Science

The former Bank of England governor’s broadside against academic pension cuts relied on ‘reckless’ and ‘absurd’ assumptions, say John Ralfe and Bernard Casey

Universities must look beyond a narrow conception of impact to communicate the true value of higher education to society, say Ulrike Felt, Maximilian Fochler, Andreas Richter, Renée Schroeder and Lisa Sigl

Funny jokes improve class cohesion and dud gags do no harm, study finds – but offensive quips can alienate learners

Life as a comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe has many parallels with the experiences of early career academics, explains Anna Ploszajski

Error on Wikipedia page meant St Petersburg statue used likeness of Thomas Thomson instead of French architect

Drastic cuts necessary if funding situation not resolved, government agency warns

Nearly 50 years since war on cancer was declared, declarations of victory remain a distant prospect. Here, six cancer researchers assess the lie of the land

‘People who have been around at a university for a while assume they know everything…but actually they need to be educated themselves,’ says project leader

Cutting partner labs out of awarded grant budgets is a common but destructive phenomenon in modern academia, says Anne Carpenter

Martin Chalfie argues that young scientists who ‘play the game’ of publishing in selective journals are less likely to win permanent posts

Seekers of dispassionate truth may be irritated by the moral passion of the likes of Dostoevsky, Zola and Chekhov, but it is a much stronger influence on public opinion, says David Aberbach  

Book of the week: the values of research must be preserved despite political and economic pressure, says Harry Collins

Event will feature launch of four Times Higher Education subject rankings

Government may harness funding agreements to influence mix of teacher specialties

Dedicated department aims to accelerate move towards knowledge economy

End stigma against students who don't want to pursue careers in academia, says report

New £25 million fellowships launched by the African Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society

A rediscovered fascination for space means blue-sky opportunities for universities

Government pledges huge windfall for research facilities, but much of it will not be seen until the next decade

Richard Joyner on a heartening collection of accounts by more than 40 people who participated in worldwide demonstrations for science

THE Emerging Economies Summit hears senior university leader call for reform to address nation’s graduate employment crisis

Women are less likely to become principal investigators than equally qualified male scientists, Yale University researchers claim

Many issues that vex scholarly publishing today were there at the start, says Geoffrey Cantor

Via clear, vivid storytelling, Simon Mitton takes an engaging learning journey from Mother Earth out to the farthest galaxies

Book of the week: this book offers PhDs sound advice, Jennifer Rohn says, but it skirts the improbability of making it

Stanford's Londa Schiebinger warns that failure to account for differing impact of interventions on men and women is costing lives

Researcher says it is difficult to find portrayals of female scientists that focus on achievement

The Oxford physicist on his appreciation for nature, renewable energies and the importance of not being afraid to fail

University says Thomas Jessell violated university policies and values

Accusations are a ‘cruel and empty provocation against dedicated scientist’, say sector leaders

Senior MP says Sam Gyimah's failure to answer questions about research integrity may lead scholars to conclude area is 'not a ministerial priority'

Lab bench discoveries made during the 1800s were felt in the playhouse, says Matthew Broome

Academics celebrate major increase in basic research funding, but pledges fall short of recommendations in Naylor report

New generation of scientists powering country’s development, says head of science funding agency

Funding rises for fundamental science with be welcomed even if they fall short of some scholars’ expectations, says Creso Sá

Government initiative funds five collaborations involving 60 academic institutions and more than 450 businesses

More liberal environments may encourage women to follow their interests, psychologists suggest

The former Soviet state’s National Academy of Sciences is too focused on its own survival to improve its research performance, says Ararat Osipian

Asian universities in particular are embracing a technological future, but they should bear in mind the words of two wise Americans, says Alice Gast

Marcus Chown is won over by a graphic novel that allows readers to eavesdrop as experts discuss the big questions in science with laypeople

John Gilbey on a welcome guide to the thorny legal and ethical issues of a new technological era 

Canadian scientists’ impressive campaign for increased basic science funding risks splintering as victory looms, says Jim Woodgett

Collaboration within the Gulf region was rare but now the few oases in the desert risk running dry, says Hilal Lashuel 

Working with pen and paper and cut off from the outside world, Ali Kaya wrote three papers, re-deriving physical formulas from scratch

Bias in assessing submissions is inevitable and damaging. Anonymisation is the least bad solution, says Graham Farrell

Book of the week: Correct use and interpretation of big data can lead to the creation of new theories, finds Farida Vis

Biggest titles’ opening of sister periodicals is taking submissions away from specialist titles, researchers warn

The data underlying Altmetric’s top 100 articles of last year suggest that health research shared on Twitter has most impact

Certain disciplines and institutions likely to suffer from pegging of teaching funding

The pace of scientific activity does not need reducing; it is already too slow, says Jennifer Schnellmann

The mantra that research is loss-making is a convenient fiction used to draw more money to the centres of universities, say Peter Coveney and Christopher Greenwell    

Editing an academic journal is a vital and rewarding task, but also time-consuming and often frustrating. Current and former editors advise would-be gatekeepers on why you'll need the skills of a ringmaster – and more

Alternative metrics find that research on dieting, PhD mental health and female doctors attracted the most online attention this year

Male academics two and a half times more likely to speak up, as women cite lack of confidence and ‘intimidating’ speakers

Decline of corporate discovery programmes could narrow scope of innovation, scholars warn

Not far from the birthplace of preventative medicine, research institutes in the French capital are working together to launch a new era of technology transfer

Donation from estate of inventor Ray Dolby will be used to redevelop the university’s physics department 

Sink into a beguiling and lively study of a potent symbol of psychoanalysis, says Steven Groarke

Do you recognise seven stereotypes in literature and film? Richard Joyner appraises a study ranging from Sherlock to Frankenstein

Academics and professional staff reveal the things that prey on their minds at 2am