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The article reports on the retraction of a "Nature" research paper which was co-written by Nobel prizewinner and scientist Linda Buck. It claims that "Nature" editors have found some inconsistencies between its researchers' original data and their publication in 2001. Olfactory-neuron researcher Hitoshi Sakano, however, notes that the retraction would not affect much their field of interest because other researchers have affirmed the paper's results using other techniques. The retracted paper describes the tracing in neural pathways from scent receptors in the nose towards the olfactory cortex of the brain.

Cites a study showing that many of the references cited in scientific papers have not been read by the authors citing them. Propagation of errors in citations in scientific literature.

Reports that a group of researchers say they will stop buying, publishing, or reviewing for any scientific journal that refuses to place its research papers in a proposed online database, Public Library of Science, within six months of initial publication. Reaction of publishers, who claim that free access will leave journals without enough revenue to support peer review; Speculation that the research will end up on the publicly-funded PubMedCentral rather than on a private site.

A study highlighting statistical gaffes in scientific literature has brought renewed calls for vigilance among mathematically challenged researchers and journal editors. Biostatisticians Emili García-Berthou and Caries Alcaraz of the University of Girona, Spain, gauged the extent of statistical errors in some volumes of two periodicals. Both person used three standard software packages to recalculate 'P values' the parameters by which researchers measure whether a result has statistical significance. The procedure found some error and casts doubt on statistics in published material in these periodicals.

Focuses on the efforts of financier and philanthropist George Soros in providing free and unrestricted access to scientific and other academic literature in Budapest, Hungary. Launch of the initiative by the Open Society Institute; Value of the pledge in grants; Commitment of research institutions and funding agencies to making policy changes.

The article reports on a surge in withdrawn scientific papers from scholarly literature and on the system for handling such post-publication retractions in Great Britain. It states that retraction notices are increasing to more than 400 notices even though the number of papers published has increased by only 44% since 2001. It cites the British Committee on Publication Ethics' (COPE) survey on editors' attitudes toward retraction which showed inconsistencies in policies and practices.

The author discusses the connection between success of a scientific research paper and the ethnic diversity of collaborating scientists. He observes that greater ethnic diversity among the collaborating scientists creates more attention for the scientific literature publication. Homophily in joint research also creates fewer citations compared to multiple ethnicities. It is noted that diverse perspectives offer benefits or linguistic and cultural differences obstruct communication skills.

Discusses the decision of 'Nature' magazine to retract seven papers all published with Jan Hendrik Schoen as the first author. Evidence of scientific misconduct after an investigation by an independent committee; Authors' retention of some confidence in the validity of the science behind the misreported experimental findings.

The article expresses the author's view on the outcome of the study which revealed that scientists are publishing more duplicate papers. The author stated that although publication rates are high, there are also high-profile cases of scientific misconduct that were happening. He stresses the three main sins of modern publishing including duplication, co-submission and plagiarism. He calls the attention of the gatekeepers of scientific information not to reject the duplication issue.

The article provides information on the recent scandals related to scientists and researchers. After reporting several vials of plague bacteria missing from his lab, and then admitting he might have accidentally destroyed them himself, U.S. microbiologist Thomas Butler was sentenced to two years in prison for fraud this March. A U.S. university geneticist and an artist were accused of mail and wire fraud because of the way they allegedly obtained bacteria for art exhibitions. Medical journal "The Lancet" took the unusual step of distancing itself from one of its own papers and attacking its findings. In February, editors declared that Andrew Wakefield's 1998 paper linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine with autism was "flawed" owing to conflicts of interest and should not have been published. Fertility researcher Panayiotis Zavos had a peer-reviewed paper on human cloning pulled--because he publicized his work.

Comments on the use of scientific language in scientific paper. Components of a scientific literature; Goal of science; Use of the process of induction in writing scientific paper.

The article presents numerical facts on various issues published during the year 2005 in the science journal "Nature." A total of 900 papers were published during the year describing original research. Nuclear fusion was identified as the most accessed paper during the period. There were 2,469 authors who contributed to research in the physical sciences during 2005.

The article focuses on the adverse effects of premature release of incomplete scientific information in the media. The premature release of incomplete information, without any form of peer review and without making it clear to journalists that the work had not been refereed, is contrary to good scientific practice. The paper could, in principle, be revised or even rejected after peer review, in which case the public would have been misinformed. Industrial companies already release claims to the media while keeping data confidential for commercial reasons.

The article presents Shanghai, China's contribution to the Nature Index based on weighted fractional count of scientific articles published in 2013, with Fudan University as the city's largest contributing institution. Fudan is strongest in materials chemistry with papers on composite nanofibers used in lithium batteries and nanotubes as cathode materials for rechargeable batteries. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is most open to collaboration with other institutes in chemistry and life sciences.

Reports on the advancement of scientific literature onto the Internet and the inevitability that it readers will have free access to it. Fears and concerns including whether the content of the information will be preserved; Price issues involving the downloading of information; Other issues.

The article reports on the demise of the Brief Communications section of the "Nature" periodical at the end of 2006. Articles and full-scale research papers are reviewed in the section. Some of the articles dealt with rat robots, Neolithic noodles and a cloned cat. Some of the reasons for the closure of the section are discussed including the demand for greater detail in presentation.

Presents data concerning the submissions of Germany-based authors published in scientific periodical "Nature". Number of submissions to "Nature" from Germany since January 1, 2005; Number of authors published in "Nature" who were working in Germany; Number of authors working in Germany who have had more than one paper published in "Nature" since January 1, 2005.

The article focuses on a controversy related to the spellings of Phosphorus. The authors says that although phosphorous is a legitimate adjective meaning phosphorus-rich, this is rarely the meaning intended when this spelling is used in literature. Many students and colleagues of the author, who misspell the word assert that phosphorous is the British spelling. The author wonders as the "Nature," as a journal with British spellings but a wide audience in the United States, intended a compromise solution to this spelling problem in its News story.

Forecasts trends in the electronic publication of scientific literature. Questions on which standard is most suitable for scientific publications; Concerns over the minimal number of options available for publishing scientific journals; Expense required in creating metadata.

The article presents Beijing, China's contribution to the Nature Index based on weighted fractional count of scientific articles published in 2013, with Peking University and Tsinghua University as the city's largest contributing institutions. Peking's research outputs include conjugated polymers for transistors and asymmetric synthesis to develop drug molecules. Tsinghua's papers include topics on bimetallic nanocatalysts, supramolecules, and graphene synthesis using sodium-ammonia solution.

The article presents the Chinese Academy of Sciences as the world's largest scientific organization with researchers and institutes spread across China, led by the Institute of Chemistry, Institute of Physics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, and Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences. Chemistry papers were top contributors to the country's Nature Index while life science articles command a dominant share in journal publications.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including research papers, scientific literature and researcher surveys.

The author reflects on the viability of creating an open research literature through recognizing the added value used in diversifying scientific outputs. The author discusses the underlying questions which need to be addressed by the government in the creation of a sustainable open research literature. The author also mentions research funders such the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the European Bioinformatics Institute which provide added value and accessibility on online research.

The article discusses the significance of using the Semantic Web Applications in Neuromedicine (SWAN) scientific literature in the U.S. The SWAN is designed by Virgil Muresan and Zoia Muresan, which is an online tool that helps researchers on testing and generating their hypothesis. The SWAN tools offers advanced, curated and browseable online data and displays relationships as derived from the literature. SWAN aims to help researchers integrate literature more efficiently than their own reading. It mentions the tool "Hanalyzer" which gathers molecular database information and relevant abstracts to create a network of knowledge.

The article focuses on the review articles published in the "Nature" journal. Recent developments in a topical area of scientific research are included in review and progress articles. Themed collections of reviews and related material are published as insights. Papers of outstanding interest that are setting new standards are progress articles.

Ponders on scientists' lack of emotional honesty in writing their research activities. Opinion of Sir Peter Medawar on scientific publications; Information on scientists' approach in writing scientific papers; Description of Herbert Moran's writing in his book `In My Fashion.'

The article discusses an announcement by "Nature" regarding a freely accessible, online resource that biologists and others can use to explain evolution by natural selection. Readers can visit the Web site www.nature.com/evolutiongems to view a document which summarizes several lines of evidence for natural selection from papers previously published in "Nature."

Reports that the "Nature" magazine will increase the number of publications in its Brief Communications Arising (BCA) section. Publication of articles online; Types of letters and articles published in the BCA section; Improvements in the magazine's navigation for readers.

The article discusses the call for scientific authors to put supporting raw microarray data sets into a database for public use. Neil McKenna and his colleagues from "Nature Methods" surveyed twenty journals in 2007 in the attempt to find references for deposition into the data set. Also discussed is a proposal by researchers to redress some of the concerns publishers have concerning research data.

The article comments on the introduction of the Podcast version of the science journal "Nature." The podcast features a selection of papers and news features. Scientists were given the chance to explain their research to a wider audience. Their results are supported by analysis and comments from the journal's editors and journalists.

Comments on the article by Adam Lomnicki published in the 424 volume of the journal "Nature" under the debate on the impact of scientific work. Discontent of the author with the position of impact factors of scientific journals taken by Lomnicki in his article; Account of competitions between various journals and scientists for impact factors.

Comments on the article by Peter A. Lawrence published in 'Nature' about the politics of publication of scientific literature. Support of Lawrence's that the assessment of science is moving towards an 'audit society.'

Comments on the article by Peter A. Lawrence published in 'Nature' that a substantial amount of politics has become commonplace in the scientific publication enterprise.

Comments on the article by Peter A. Lawrence published in 'Nature' asserting that different strategies and maneuvers adopted by scientists desperate to publish in a few top journals can be disruptive to the quality of research.

Reports that scientific papers that are not widely read and that lack any great influence can end up being classed as high-impact. Papers in question not read by the authors before citing; Generation of a mathematical model to predict citation levels; Outcome of the model to be similar for biology or engineering papers.

Reports on the possibility of primary scientific literature being available via the Internet. Editorial board at the BioMed Center which will provide free access to peer-reviewed research; Establishment of a new publishing house, owned by the Current Science Group, that will review papers related to the biomedical sciences; Availability on the Internet site, biomedcentral.com, of accepted papers.

Opinion. Comments on the need for a ban on honorary co-authorship in science literature. Delicensing of British physician Malcolm Pearce for false claims on an operation in a research paper; American physician Thereza Imanishi-Kari's fabrication of data in a paper; Muddled principles.

Replying to: P. F. Hoffman, J. W. Crowley, D. T. Johnston, D. S. Jones & D. P. Schrag 456, 10.1038/nature07655 (2008); Y. Goddéris & Y. Donnadieu 456, 10.1038/nature07653 (2008)The first of several questionable assertions in the Comment of Hoffman et al. on our paper is that our results are “sensitive to initial conditions and model parameters”. This references an undergraduate report in which this issue was not addressed. Figure 1 illustrates a sequence of trajectories of the nonlinear system. These are ‘attracted to’ the set of steady state solutions such that, following transient adjustment, the system locks-on to the oscillatory ‘slushball’ solution unless the initial CO2 concentration is extremely low or F21 , the control variable of the model that determines the sensitivity of the rate of remineralization to temperature changes, is supercritical. This first assertion is therefore misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a perspective pertaining the diversity of the typical American research university. However, this concept is fashioned mainly on the basis of students and staff recruited from abroad. With this, the universities have done less well at harnessing the talents of the racial minorities within the U.S. population.

The article provides information on the recent developments across the world related to science and technology. Months of confusion ended last week when the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued licenses that permit the U.S. publishers to accept and print scholarly papers with authors from Cuba, Iran and Sudan. A convoy carrying US$4.6 million worth of laboratory equipment and $1 million worth of academic books is bound for higher-education institutions in Iraq. Impulse Devices, a company in Grass Valley, California is launching an experimental power reactor based on "bubble fusion," despite reservations within the scientific community over whether the effect exists. Zsuzsanna Jakab, secretary of state at Hungary's ministry of health, was last week nominated as the inaugural director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

The article reviews a report published in the magazine "Infection and Immunity" by the American Society for Microbiology published in 2011 that studied the retraction index of articles published in high impact journals.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Open-access policy flourishes at NIH," in the 2009 issue.

The article discusses how graduate student Shirley Wu and her adviser, Russ Altman, chair of bioengineering at Stanford University in Palo Atlo, California, won the Nature Network's Science Blogging Challenge. Topics include an invitation to the SciFoo 2009 'unconference,' why the blogging challenge was launched, such as promoting communication among scientists, and the entry by Altman relating his blogging experience.

Comments on the impact factor of scientific journals. Difficulty of attempting to quantify the quality of science; Process of obtaining the impact factors; Some administrators' view of impact factor as a measure of the typical citation rate for the journal.

The development of white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) holds great promise for the production of highly efficient large-area light sources. High internal quantum efficiencies for the conversion of electrical energy to light have been realized. Nevertheless, the overall device power efficiencies are still considerably below the 60–70 lumens per watt of fluorescent tubes, which is the current benchmark for novel light sources. Although some reports about highly power-efficient white OLEDs exist, details about structure and the measurement conditions of these structures have not been fully disclosed: the highest power efficiency reported in the scientific literature is 44 lm W-1 (ref. 7). Here we report an improved OLED structure which reaches fluorescent tube efficiency. By combining a carefully chosen emitter layer with high-refractive-index substrates, and using a periodic outcoupling structure, we achieve a device power efficiency of 90 lm W-1 at 1,000 candelas per square metre. This efficiency has the potential to be raised to 124 lm W-1 if the light outcoupling can be further improved. Besides approaching internal quantum efficiency values of one, we have also focused on reducing energetic and ohmic losses that occur during electron–photon conversion. We anticipate that our results will be a starting point for further research, leading to white OLEDs having efficiencies beyond 100 lm W-1. This could make white-light OLEDs, with their soft area light and high colour-rendering qualities, the light sources of choice for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the rise of share of global scientific publications in China. Increase of publications in international scientific journals; Strength of the historical foundations in metallurgy; Attribution of the overall growth in the nation's scientific profile to the thousands of papers from the labs in the U.S, co-authored by visiting Chinese researchers.

Discusses the issues related to intellectual freedom and providing free public access to scientific literature in London, England. Launch of the guidelines supporting free access to scientific literature and reserves the right of publishers to charge for the literature; Probability to cut back on publishing activities if open access continues; Willingness of authors to pay a certain amount to publish a paper.

Featured here are reprints of articles and letters to the editor of the magazine "Nature" previously published by different scientists. "Chalk gas" seems unnecessary, even as a temporary name for carbon dioxide, commented researcher Arthur Smithsell in 1904. To call carbon dioxide "chalk-stuff gas" asserts that it comes from chalk, or that in other words, it is a kind of air fixed somehow in chalk. In connection with some recent legal proceedings, a new method for detecting fingerprints has been discovered, an article published in March 1954 says. The method involves the well-known ninhydrin test for amino acids, often used in chromatography. In this method, fingerprints on paper have always been considered a great nuisance, and one is often recommended to use forceps to avoid fingerprints.

Reports on investigation into misconduct in German cancer research. Names of the cancer researchers being investigated; Extent of the fabrication in the German cancer research papers; Findings of the task force involved in the inquiry.