Genome assembly in the spotlight
The largest systematic assessment the process of genome assembly is published today in BGI and BioMed Central's open access journal GigaScience. The second Assemblaton competition saw 21 teams submit...
View ArticleStudy explores effects of review setting on scientific peer review
Research findings published today in PLOS ONE report that the setting in which a scientific peer review panel evaluates grant applications does not necessarily impact the outcome of the review process....
View ArticleBeyond peer review: NIST and five journals find a way to manage errors in...
Traditional peer review is not enough to ensure data quality amid the recent boom in scientific research findings, according to results of a 10-year collaboration between the National Institute of...
View ArticleCSHL launches bioRxiv, a freely accessible, citable preprint server for biology
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) today announced the launch of a new stage in the evolution of life science communication—a new, free service, called bioRxiv (pronounced "bio-Archive"). It is a...
View ArticleScientists falter as much as bankers in pursuit of answers
Bankers aim to maximise profits. Scientists aim to understand reality. But Mike Peacey of the University of Bristol suggests, based on a new model he has just published in Nature, that both...
View ArticleResearchers propose alternative way to allocate science funding
Researchers in the United States have suggested an alternative way to allocate science funding. The method, which is described in EMBO Reports, depends on a collective distribution of funding by the...
View ArticleOpen science journal publishes attempt to reproduce high-profile stem cell...
In a study published today in F1000Research, Professor Kenneth Lee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong reveals the full experimental results of an attempt to replicate a controversial study...
View ArticleAppraising the peer-review process
Most academic papers today are published only after some academic peers have had a chance to review the merits and limitations of the work. This seems like a good idea, but there is a growing movement...
View ArticleWhat lesson do rising retraction rates hold for peer review?
In January, Haruko Obokata and colleagues published two papers in the journal Nature suggesting that a simple acid bath can convert differentiated cells back to a stem-cell-like state. This finding, if...
View ArticleSAGE investigation wises up to signs of rigged review
(Phys.org) —For movie stars, bad publicity—a fender-bender, rowdy behavior at a club, neighbor's complaints—is better than the real career-killer, which is no publicity at all. In scientific research,...
View ArticleAnalysis of peer review offers insights into research productivity
In a paper published today in the journal PLOS One, investigators with the American Institute of Biological Sciences report findings from an analysis of the research output from a series of biomedical...
View ArticleYounger researchers are embracing change in scholarly communication
As another successful Open Access Week passes, analysis released today reveals younger researchers are embracing change in scholarly communication. Just under 8,000 researchers from around the world...
View ArticlePeer review is fraught with problems, and we need a fix
Dirty Harry once said, "Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one". Now that the internet has made it easier than ever to share an unsolicited opinion, traditional methods of academic review are...
View ArticleNature journal to begin offering double-blind peer review
Well known and respected journal, Nature, will begin next month offering researchers who submit their work for peer review, the option of having it done via the double-blind method—whereby both...
View ArticleStudy investigates conflict of interest in biomedical research proposals
New research from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) found that peer review managers play an important role in identifying potential conflicts of interest (COI) in biomedical research...
View ArticleScientists ask, peer review on fast track at what price?
A fast-track peer-review trial is in the news. A Nature Publishing Group (NPG) -owned journal's editorial board member has resigned in protest over a pilot project where researchers pay for faster peer...
View ArticleHow journals shape science and academia
No matter whether you study medicine or biology, law or art, neuroscience or history—there is one instrument that we all share: the journal. Learned journals play a pivotal role in science and...
View ArticleThe review of scientific studies in journals is subjective and the quality is...
Peer reviews in science, in which independent scientists who are experts on the subject assess the paper, is the current strategy for ensuring quality and control in scientific research and, therefore,...
View ArticleStudy reveals declining influence of high impact factor journals
The most prestigious peer-reviewed journals in the world, such as Cell, Nature, Science, and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), have less and less influence amongst scientists,...
View ArticleSolar forcing effect on climate change 'extremely small': IPCC scientist
Changes in solar radiation, known as solar forcing, have had only a very small effect on climate change, a member of the UN's top panel of climate scientists said today.
View Article