Author order is a pretty self-evident term. It simply describes the order in which authors appear on a publication. Who goes first, second and who is et al. Now author order might also seem like a pretty trivial topic. However, it sadly isn’t. And it might appear to be a straightforward process, but tussling over […] … learn more→

News stories about the likely existence of extraterrestrial life, and our chances of detecting it, tend to be positive. We are often told that we might discover it any time now. Finding life beyond Earth is “only a matter of time”, we were told in September 2023. “We are close” was a headline from September 2024. […] … learn more→

When she passed her PhD viva, literature researcher Ally Louks posted a picture of herself and her thesis on X (formerly Twitter) in November 2024 (see post here). The photo shared her thesis title: “Olfactory Ethics: The politics of smell in modern and contemporary prose”. The post garnered over 11,000 responses, some deeply negative. Louks […] … learn more→

Most of us have heard the phrase “correlation does not equal causation”. But understanding how scientists move beyond identifying correlations to establish causation remains a mystery to many. Finding out what causes a particular outcome is often the primary goal of scientific research, especially in studies relating to our health. We want to know if […] … learn more→

Last week, Ally Louks (now Dr. Louks), an academic at the University of Cambridge, posted a picture of herself on the social media site X with her fresh PhD thesis titled “Olfactory Ethics: The politics of smell in modern and contemporary prose”. The post received a surprising amount of attention – it has been viewed more than […] … learn more→

It is not easy for the culture of patronage from the Anglo-Saxon world to be transferred directly to the Latin world. To begin with, because, from the point of view of the citizen, there is little custom and limited knowledge on the subject. In fact, the initial opinion is usually contrary, based on the fact […] … learn more→

Most researchers are honest and their work is a worthwhile addition to the scholarly record. However, a significant percentage of researchers are engaged in questionable practices or producing work lacking integrity. For example, Bik and colleagues have estimated ~2% of the biomedical literature is affected by image manipulation problems. Adam Day, who runs the Papermill Alarm, has estimated that […] … learn more→

\A virologist named Beata Halassy recently made headlines after publishing a report of successfully treating her own breast cancer by self-administering an experimental treatment. Having previously undergone a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Halassy informed her doctors that she wanted to treat her tumour by injecting it with viruses known to attack cancerous cells. This sort of approach is called oncolytic […] … learn more→

The rigid structures of language we once clung to with certainty are cracking. Take gender, nationality or religion: these concepts no longer sit comfortably in the stiff linguistic boxes of the last century. Simultaneously, the rise of AI presses upon us the need to understand how words relate to meaning and reasoning. A global group […] … learn more→

Competition for jobs and grants in academia has never been tougher. The constant drive to “publish or perish” can make you feel like your career will end unless your output is superhuman. Sometimes, it’s even before graduation as some programs demand publication before awarding a PhD. Adding to those worries are people whose output is […] … learn more→