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If we don't recognise the politics of science, we will just get played by those who doAt the BSA Science Communication conference this week, I was invited to speak about science policy, under the title "All hail to the chief". Except, I think science involves way too much hailing already. I'm not about to start bowing to Sir Mark Walport, just because he's the Government Chief Scientific Advisor. Neither do I think we should worshiping Science Media Centre CEO, Fiona Fox as a "high priestess"
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Scientists, funders and journal editors have thrown their weight behind the San Francisco Declaration on Research AssessmentCampaigners against the use of journal impact factors as a proxy for research excellence received a shot in the arm last night with the launch of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). With an impressive line-up of founding signatories, including individual scientists, research funders and journal editors, DORA states in no uncertain terms that
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Alice Bell recalls an interview with Joe Farman, who helped discover the hole in the ozone layer and died this weekendJoe Farman died this weekend. Obituaries appeared on the BBC and Telegraph on Monday night. As one of the scientists who helped find the "hole" in the ozone layer, Farman was part of what was arguably one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20th century, even if it took a slightly different hue from earlier discoveries, a little less triumphant perhaps, being
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The increasing use of expert bioethicists has profound anti-democratic implicationsIn a secular age it might seem that the time for moral authorities has passed. However, research in the life sciences and biomedicine has produced a range of moral concerns and prompted the emergence of bioethics; an area of study that specialises in the ethical analysis of these issues. The result has been the emergence of what we might call expert bioethicists, a cadre of professionals who, while logical and
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What really winds up Israel is that this rejection comes from a famous scientist, and it is science that drives its economy, prestige and military strengthStephen Hawking's decision to boycott the Israeli president's conference has gone viral. Over 100,000 Facebook shares of the Guardian report at last count. Whatever the subsequent fuss, Hawking's letter is unequivocal. His refusal was made because of requests from Palestinian academics. Witness the speed with which the pro-Israel lobby seized
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