Science Education & Policy

2009 Peer Review Survey Issues Preliminary Results

What does peer review do for science and what does the scientific community want it to do?  Should peer review detect fraud and misconduct? Does peer review illuminate good ideas or shut them down? Should reviewers be anonymous? The Peer Review Survey 200 ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2009 - 9:38am

Improving Science Education

I received an interesting question today from an Alex Ziller in the comments thread of a recent post. Here it is: Do you think blogging actually improves Science? (I know, one should first define what "improving Science" actually means). I think ...

Article - Tommaso Dorigo - Sep 7 2009 - 1:37pm

Science And Journalism: Scientists Engage Journalists More Than Is Perceived

Are scientists press shy?    Are researchers who engage journalists ridiculed by other researchers as not serious enough?    No, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers in Journalism&Mass Communication Quarterly- the dif ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 9 2009 - 7:02pm

Not Even Kafka Could Have Invented The Grant Review System

Peter Lawrence in PLoS Biology writes about the story of K.: ...

Article - Michael White - Sep 15 2009 - 4:06pm

Conservation Of Momentum For Pre-Schoolers

In creating a science site for kids (that would be Kids Science Zone- if you haven't written anything there, feel free to do so), the majority of comments I have gotten have been likely about the same as I would have gotten if I had opened up this sit ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Sep 16 2009 - 5:26pm

The Black Forest of Equations

Having returned from a Polymer Physics conference a couple of days ago, I felt the need to read one of the masters of the subject, Nobel laureate Pierre-Gilles de Gennes.   I came across this gem: Fragile Objects: Soft Matter, Hard Science and the Thrill o ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Sep 18 2009 - 2:44pm

The Science Of Education- Is Human Interaction Better Than Videos?

There's no shortage of new theories about how kids help to learn better.   Unfortunately when it comes to kids and education, the only way to measure success is after the fact when it may already be too late. Recent work is focusing on social learning ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 23 2009 - 9:40am

In Language, 'Use It Or Lose It' More Like 'Riding A Bike'

If you learn a foreign language when you are young but the exposure to that language is brief and you don't get to hear or practice it subsequently, does the neglected language fade away from our memory? Yes, forgetting is forgetting, has been the bel ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 24 2009 - 9:59am

How To Be Einstein Without Being A Genius

Very sound advice from systems biologist Uri Alon: A common mistake made in choosing problems is taking the first problem that comes to mind. Since a typical project takes years even it if seems doable in months, rapid choice leads to much frustration and ...

Article - Michael White - Sep 25 2009 - 11:41pm

NIH Affirmative Action on R01s?

The NIH has made public how often they fund grants below the payline. 18% of R01s scored below the nominal cutoff get funded anyway. A good chunk of those are grants from new investigators. ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Sep 25 2009 - 11:54am