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Paying for peer review? No thanks, I’m outta here…

Posted on 12 April 2015 by Steve Caplan

I spent Friday traveling west of Omaha to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, in of course, Kearney, Nebraska–about 3 hours west of Omaha. The University of Nebraska has 4 major campuses: 1) The University of Nebraska Medical Center (where I work, here in Omaha), 2) The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO, mostly undergraduate and also in Continue reading →

Posted in compensation, editor, editorial board, editors, journals, nature, peer review, publishing, Research, review, rubriq, science, scientific reports | Comments Off on Paying for peer review? No thanks, I’m outta here…

Open access: a national licence is not the answer

Posted on 8 April 2015 by Stephen

“Open Access: Is a national licence the answer?” is a proposal by David Price and Sarah Chaytor of University College London for a mechanism to provide full access to everyone within the UK to all published research. It was published on 31 March 2015 by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) whose director, Nick Hillman, wrote the foreword. 

Continue reading →

Posted in national licence, Open Access | Comments Off on Open access: a national licence is not the answer

Borrowing an Objective

Posted on 5 April 2015 by Athene Donald

Maybe it’s because I’m relaxed as it’s the Easter break, but when I received an email with ‘Borrowing an Objective‘ as its subject this week, my mind went into overdrive. I assumed someone was short of a goal, an aspiration or a target hypothesis for their grant – or even for their departmental mission statement. Much Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, HE, Science Culture, targets, Universities | Comments Off on Borrowing an Objective

In which the forest emerges

Posted on 1 April 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

The clocks have gone forward, the crocuses wither, the tulips unfurl. The students have dispersed for Easter, full of dread about the immunology exam that will pounce on their return.


Budding life forms

I put one grant application to bed and work on two others. Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Gardening, Scientific thinking, staring into the abyss, students, Teaching, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which the forest emerges

In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye

Posted on 1 April 2015 by Frank Norman

It’s the last trumpet.

It’s been an intense few months up on the Ridgeway; preparations for our big change have gathered pace. At first things went slowly – infuriatingly slowly –  but as the years crept on so we felt the pressure develop. It’s like the feeling of being in a crowd of people surging forward, slowly acce Continue reading →

Posted in Froth | Comments Off on In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye

Is there a Point in Travel?

Posted on 31 March 2015 by Athene Donald

As my last post makes clear, I have been busy travelling recently. My trip encompassed visits to both New York and Boston, cities which in years past I have visited quite frequently. Boston is delightfully non-American: its streets are not on a grid but resemble a British city much more than any other US city I have ever visited. It has had a hard Continue reading →

Posted in airmiles, Boston, conferences, Hilda Geiringer, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Is there a Point in Travel?

Open letter to the Publishers Association: please amend your open access decision tree

Posted on 30 March 2015 by Stephen

Dear Publishers Association

I ask that you amend the open access decision tree you created for incorporation into the guidance notes accompanying the Open Access (OA) policy announced by Research Councils UK (RCUK) in 2013. It may seem odd to ask for a correction so late in the day but my reasons for doing so are two-fold.

First, the Publishers Ass Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Publishers' Association, RCUK | Comments Off on Open letter to the Publishers Association: please amend your open access decision tree

In which Charles Fernyhough comes to Fiction Lab

Posted on 27 March 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

One of the great things about being the LabLit Guru™ is that I am constantly receiving interesting books to look over.

Stack o' Books
A stack of lab lit, yesterday – plus an intriguing hanger-on there at the bottom

One of the not-so-great things is that (A) I am always desperately behind on my reading, and (B) it doesn’t leave me time to read a Continue reading →

Posted in Lablit, Writing | Comments Off on In which Charles Fernyhough comes to Fiction Lab

Reminiscing On my Travels

Posted on 25 March 2015 by Athene Donald

I am often asked, what do College Masters do? Some people seem to think it is similar to being Warden of a Hall of Residence (i.e. sorting out broken light bulbs or disputes between neighbouring students), but it isn’t like that at all. As one of my fellow female Masters told me, it is a case of ‘setting a tone’, but even that sou Continue reading →

Posted in alumni, Boston, Churchill College, Communicating Science, New York, Women in science | Comments Off on Reminiscing On my Travels

In which life imitates science – number 264

Posted on 24 March 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

A scientist is never off-duty, even in a fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant on Charlotte Street.

Spindle organization was never this tasty

Spindle organization was never this tasty

I think pretty much anyone with a cell biology background would have seen what I saw in this rhubarb confection:

Posted in Scientific thinking, Silliness | Comments Off on In which life imitates science – number 264