In case you didn’t realize, we’re living in the era of big data. From sequencing the molecules of human life to divine our futures, to capturing fodder on Twitter to predict disease outbreaks, big data’s potential is massive. It’s the new black gold, after all, and it can... [More]

False positives and exaggerated results in peer-reviewed scientific studies have reached epidemic proportions in recent years. The problem is rampant in economics, the social sciences and even the natural sciences, but it is particularly egregious in biomedicine. Many studies that claim some d... [More]

When it comes to worrying about the underrepresentation of women in science, especially at higher levels, are we stuck in the past? A paper published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that we are. Researchers Stephen Ceci and Wendy Williams from Cornell... [More]

The White House on Friday released its long-delayed scientific integrity guidelines, intended to ban political interference in science. President Barack Obama campaigned on scientific integrity after scientists and others complained that Bush administration officials distorted scientific work... [More]

The president’s bioethics commission says there is no need to temporarily halt research or to impose new regulations on the controversial new field known as synthetic biology. In a report being issued Thursday, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues says that at... [More]

Scientists need to change the tenor of the debate to avoid having research swept up in a larger budget cutting exercise by the next Congress.   That's one of many pieces of advice to the U.S. research community from four veteran legislators who have been strong supporters of academ... [More]

Federal financing of science research, which has risen quickly since the Obama administration came to power, could fall back to pre-Obama levels if the incoming Republican leadership in the House of Representatives follows through on its list of campaign promises. In the Republican platform, Pled... [More]

Senator Charles Grassley (R–IA) is asking more questions about ethics policies at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In one of his last actions as ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley is concerned about intramural researchers at the National Cancer Institute (N... [More]

Pope Benedict XVI told scientists that their research can lead to knowledge of God by revealing the natural order of the universe.The pope made his remarks on Thursday (Oct. 28) before a plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican.The evident logic governing the univer... [More]

A few articles published in the newspapers today have hit me right in a few sore spots, making me crankier than usual and compelling me to write a few new rules for science journalists. Pay attention. This first story is titled Male infertility gene discovered. It does an OK job of descr... [More]