Science

It is focused and deliberate practice that leads to expertise, not natural ability, says Philip Roscoe

Richard Joyner on the Austrian scientist Karl von Frisch, who discovered and deciphered bees’ communicative choreography

A punchy whodunnit is backed with plain talk of misogyny, says Helen Bynum

The UK’s leading role in shaping the future of science would be lost if voters choose to leave research ‘superpower’, pro-Remain voices warn

New technology has changed how we approach the act of writing, finds John Gilbey

Misty Bentz is the inventor of ‘Phynd the Physicist’, a game designed to open dialogue among students about inclusion

Academics and policy advisers have given their verdict in a study exploring how the REF affects the day-to-day lives of scholars

Universities should take responsibility for the betterment of society, says Michael Crow

Research from the University of Warwick reveals a mismatch between the aspirations and final destinations of Chinese students at UK universities

Valuable nuggets await in a master-apprentice Q&A but be ready to dig, says Andrew Robinson

Universities in two countries will co-host three research chairs

Joanna Bourke on a memoir focusing on secrets, grief and desire following a life-changing accident

Richard Joyner on a biography seeking to reveal the chemist’s talent for reinvention

Book of the week: A spirited palaeobotanist’s memoir splices flora with friendship and family, says Cait MacPhee

Barcelona’s own version of the Crick Institute has helped the city’s academic ecosystem to thrive in spite of Spanish bureaucracy, reports Jack Grove from the Catalan capital

Research Integrity and Peer Review will look at every stage of the scientific process, and could even change its own review system depending on what it finds

Gearing research too far towards industry goals can lead to short-termist approach, warns Brian MacCraith

Marcus Chown heaps praise on a fascinating study full of charm and infectious enthusiasm

Durham, Edinburgh and Queen’s University Belfast pick up inaugural awards for arts, humanities and social science departments

Those judging creative scientific ideas fail to fully understand them, potentially hampering breakthroughs, research indicates

Universities are beginning to explore using a new set of social media apps as students give up on Facebook and Twitter

James Delbourgo on a study of how scientists shared information and how through it they constructed the nation as an object of study

Book of the week: The Chinese government’s persecution of Fang Lizhi remains baffling, says Jonathan Mirsky

Negative stories including collapse of Kids Company appear to be making the public more wary of major research funders

Although the UK does well in competitive grant funding, it loses out on EU structural funds

Money is designed to help institutions ‘attract and retain the best and brightest researchers from around the world’

Tim Softley, Peter Schiffer and Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela explain the benefits of a transatlantic partnership

Soon-to-be-released review into employability has identified the importance of work experience, students’ attitude and accreditation

Like Gollum’s ring, gadgets are irresistible. Learn to turn off, tune out and log off, says John Gilbey

Book of the week: Marcus Chown on a portrait of those who drove the Ligo project and helped to find gravitational waves

Wellcome Trust Monitor Report finds more certainty about the benefits of breakthroughs, but a mixed picture of general scientific knowledge

Technically-trained graduates vital for development, says thinktank chief

Take it as a compliment if other people are doing similar studies to you, says Sam Schwarzkopf

Book of the week: The Sun’s magnetic fields make it much more than a dull ball of hot gas, says Marcus Chown

Gaining a PhD is a tough act for most students, so how do those with new babies cope while having the additional demands of parenthood?

It’s not all selfishness: Charalambos Kyriacou on how genes cooperate and combine forces to preserve their DNA dynasties

Aaron Huertas offers advice on how to overcome perceptions of being cold but competent 

Angela Eagle says that EU membership is vital for the future of universities and the economy

Richard Joyner on who is ahead in the race for dominance between science and religion

Jeremy Singer on a manifesto for maximum impact and insight based on addressing real-world problems in multidisciplinary teams

Landmark documents and artefacts in the history of science and religion go on public view for the first time

Researchers set out how academic insights can build trust between different groups

Conference hears that fundamental skills, rather than specific languages, will serve graduates throughout their careers

Non-EU citizens took one in five new posts over past decade, leaving 40 per cent of posts for UK researchers, Hefce figures show

Simon Underdown on the novel notion that four walls were key to our development as a species

A captivating study of Canadians’ national game skates over one element, says Andrew Robinson

Janet Sayers on an engaging work taking in Freud, Meynert and Penfield

A new law to support early career researchers has reopened arguments over limits on the use of short-term contracts in the country

Might mass polls by live audiences actually be a better way to choose the right applicant?

But authors of original paper hit back, saying latest assessment is ‘very optimistic’

Female researchers now account for 37 per cent of first authors in medicine’s top journals, says US study

UK among the worst performers in analysis of 69 national academies

Blogging is now an essential weapon in most scientists’ armoury

Like the Scottish independence referendum, the uncertainty of a post-Brexit negotiation makes fact-checking very difficult

The invention might be a ‘world first’ in robotics, says the university

Times Higher Education hears how Wu's career encompassed filming Tiananmen protests and sending China’s first email

But universities warned to beware the predicted fall in China’s student population

Higher education must look beyond financial gain to help solve the Middle East crisis, says Zahir Irani

BMJ editor in chief raises alarm over drug trial research funded and often controlled by manufacturers themselves

Robyn Arianrhod on how Enlightenment android-builders and modern biologists shaped the sciences of life and artificial intelligence