Jan. 2, 2015 - This Week's Consolidation of Advocacy News
News
India Unveils New Open Access Policy
Dec. 26, 2014 | Nature blogs
Two of India’s science departments unveiled a new open-access policy. Researchers with funding from these departments can publish in journals of their choice, and papers can be accessed by the public.
Members of Congress Request Investigation Into U.S. Monkey Lab
Dec. 29, 2014 | Science Magazine
Four members of Congress are requesting a review of experiments being done with monkeys at an NIH facility in Maryland.
Lawmakers Fear Threat of Sequestration in 2015
Dec. 29, 2014 | American University Radio
A budget deal that stopped sequestration for two years will expire in October 2015. Senator Mark Warner is nervous that sequestration will return and result in across the board cuts for government agencies.
- Learn more about sequestration.
Articles of Interest
A Standard for Neuroscience Data
Dec. 23, 2014 | Newswise
The Neurodata without Borders initiative hosted a hackathon in November 2014 to create a framework for neuroscience data standardization. These tools will help facilitate the goals of the BRAIN Initiative.
- Read an interview with Cornelia Bargmann and William Newsome about the BRAIN Initiative.
Does Journal Peer Review Miss Best and Brightest?
Dec. 22, 2014 | Science Magazine
A recent PNAS paper used citations as a proxy for paper quality to study the peer review process. While papers accepted outright did tend to get more citations than those initially rejected, journals frequently did not publish papers that went on to get the most citations.
- Find information about the peer review process.
Open Access 2014: A Year that Data Cracked Through Secrecy and Myth
Dec. 29, 2014 | PLOS Blogs
This article highlights several events and policy changes from 2014 that have worked towards providing open access to scientific publishing.
- Read an interview with Christophe Bernard, editor of the new open-access journal eNeuro.
Your Brain on Games
Dec. 29, 2014 | Forbes
Some companies have started to use video games in the workforce to increase employee engagement. This article explores the neuroscience research behind this concept, including neurotransmitter release and enhanced memory.
- Learn more about neurotransmitters at BrainFacts.org.
Opinion
Time for the Social Sciences
Dec. 30, 2014 | Nature
This Nature editorial discusses that in order for the UK’s Research Excellence Framework to allow natural sciences to deliver more for society, the government also needs to show commitment towards the social sciences and humanities.
How Trustworthy Is Published Science?
Dec. 26, 2014 | Pacific Standard
Concerns over the reproducibility of science have grown in recent years, but the desire for exact replication of experiments “may be misguided.”
- Find out more about responsible conduct of research.
