The New Patrons of Research

The New Patrons of Research - Marcia McNutt, Editorial Science 4 April 2014, Vol. 344 no. 6179 p. 9  
The news is not all bad on the science funding front. Despite the fact that many U.S. researchers face increasing competition in chasing after federal support that has not kept pace with inflation (see the News special section on p. 24), private support is on the rise. Of course, such investments are not a new phenomenon: Nobel, Carnegie, and many others attached their names to major gifts to science more than a century ago. Today, a growing number of billionaires are likewise investing in scientific research as their personal philanthropy, choosing areas that reflect their deeply held passions. These patrons of science bring a refreshing new perspective to the projects they support, because they are typically unafraid to take risks, abhor bureaucracy, and nimbly cross disciplinary boundaries. Many are directly involved in the foundations they support, putting their personal imprimatur on the direction and operation of the ventures that bear their names. With all of this good news, it is somewhat surprising that this influx of private money has been viewed with some skepticism.

Amerykanie wyliczyli, ile zarabiają finansując badania

Amerykanie wyliczyli, ile zarabiają finansując badania - 03.04. 2014 PAP 
Badania uniwersyteckie są ważną składową systemu amerykańskiej gospodarki. Wpływają na zatrudnienie, biznes i produkcję w całym kraju, przez co zapewniają zwrot zainwestowanych pieniędzy. Mechanizmy te przedstawiono w "Science".

Science Funding and Short-Term Economic Activity - 
Science 4 April 2014:  Vol. 344 no. 6179 pp. 41-43  DOI: 10.1126/science.1250055 
There is considerable interest among policy-makers in documenting short-term effects of science funding. A multiyear scientific journey that leads to long-term fruits of research, such as a moon landing, is more tangible if there is visible nearer-term activity, such as the presence of astronauts. Yet systematic data on such activities have not heretofore existed. The only source of information for describing the production of most science is surveys that have been called “a rough estimate, frequently based on unexamined assumptions that originated years earlier”

China's Publication Bazaar

China's Publication Bazaar - Mara Hvistendahl Science 29 November 2013: Vol. 342 no. 6162 pp. 1035-1039
Science has exposed a thriving academic black market in China involving shady agencies, corrupt scientists, and compromised editors—many of them operating in plain view. The commodity: papers in journals indexed by Thomson Reuters' Science Citation Index, Thomson Reuters' Social Sciences Citation Index, and Elsevier's Engineering Index. 

Research Integrity in China - Wei Yang p. 1019
China's research capacity has grown dramatically in the past decade, an expansion that is reshaping the landscape of global scientific investigation. This rapid growth has not necessarily been accompanied by an equally measured promotion of the cultural norms of the scientific enterprise. Most troubling is a lack of research integrity, which may hinder China's growth in original science, damage the reputation of Chinese academics, and dampen the impact of science developed in China. 

Who's Afraid of Peer Review?

Who's Afraid of Peer Review? - John Bohannon Science, 4 October 2013: Vol. 342  no. 6154 pp. 60-65
DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6154.60

A spoof paper concocted by Science reveals little or no scrutiny at many open-access journals. 

Top Bulgarian Science Officials Sacked

Top Bulgarian Science Officials Sacked - by Gretchen Vogel, With reporting by Kai Kupferschmidt on 29 January 2013 - Science

The Bulgarian science and education minister, Sergei Ignatov, was fired yesterday in response to a government report on corruption in hiring and grant-making procedures. The head of the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF), Hristo Petrov, stepped down as well on Monday in response to the scandal. The departures are "a very good sign," says Emil Horozov, a mathematician at Sofia University and former head of BNSF, who led hundreds of scientists in protests against corruption in December. 

Polish Science Reforms Bring Fear and Hope

Polish Science Reforms Bring Fear and Hope - Elisabeth Pain* Science 19 March 2010: Vol. 327. no. 5972, p. 1442

The Polish Parliament this month began voting on legislation creating a new national agency charged with distributing competitive grants for frontier research. The proposed National Center for Science (NCN), to be located in Krakow, is meant to be free from political pressures and would use an international peer-review system modeled on those of the European Research Council and the U.S. National Science Foundation. NCN would also earmark at least 20% of its budget to grants for scientists under age 35. Michal Kleiber, president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, sees in NCN the type of reform the country's scientific community needs. 

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