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The article reports several problems that researchers might face due to lack of detailed grasp of how the sophisticated techniques that they are using actually work. It is noted that a researcher has used several techniques that can cause them to risk making innocent but substantial errors. In addition, this problem can be attributed to the different approaches towards scientific equipment associated with different disciplines.

The article reports on the study that shows how individual neuron affect zebrafish movement through postdoctorals. The success in the study also represents what power of technology can do to enhance neuroscience. Such success also pictures the good side of nurturing postdoctorals and coordinating with them. Just like Shinichi Higashijimima who used fluorescent labeling of neurons so that observers can clearly see and also Melina Hale who improved the use of lasers to destroy individual neurons.

The article focuses the significance of the trial of six Italian scientists concerning the earthquake which hit the Italian city L'Aquila on April 5, 2009 such as Enzo Boschi, Franco Barberi, and Claudio Eva. It says that the families of the victims are not concerned on the ability of scientists in predicting earthquakes, however, they are concerned with the failure on the service of the said scientists. Vicenzo Vittorini, an earthquake victim adds that he feels that he was betrayed by science.

In this article, the author offers scientists's insights of practicing doctorates in the search for the DNA structure to decode human genome including 1950s: age of formality, 1970s: age of innocence, and 2010s: age of communication. Raymond Gosling, who took his doctorate at King's College London in 1954, says he was fortunate to experience the feudal process of research. Erika Cule of Imperial College London says that the first draft of human genome was published when she was still at school.

The article focuses on the benefits of Inspiron-4000, a device well-known for providing inspiration to many thousands of budding thinkers, for inventors, painters, and scientists. The device is attached directly to the cerebral cortex. The 4000 model is the second in a series and an update of the 3000 model.

The article focuses on the adventurer Hauke Trinks' Arctic expeditions to investigate whether the right mix of chemicals produces RNA molecules in freezing conditions. There have been many claims that the process could have been the basis of early life. It was hypothesized that the network of channels and compartments in the ice could offer surfaces on which molecules of RNA could assemble and grow.

The article presents an interview with scientist Greg Bear. When asked about what would happen if robots took over peer review, indicates that the job would be in trouble. He explains why his protagonists in his books were scientists. Bear stresses his love of science in all aspects. He clarified that science fiction let scientists dream without being responsible.

Comments on the advice given to a group of post doctoral fellows of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory by biology professor Martin Raff during their retreat in Heidelberg, Germany. Concept of the advice given to the scientists by the speaker; Encouragement for postdocs to share their scientific findings the fastest way; Advantage of sharing ideas with the larger scientific community.

Focuses on the efforts of the University of California in collaboration with the African American Male Achievers Network to teach middle- and high-school students about the work of scientists in Los Angeles, California. Aim of the program to increase the number of students to pursue their career in natural and physical sciences; Invitation for high school students to work with scientists in laboratories; Importance of the bond between students and scientists with the program.

This article reports on research works in physics. During scientist Albert Einstein's youth, the focus of theoretical physics was in Europe. Scientist Niels Bohr was in Copenhagen, Max Planck was in Berlin. Today it is harder to find the centre of the theoretical universe, collaborative research is increasingly international, and most theorists, who need little more than a laptop, can work anywhere. But it seems that many young theorists opt to spend their formative years in the U.S. Although U.S. enrolment of foreign graduate students has fallen in recent years, they still make up about half of the total in physics, and of these some 40% are theorists.

The article profiles Steven Chu, the U.S. secretary of the Department of Energy and a member of President Barack Obama's cabinet. Chu is the first Nobel-prize winning scientist to hold such a high office in the U.S. government. He is charged with changing the world's biggest energy economy and has assumed the role of persuader-in-chief, trotting before the Congress to explain the science of climate change and his plans for combating it. He also plans to tackle climate change by reviving the scientific and technological urgency of the Manhattan Project.

The article discusses the impact of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1980s on scientific activities and scientists. It states that the collapse of communism opened up the world to scientists from Eastern Europe who enjoyed the academic community that is inspiring, self-confident and international. The article also discusses issues facing the politics and governments of Soviet Union, Poland, and Czech Republic and scientific communities which are said to develop inferiority complex both in the areas of science and technology.

The article discusses the environmental effect of black carbon on warming the regions in the North Pole, particularly in the Arctic and the efforts of scientists in studying how much it damaged the global climate in 2009. It states that soot is composed of black carbon generated by diesel engines, agricultural burning and coal-fired power plants, which found its way into the Arctic region. It cites that scientists went to the Canadian Arctic to make some diggings in order to find evidence of black carbon, which caused yellow haze in the atmosphere and absorbed sunlight. It notes that as they absorbed sunlight, the air is heated, which causes the temperature to rise.

The article discusses the decision by two researchers to discontinue their research and why the battle to keep laboratories funded can be long and painful for scientists. An example is given of researchers Jill Rafael-Fortney and Darcy Kelly and their experiences trying to get the R01 grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) renewed. Topics include the disappointment that NIH-funded scientists share regarding the increasing frequencies of the refusal of grant renewals, the technological innovations in biomedical research which have outpaced the NIH's ability to support research, and why Rafael-Fortney and Kelly may have been penalized, such as the scientifically adventurous aspect of their projects. An overview of the careers of Rafael-Fortney and Kelly are presented.

Narrates the author's experience in challenging the lock and key theory of scientist Emil Fischer. Concern on the need for revision of the theory; Reaction of colleagues on his arguments; Rejection of his manuscripts on the issue.

Presents a narrative of how a post-doctorate scientist took a risk by turning down a secure position to follow a challenge from a senior scientist. Speech by Lars Ernster in 1959 about the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation by L-thyroxine, the precursor to active thyroid hormone; Quick succession of unexpected results which enabled him to return to a secure career path.

Presents a first-person narrative of a scientist making a tough decision to abandon a research project on a biophysical problem. Indication that the problem remained elusive even after two years of research; Observation that a new project means the opportunity to dive into a subject in which more knowledge and experience is available.

Reports that a group of junior biology researchers in Germany submitted a joint complaint about their alleged mistreatment in a laboratory at the University of Konstanz. Frustration or overtaxing of the laboratory's junior members; Complaints of scientific misconduct; Students' allegations that evolutionary biologist and laboratory head Alex Meyer demanded honorary authorship on papers.

Presents a letter to the editor reacting to an editorial in a 2004 issue of "Nature" about the U.S. federal government's policy affecting overseas scientists.

The article outlines the efforts made by scientists to maximize their understanding of highly complex molecular interactions and provide novel insights into the world of single molecules in the U.S. Carlos Bustamante, a biophysicist at the University of California, has been developing and using optical traps for his work to investigate the effects of very small forces on biomolecules. He stressed that biologists should use such tools so that technology would move further and faster. To explore the nanoscale world, biologists integrated different technologies such as the integration of Foerster resonance energy transfer (FRET) with optical traps or carbon nanotubes with atomic force microscopy.

Presents an interview with Rolf Landua, who works on the production of anti-hydrogen atoms at CERN. Experiment of Landua as a child; Book that influenced the life of Landua; Favorite conference destination of Landua.

Interviews Shuguang Zhang, a biomedical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Influences; Career history; Views and expertise relevant to biomedical engineering.

Presents an interview of an associate professor of genetics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh Michael Purugganan. Career history; Person who had been most influential for Purugganan's career; Concept of a good scientific mentor according to Purugganan.

The interplay of superconductivity and disorder has intrigued scientists for several decades. Disorder is expected to enhance the electrical resistance of a system, whereas superconductivity is associated with a zero-resistance state. Although superconductivity has been predicted to persist even in the presence of disorder, experiments performed on thin films have demonstrated a transition from a superconducting to an insulating state with increasing disorder or magnetic field. The nature of this transition is still under debate, and the subject has become even more relevant with the realization that high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors are intrinsically disordered. Here we present numerical simulations of the superconductor–insulator transition in two-dimensional disordered superconductors, starting from a microscopic description that includes thermal phase fluctuations. We demonstrate explicitly that disorder leads to the formation of islands where the superconducting order is high. For weak disorder, or high electron density, increasing the magnetic field results in the eventual vanishing of the amplitude of the superconducting order parameter, thereby forming an insulating state. On the other hand, at lower electron densities or higher disorder, increasing the magnetic field suppresses the correlations between the phases of the superconducting order parameter in different islands, giving rise to a different type of superconductor–insulator transition. One of the important predictions of this work is that in the regime of high disorder, there are still superconducting islands in the sample, even on the insulating side of the transition. This result, which is consistent with experiments, explains the recently observed huge magneto-resistance peak in disordered thin films and may be relevant to the observation of ‘the pseudogap phenomenon’ in underdoped high-Tc superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rich set of interactions between individuals in society results in complex community structure, capturing highly connected circles of friends, families or professional cliques in a social network. Thanks to frequent changes in the activity and communication patterns of individuals, the associated social and communication network is subject to constant evolution. Our knowledge of the mechanisms governing the underlying community dynamics is limited, but is essential for a deeper understanding of the development and self-optimization of society as a whole. We have developed an algorithm based on clique percolation that allows us to investigate the time dependence of overlapping communities on a large scale, and thus uncover basic relationships characterizing community evolution. Our focus is on networks capturing the collaboration between scientists and the calls between mobile phone users. We find that large groups persist for longer if they are capable of dynamically altering their membership, suggesting that an ability to change the group composition results in better adaptability. The behaviour of small groups displays the opposite tendency—the condition for stability is that their composition remains unchanged. We also show that knowledge of the time commitment of members to a given community can be used for estimating the community’s lifetime. These findings offer insight into the fundamental differences between the dynamics of small groups and large institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the extraordinary activities performed by scientists on June 21, 2006. Morten Andersen took the census of the smallest stars of the Galaxy's most massive young cluster Westerlund I. Japan Atomic Energy Agency nuclear engineer Takafumi Aoyama consulted and calibrated a temperature monitor.

The article focuses on the monitoring of the changes in ocean currents triggered by global warming. Scientists will have access to continuous measurements gathered by twenty-two moored profilers. These profilers were prepared by the Rapid Climate Change program of the Natural Environment Research Council in Great Britain.

Offers suggestions to solve the problem of giving credit for unpublished data. Problems caused in the genome-sequencing community by posting unpublished data in publicly accessible databases; Importance of licensing agreements, to protect data from improper use; How 'Nature' magazine intends to handle submissions that may contain uncredited data.

Offers observations on female scientists. Difficulty faced by female scientists in the academic world; How male scientists are more likely to be selected as full professors; Inequality of research funding for male and female scientists; Effects on female scientists' productivity.

Discusses primary data sharing among scientists in the field of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Apparent controversy surrounding the National fMRI Data Center at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, which is a repository for brain-imaging data; Problems faced by scientists wishing to share information in the fMRI field for which a standard technique has not been developed.

Discusses the sequencing of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa by a team in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Opinion that the discovery expresses the desire and ability of the country to be a competitor in the realm of genetics; Encouragement for young scientists in developing countries; Possible applications of the discovery.

Focuses on the experiences of those involved in the investigation of science falsification allegations against former cancer researcher Friedhelm Herrmann. Causes for the disillusionment of the task force members, including evidence of data manipulation, lack of cooperation from some authors, and the lack of interest from many of the journals in which suspicious papers had been published.

Discusses the formation of a European Research Area. European research commissioner Philippe Busquin and his work in reforming European scientific research; Political structure of Europe which puts its research community at a disadvantage; Necessity of support from the member states; Calls of science members for European Union member states to open their national research programs to non-national research projects.

Discusses the increasing demand for scientists involved in physics and life sciences in the U.S. Necessary interdisciplinary collaboration among physicists and biologists; Training of postdoctoral and graduate students in applying quantitative methods to biology at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics at the University of California in San Diego; High demand for computational biologists.

Focuses on the state of research in Taiwan. Success of Taiwan in the semiconductor industry and its links to Silicon Valley; Government initiatives to lure Taiwanese researchers trained in the United States back to Taiwan; Forces that are working against the research base in Taiwan, including economic forces in both Taiwan and the US; Outlook for biotechnology research in Taiwan.

The article focuses on the leisure activities and hobbies that scientists partake in. The author discusses the competitive nature of job promotions and funding within the field of science, explores why interests outside of scientific work is important to a scientist's work-life balance, and examines several hobbies, including boxing, mountain climbing, and stand-up comedy. INSET: NOBLE PASTIMES: The secret lives of polymaths.

The article shares professional and personal goals of several scientists for 2015. Topics noted include National Aeronautic Space Administration chief scientist Ellen R. Stofan's goal of sending humans to Mars safely to inspire a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, British chief medical officer Sally Davies' mention of her desire to see international initiative on antimicrobial resistance, and chemistry professor Yi Xie's mention of collaborations across disciplines.

Small teams might be more likely to produce 'disruptive research', but science needs a wide range of group sizes to truly flourish. Small teams might be more likely to produce 'disruptive research', but science needs a wide range of group sizes to truly flourish., Author Affiliations: Embrace teams large and small to foster the health of research Small research teams are more likely to publish papers that pose new ideas, as opposed to elaborating [...]

Reports that Russian researcher Igor Sutyagin and two of his colleagues were detained on October 27, 1999 by the Russian Federal Security Service. Searching of Sutyagin's apartment in Obninsk, Russia; Removal of papers and computers; Work nature of Sutyagin and colleague Joshua Handler.

Presents the results on a study of Japanese scientists and their research. The assertion that researchers should place more emphasis on quality and less on quantity of papers they publish; Percentage of scientists who communicate with foreign researchers; Further findings of the report from the Science and Technology Agency (STA).

Eulogizes United States laser inventor Arthur Schawlow, who died on April 28, 1999. Importance of the laser; Schawlow's innovation in experimentation; His background and relationship with the author; His work in microwave spectroscopy; Building the first maser, a device that produces and amplifies microwave radiation; Schawlow's most important papers; His approach to science; Contributions to helping autistics; Awards given to Schawlow; His personality.

Discusses the efforts of scientists to make sense of scientific literature on new discoveries. Issue of inadequate attention to nomenclature; Example of the EphB2 receptor, the protein involved in signalling in the brain; How different researchers gave the receptor different names; Need for standard nomenclature.

Reports on the discussions conducted at a so-called international consensus conference on research assessment held in Capri, Italy in October 1996. The need to improve the peer review system; The increased importance of peer review in light of increasing budget cuts; The debate about objective criteria, such as citation data; The controversy surrounding the impact factor of an individual paper.

Opinion. Asserts that the government of the Czech Republic should ensure that it does not worsen its prospects for a scientific future. Young scientists discouraged; Suggestions for improvements; Laser project opportunities; Avoiding laser project delay.

The scientific community must take measures to keep preprints from distorting the public's understanding of science, says Tom Sheldon.The scientific community must take measures to keep preprints from distorting the public's understanding of science, says Tom Sheldon., Author(s): Tom SheldonAuthor Affiliations:Preprints could promote confusion and distortion Thousands of papers are submitted every month to the platforms arXiv and bioRxiv, which make manuscripts available before they have been [...]

The author discusses the approach to climate science. He says that climate science became the focus of right-wing political attack in the U.S., Australia, and Canada. He mentions that the key factor in the success of the U.S. special envoy for climate change is an effective communications strategy, which has yet to be learned or used by the climate-science community.

The author discusses the effect of counterproductive financial incentives to the scientific enterprise. She states that science is full of incentives which encourage bad financial decisions such as laboratory expansion and hiring of temporary scientists. She relates that the incentives hurt scientists, individual, and society which derive minimal return on its investment when someone is trained on a field without career prospects. She says that true social and personal cost can fix incentives.

The article discusses the use of online media by scientists in relation to public engagement and career development. Topics include monitoring search-engine results about oneself; the creation of blogs and personal websites; and the experiences of scientists including Brian Krueger, Casey Dunn, and Craig McClain with blogging. The use of the social media service Twitter is addressed. INSET: PRIVACY SETTINGS: Facebook friend or colleague?.

In this article the author discusses the importance of scientific Luddism. He states, scientists have been the biggest Luddites as they reject tons of inventions and innovations, however he states he praises the scientists for rejecting the inventions and ideas as majority of them aren't feasible. He cites the examples of chemist Henry Tizard and physicist Patrick Blackett who protested Great Britain's former prime minister Winston Churchill's war inventions.