Research

Penguins seldom come to Britain, it is said, because they are afraid of Wales.

Students, young academics, professionals and entrepreneurs are being encouraged to present fixes to some of the world’s most pressing challenges - in three minutes.

It is not often that academics are mentioned in the same breath as Angelina Jolie and George Clooney for their humanitarian work, but for one University of Ulster academic, this unlikely scenario has become a reality.

Half of scientific papers published in 2011 can be accessed online for free, a new study has suggested. 

In a significant victory for data miners, the open access publisher BioMed Central is to waive all copyright over datasets it publishes.

Smart thinking on efficiencies funnels cash to research

Allowing scientists to profit from their research would encourage entrepreneurship, says Institute of Cancer Research chairman Luke Johnson

Data show how much work conservation biologists do outside office hours

Wyn Ellis, who made a plagiarism claim against an official, has received menacing calls

Work between the UK research councils, Indian government and business can be improved by fixing practical barriers to collaboration, a report says.

Joshua Oppenheimer’s film about the perpetrators of Indonesian genocide has impact in spades, says Sally Feldman

UEL body plans research into attainment and staffing gap

Students should not be turned into consumers, sector expert Jürgen Enders tells David Matthews

Academy risks research future by failing to give credit where it’s due

Dean of medical school who was cleared of misconduct quits after restructure

The University of Bristol has launched an online forum, Public Spirit, to foster debate on the many key areas where faith impacts on public policy.

Rick Rylance has been reappointed chief executive and deputy chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council for a further four years.

Lecturer whips the average into shape for gruelling Barcelona triathlon

But scholars question motives behind restriction of project studentships

Female academics aim to boost women’s interest in computer science

University denies reneging on promise not to penalise staff over issue

Computer generated jokes can make people laugh, researchers have found, although they are still not as funny as human witticisms.

Bank provides €970 million to develop new Curies

The former chief scientific adviser is relishing his new advisory role at the Oxford Martin School, tackling global challenges

Nick Hillman promises to speak truth to power and not toe party line

Wikipedia ‘edit-a-thon’ bolsters profile of women who changed science

John Ashdown-Hill says university failed to acknowledge his crucial contribution to discovery of king’s remains

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Gerald Kauvar and E. Grady Bogue on forced departures and how to avoid them

Research into replacing and reducing animal use in scientific experiments is to benefit from £4.8 million in public investment in 2013-14

By Scott Jaschik, for Inside Higher Ed

The archives of the British Universities North America Club have been saved by the Bodleian Library following a Times Higher Education appeal

Academics at King’s College London and the universities of Edinburgh and Oxford have won prizes in a heart science image competition

University of Southampton collegium gathers promising scholars to collaborate on coastal eco-cities project

Scholars join strippers to discuss artistic responses to online pornography

Research councils face criticism over decision to allow advisers to submit applications

The pre-registration of study designs must be resisted, says Sophie Scott

Savings are expected to surpass government goal

Report calls for a more ‘transparent and inclusive’ structure, but scientists await council’s response

The UK funding councils have narrowed the scope of their proposed open access mandate for the post-2014 research excellence framework.

A £30 million investment in research and innovation campuses from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has been unveiled.

Citations could replace peer review in sciences, study concludes

A library-focused effort aims to take monographs off the analogue shelf

David Willetts has announced £85 million in funding to provide equipment in three of the “eight great technologies” being targeted to drive growth.

The number of scientific procedures started on animals in the UK has risen sharply, increasing by 8 per cent.

Aging hippies and rare surviving examples of purple corduroy suits could be spotted at the University of Greenwich’s Breaking Convention conference last week, billed as “the 2^nd multidisciplinary conference on psychedelic consciousness”.

A British university has purchased the manuscript of a literary landmark at a price of close to a million pounds.

David Cope defends merits of ‘monetising’ in impact-focused era

Academics invited to publish papers, solicit reviews on new scholarly site

The European Commission has announced plans to invest €22 billion (£19 billion) in public-private research and innovation projects over the next seven years.

The research excellence framework risks turning British economics into “a purely quaint academic subject with no connection to the real world”, an academic paper has warned.

The £1.1 billion annual investment in science capital announced in last month’s spending round is the biggest “for decades” and must not be wasted.

Calls to restrict fields’ funds and scope of study alarm US academics

Edge Hill scholar turns a queer eye on ageing

Canadian researchers call for volte-face on global funding trend

How Jo Brewis and fellow Vida members aim to give women space to think

A paucity of suitable sites, a “stand-offish” attitude and a lack of coordinated, long-term planning are all to blame for the scarcity of large international scientific facilities on UK soil, the Lords Science and Technology committee has been told. 

The scientist who developed the first-ever prototype for an “invisibility cloak” has been given a top award by the Institute of Physics.

Glasgow Caledonian University has said it is happy that the PhD thesis of Iran’s new president elect is properly referenced and is not undertaking a formal academic investigation

The insurance group AXA has funded a €1 million (£850,000) chair at Imperial College London.