month a year to…

In a well-cited 1996 editorial in "Science," "The Activist Scientist," Jaleh Daie calls for scientists to take an assertive role in educating politicians and the public about the importance of government support for research. She writes that most scientists are reluctant to become involved in political lobbying for a variety of reasons--time…

For the past three years, leading scientists from more than 40 countries have been conducting a physical of the planet. They have monitored its vital signs, probed its parts, taken its temperature, measured its bodily fluids. This article deals with the global-warming report for the United Nations released by a panel of 1,200 scientists at a news…

Upset because the University of California at Davis did not support her charges of misconduct among scientists, Melinda M. Zaragoza left her career in microbiology to run a general store in Kentucky. Although no wrongdoing was found on the Davis campus, Ms. Zaragoza's whistle-blowing now is being joined by a powerful chorus. Officials of the…

This spring 12 scientists found themselves in an unusual position--they have to figure out how to spend $2-million every year for the next five years. The money adds up to $10-million per researcher. In May the researchers made a pilgrimage to the source of the generous grants: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a graduate…