Research

Reviewer bias and higher teaching workloads for women may explain why they have to wait much longer for accept or reject decisions, say study authors

Government renews drive to attract international academics with more recruits coming to UK under Global Talent Fund

More people sceptical that science makes life better compared with pre-pandemic, and public also doubting contribution to economic growth

Large numbers of editors publishing in their own special issue attacked as ‘academic narcissism’ and ‘scientific misconduct’ in first-of-its-kind study

Jordanian professor’s free-wheeling study is pulled and an editorial board member sacked after linguists criticised ‘extremely strange’ article

The claim that AI can’t make meaning contradicts what researchers are finding when they put these tools to careful, critical use, says James Goh

Quarter of institutions admit they don’t know if PhD candidates are working with AI, while only a small proportion say they are coming up with guidelines on its use

Indian campaigner Achal Agrawal says research watchdog he founded gets tens of tip-offs regarding suspected malpractice every day

It is vital to examine what chatbots’ behaviour reveals about their underlying structures – and human responses to them, says Agnieszka Piotrowska

Syrian scholar stopped from seeing dying father among those affected by long waits for clearance, says MP Wendy Chamberlain

Little-noticed joint efforts by publishers to catch fake papers are delivering results but further ‘scaling’ is needed, says report

Our symposium illustrates the contribution that students outside the scientific mainstream could make if given the chance, says Iván Moya

Former security adviser turned vice-chancellor calls out silence on controversial defence research, despite evolving threats to national security

Doctoral candidates offered hybrid ‘stipend and salary’ studentships with significant teaching hours will struggle to balance competing pressures, union fears

The £2 million recently awarded to a whistleblower by a US court is a rare reward for the volunteers who trawl the scientific literature for error and fraud. Yet their numbers continue to grow. So what drives them? And can their efforts ever cleanse more than a drop in a troubled ocean? Jack Grove reports 

Dramatically increasing private spending on research may be unrealistic given current economic conditions, funder warned

Maybe I need to drop the illusion that I can spot AI-written text and, instead, devise assignments that AI can’t help with, says David Mingay

New technologies must be used in ways that ‘strengthen, rather than replace, human expertise’, report authors warn

Collapse of higher education system under Maduro unlikely to be reversed without a complete change in leadership, warn experts

Penalties for withdrawn papers and self-citation proposed by Stanford researcher would hit standing of Chinese universities

Clear guidance needed on how narrative-based submissions will be graded to avoid accusations that judgements are overly subjective, say experts

Pierre Legrand’s ‘offensive’ attack on a law textbook has led to calls for retraction and a journal apology but he insists his robust criticism was fair

Practice seen as a way to boost participation at higher levels of academia but critics say it could have the opposite effect

‘Global first’ agreements break link between pricing and the number of articles published for the first time

Review of formula used to allocate £2 billion QR funding could downgrade or withdraw money for ‘internationally excellent’ research, some fear

No evidence that people with a doctorate experience ‘significant wage penalties’, finds committee’s review of key visa route

New targeted model will see funder split budget across four “buckets”, with money for curiosity-driven work remaining broadly flat

‘Significantly improved’ agreement with world’s biggest scholarly publisher averts new year shutdown

Australian science lobbyists pin hopes on research and development review, saying ‘one-off’ mini-budget funding boost will not compensate for years of decline

Thousands of mistakenly awarded citations left uncorrected highlight the perils of leaving profile curation to academics, say critics

Collaboration between British and Chinese scholars has increased over the past decade in the wake of the UK’s departure from the European Union

Universities can decide on publishing deals after terms agreed with Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis

Rollback of decoupling researchers from their work questioned despite policy U-turn on books

Decision to row back reforms demonstrates difficulties of using process to engineer social change, critics say, with little clarity over how newly revised ‘people’ section will work

Without exemptions for commercial as well as academic data mining, the government’s AI for Science Strategy will fall flat, says Benjamin White

The pragmatic response to misunderstandings around the word ‘culture’ will ensure that grassroots momentum is not lost, says John-Arne Røttingen

Several planned reforms to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework scrapped or partially rolled back after three-month pause, bringing exercise closer to 2021 audit

Epilepsy pioneer vows to target ‘negative view’ of discovery science and ‘mindset’ of expecting the outcomes in advance

Two of the first beneficiaries of £54 million Global Talent Fund discuss how US funding uncertainties – as well as desire for home comforts – influenced their decision to move

Lack of career rewards for impact and institutional focus on publication metrics highlighted in Sage survey

Success in securing ‘consolidator’ awards continues Britain’s resurgence since rejoining Horizon research initiative

Lottery-first approach can increase applications and success rate of ‘structurally disadvantaged’ researchers, study finds

An Australian ministerial delegation’s visit to India is the perfect opportunity to highlight the research potential of branch campuses, says Paul Harris

Chinese science’s meteoric rise has long prompted questions about whether it will ultimately eclipse the US. Many now see that as inevitable, as Donald Trump wreaks havoc on US science. But might wariness about collaboration hold China back? Tash Mosheim gauged the mood among Shaw Prize laureates in Hong Kong

Director of Universal says he wanted to respond to ‘undercurrent of anti-intellectualism’ with his exploration of how academics deal with a potentially explosive discovery

Tech reskilling and digital democracy plans no distraction from furthering government’s research ambitions, says science secretary

Income generated drops 2 per cent year-on-year despite rise in new interactions, NCUB report finds

University groups unite to fight for amendments to EU’s proposals for Horizon Europe successor, warning that it must remain independent

While new technologies seen as ‘game changer’ for national-level research assessment, study finds vehement opposition, particularly among humanities scholars

ANZ universities notch ‘major’ new agreements with big publishers, but negotiations with the biggest break down over price concerns

Even with boosts in investment and research, can ‘Vision 2030’ really propel universities into the global elite?

As they respond to global challenges including climate change and food security, universities are driving progress across the Arab region, writes Ellie Bothwell

Science minister dismisses as ‘bizarre’ fears that government push for ‘teaching-only’ specialists will further concentrate research activity in small number of institutions

Last month, the Australian Academy of Science condemned the country’s ongoing review of research for ignoring a long-term funding decline that has left basic research at ‘breaking point’. Was that a rhetorical overstatement or a sober statement of fact? Five researchers offer their own perspectives

Science secretary defends decision to dedicate nearly a fifth of UKRI budget to policy priorities

‘Remains to be seen’ whether initial influx of interest in Europe will consolidate into a trend in years ahead, experts say

MIT tops list for second consecutive year, but experts fear US universities will deem future interdisciplinary research projects too risky

The global collaboration enabled by associating to the world’s largest research funding programme is critical to national impact, says Cecilia Hewlett

Disparity reflects broader under-representation of women in senior roles rather than increased likelihood men will make mistakes, researcher says

Appointment of Kathleen Fisher to lead UK ‘high-risk, high-reward’ funding body will raise questions on shift towards defence research