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Science is humanity's best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence. We discuss how the resulting anti-science movement puts the research community, scientific research, and pandemic preparedness at risk.

Analyses of inequalities related to prevention and cancer therapeutics/care show disparities between countries with different economic standing, and within countries with high Gross Domestic Product. The development of basic technological and biological research provides clinical and prevention opportunities that make their implementation into healthcare systems more complex, mainly due to the growth of Personalized/Precision Cancer Medicine (PCM). Initiatives like the USA-Cancer Moonshot and the EU-Mission on Cancer and Europes Beating Cancer Plan are initiated to boost cancer prevention and therapeutics/care innovation and to mitigate present inequalities. The conference organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the European Academy of Cancer Sciences discussed the inequality problem, dependent on the economic status of a country, the increasing demands for infrastructure supportive of innovative research and its implementation in healthcare and prevention programs. Establishing translational research defined as a coherent cancer research continuum is still a challenge. Research has to cover the entire continuum from basic to outcomes research for clinical and prevention modalities. Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCCs) are of critical importance for integrating research innovations to preclinical and clinical research, as for ensuring state-of-the-art patient care within healthcare systems. International collaborative networks between CCCs are necessary to reach the critical mass of infrastructures and patients for PCM research, and for introducing prevention modalities and new treatments effectively. Outcomes and health economics research are required to assess the cost-effectiveness of new interventions, currently a missing element in the research portfolio. Data sharing and critical mass are essential for innovative research to develop PCM. Despite advances in cancer research, cancer incidence and prevalence is growing. Making cancer research infrastructures accessible for all patients, considering the increasing inequalities, requires science policy actions incentivizing research aimed at prevention and cancer therapeutics/care with an increased focus on patients needs and cost-effective healthcare.

Now more than ever, complex socio-ecological challenges require timely and integrated responses from scientists and policymakers. Air quality is one such challenge. Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency establishes ambient air quality standards to protect public welfare from known or anticipated adverse effects of air pollutants. As our understanding of the environment and awareness of social values grow, there is a need to improve characterization of "adversity to the public welfare." Scientific assessment can link ecological effects to public welfare using modern scientific approaches that incorporate ecological complexity and multiple value systems held by the public. We propose ideas for the future of scientific assessments meant to inform air quality and other environmental decision-making, including concrete ways we can focus on vulnerable species and ecosystems, incorporate a multiplicity of values, climate and multiple stressors, and partner to diversify the knowledge upon which protective policies are based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 20 years of stagnation, federal scholarships have finally been increased within the new budget of the Canadian government. Tuition fees, inflation, and costs of living kept rising, which has resulted a rising number of graduate students in the life sciences living below poverty line, despite working far more than 40 h a week on science research in Canada. This does not only negatively affect the students research projects and thus science and innovation in Canada, but also their downstream decisions on whether to continue a research career in Canada and what jobs and economic endeavors to pursue. Graduate students are not just a line item in the budgets of universities, but integral for science and innovation, as well as the future high-quality personnel of the country. This importance should be reflected in all stipends and salaries of graduate students, not just the ones with a government scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terminology of "Chinese characteristics" (zhongguo tese) is ubiquitous in China's political language, but its precise definition remains elusive. This study focuses specifically on the mobilising of the idea of Chinese characteristics of China's science evaluation programme: the China Discipline Evaluation (CDE). Implemented as an instrument of the higher education reform since 1978, it still plays a vital role in China today. This paper is structured into three parts. It begins by laying out the broad landscape of the science evaluation systems across several countries including China, to distil the distinctiveness of the CDE. Then, it moves to focus on the CDE and locates it in its historical and social-political context. Finally, it investigates the origin and use of Chinese characteristics, suggesting that this terminology functions as a rhetoric modality which describes, labels, and legitimates seemingly self-contradictory phenomena exclusive to China. It also emphasises the idea of Chinese exceptionalism that is touted as irreducible to other cultural forms. Based on these considerations, it proposes three dimensions of the Chinese characteristics of the CDE: (i) the paradoxical status of the evaluation agency, (ii) the co-existence of contradictory values embedded in the objectives and criteria of the evaluation, and (iii) the promotion of the visibility of the idea of China at the international stage. Overall, it shows that while the CDE may appear to be a decentralisation instrument, it is in essence a "hegemonic project" and "hegemonic apparatus" to fulfil the party-state's ambition in securing domestic stability and pursuing international competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global initiatives to consider sex as a biological variable (SABV) in experimental design arrived during a period of exciting technological innovation for the field of behavioral neuroscience. The field's historical reliance on male rodents has resulted in standard paradigms that are both overly simple and focused on male-biased behaviors, risking inaccurate interpretations when females are used. Reports of experimental effects in males but not females are becoming common, and the examination of additional metrics that better tap into female-biased behaviors may be required to improve experimental rigor. Experiments that appear to 'fail' in females can also be followed up with investigations into female-specific mechanisms that may suppress effects normally observed in males. New machine learning approaches offer a promising means by which the sophistication of behavioral assays can catch up to that of our tools, allowing unbiased evaluation of behavior in both sexes. The field of rodent behavioral neuroscience is undergoing two major sea changes: an ever-growing technological revolution, and worldwide calls to consider sex as a biological variable (SABV) in experimental design. Both have enormous potential to improve the precision and rigor with which the brain can be studied, but the convergence of these shifts in scientific practice has exposed critical limitations in classic and widely used behavioral paradigms. While our tools have advanced, our behavioral metrics – mostly developed in males and often allowing for only binary outcomes – have not. This opinion article explores how this disconnect has presented challenges for the accurate depiction and interpretation of sex differences in brain function, arguing for the expansion of current behavioral constructs to better account for behavioral diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the criterion for distinguishing countries is their use of technology in different dimensions of development. The role of research in achievement of sustainable development goals has been recognized. The present study tried to assessment the alignment of the Iran's biotechnology scientific outputs with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. The current research is practical in terms of its purpose and it was carried out with a scientometric perspective, which used library methods to develop theoretical foundations and retrospective bibliometric analysis to collect data. The statistical population is all the Iranian researchers’ scientific outputs indexed in the Scopus in the field of "Biotechnology" from 2012 to 2021. For analyzing the Iran's biotechnology papers in line with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, Scival data has been extracted. Examination of the alignment of Iran's scientific outputs in biotechnology with the goals of sustainable development. Accordingly, "Good Health and Well-Being" had the highest volume and percentage of publications in this field. In this way, Iran's strength is in terms of the quantity of scientific activities in biotechnology in order to achieve the desired goals. "Climate Action" and "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions" had Field-Weighted Citation Impact (1.57), and citations counts received in the goal of "Good Health and WellBeing" (1392118) was more than other domains. Therefore, these three categories are the strength of the country in terms of the quality of scientific outputs in biotechnology and in accordance with the goals of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision medicine was included in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020) as a strategic emerging industry. Drawing primarily on bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on Web of Science and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases, I examine trends in publications, multi-country collaboration networks, sources of funding, and influential institutions in precision medicine. Through this mapping of the precision medicine field in China, this paper discusses the role of the Chinese state as well as the U.S.-China relationship in fostering research around precision medicine in China. The analysis identifies the diversity of state funding forces, the strength and centrality of U.S.-China scientific collaborations, and the widespread popularity of precision medicine in China. It ends with brief lessons that we can draw from the example of precision medicine in China for science and industrial policies.

Few studies have explored how science communication projects are evaluated and what impact they have. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing the results of science communication projects carried out by academics. Drawing on the theory of change and evaluation models, possible results of science communication projects are conceptually distinguished at the levels of outputs, outcomes, and impacts. The study draws on a dataset of 128 science communication projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation from 2012 to 2022. Quantitative content analysis reveals few rigorous evaluation designs and a focus on reporting outputs, while outcomes and societal impacts are often neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethical standards for the responsible conduct of human research have come a long way; however, concerns surrounding equity remain in human genetics and genomics research. Addressing these concerns will help society realize the full potential of human genomics research. One outstanding concern is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from research on human participants. Several international bodies have recognized that benefit-sharing can be an effective tool for ethical research conduct, but international laws, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing, explicitly exclude human genetic and genomic resources. These agreements face significant challenges that must be considered and anticipated if similar principles are applied in human genomics research. We propose that benefit-sharing from human genomics research can be a bottom-up effort and embedded into the existing research process. We propose the development of a "benefit-sharing by design" framework to address concerns of fairness and equity in the use of human genomic resources and samples and to learn from the aspirations and decade of implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Formación Universitaria is the property of Centro de Informacion Tecnologica (CIT) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As relatively new economies to the global research arena, East Asian nations have fully realized the importance of research integrity in recent decades. This article conducts document analysis to demonstrate and discuss the current situation of research integrity campaigns in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, nations that have similar cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. This article emphasizes the common situations faced by these three nations both individually and collectively. Based on a four-pillar framework, research integrity campaigns in these nations are making progress in terms of policies and regulations, institutional management, researchers' education and training, and the handling of misconduct cases. Various issues and challenges have also emerged in this context, although these efforts may have had positive impacts on research communities in these three nations. Challenges associated with research integrity governance, institutional willingness, RCR instructor qualifications, the effectiveness of education, and the standardization of definitions of misconduct and noncompliance are also highlighted. The issues discussed in this article are expected to have implications for research communities and policy-makers in these three nations as well as in a global context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supporting the basic research or using the results of the ones have been carried out in other countries (especially developed ones), as well as the manner and the extent of support in such a way that it has the greatest socio-economic effects, has always been one of the concerns of science policymakers. Although many of the researches conducted in Iran universities are basic ones, there is no independent institution to direct and support this type of researches. Given that the most relevant institution for supporting basic research in Iran is the National Science Foundation of Iran, the study of the issues related to supporting basic research in this institution has been considered to answer the research question. In this research, with the aim of achieving a policy model for the development and support of basic research in Iran, a qualitative research method with an exploratory strategy was used, and a semi-structured interview method was used to collect data. In addition, data triangulation and researcher triangulation have been used to ensure the validity of the research. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 13 experts, scientific policy and a number of university faculty members. Based on the analysis, the policy model for the development of basic research in Iran includes components such as determining the topic, variety of programs, evaluation system, incentive system and applicability of the research results. It is also suggested to consider a competitive grant system to support basic research; both the priorities of the policy maker and the preferences of the researchers should be considered in choosing and supporting the projects; and while enhancing the peer review system, new methods and technologies should be employed to evaluate projects, proposals, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Soils, just like all other ecosystem compartments, change over time and, consequently, conditions for soil‐inhabiting organisms are also changing, affecting their composition and diversity. Soil biodiversity is a critical component of ecosystems that supports many essential ecosystem functions and services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, water regulation and biomass production for food, fodder, fibre and energy. However, and despite the importance of soil biodiversity for ecosystem health and human well‐being, neither current state, drivers, potential consequences for ecosystem services nor options for sustainable governance of soil biodiversity are well understood. Here, we provide a framework for and argue that conducting a national assessment of soil biodiversity, albeit being a complex endeavour, is fundamental to building a baseline to understand the current state and trends of soil biodiversity, but also to identify the main drivers of change, the impacts of soil biodiversity loss and the potential pathways for conservation and sustainable governance of soil biodiversity.

Widely promoted by the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s and 1960s, university research reactors allowed faculty to experiment with neutron scattering, advancing our understanding of organic and inorganic materials. These advances led to innovations in commercial products, including automobiles, computers, medicine, and batteries. However, since the 1980s, more than half of all the university research reactors have been decommissioned and remaining reactors are ill-suited for modern needs. RTI International assembled a team of economists, neutron scientists, and policy analysts to examine the history of university research reactor policy in the USA, assess barriers to greater usage, and consider how US policy differs from those in other countries. We present three policy options to enhance the role of university research reactors in federal research and the national science infrastructure landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the year 2000, cancer research in Europe had the potential to make a difference as it had several unique strengths, such as a strong foundation in biomedical science, good patient registries, infrastructures that spanned from biological repositories to bioinformatic hubs as well as thriving Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs) and basic/preclinical cancer research institutions of high international standing. Research, however, was fragmented and lacked coordination. As a result, Europe could not harness its potential for translating basic research discoveries into a clinical setting for the patients' benefit. What was needed was a paradigm shift in cancer research that addressed the translational research continuum. Along these lines, in 2000, European Union (EU) Commissioner Philippe Busquin established the European Research Area (ERA) and in 2002 the European Cancer Research Area (ECRA), and their political approval was a powerful catalyst for the increased involvement of scientists in science policy in the EU. In this report, we briefly describe the actions embraced by the cancer community and cancer organizations in response to Busquin's proposals that led to the creation of the EU Mission on Cancer (MoC) in Horizon 2020 in 2021.

Scientists and funding agencies invest considerable resources in writing and evaluating grant proposals. But do grant proposal texts noticeably change panel decisions in single blind review? We report on a field experiment conducted by The Dutch Research Council (NWO) in collaboration with the authors in an early-career competition for awards of 800,000 euros of research funding. A random half of panelists were shown a CV and only a one-paragraph summary of the proposed research, while the other half were shown a CV and a full proposal. We find that withholding proposal texts from panelists did not detectibly impact their proposal rankings. This result suggests that the resources devoted to writing and evaluating grant proposals may not have their intended effect of facilitating the selection of the most promising science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the link between a country's average citation impact and both national research assessment and international collaboration. Our analysis finds little synchrony between national policies and performance change. We do find extensive, synchronous, cross-national change, however, despite a diversity of national research strategies. Specifically, during 1981–2020, there are synchronous cross-national changes in bilateral, and later multilateral, collaboration. We deconstruct the citation indicators and show that the average citation impact of domestic research and of collaborative research changes little for most countries. Net increases in average national citation impact have instead been driven by rising collaboration and the emerging global network. Greater collaboration enables greater subject diversity, contributes to convergence of subjects, and influences performance indicators. Coincidentally, it also results in all large nations apparently achieving higher average impact than the world average. These effects suggest a need both to strengthen policy analysis of the global context and to construct proper performance indicators when developing research strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the perception of academic communities—both stationed in Nepal and abroad— on various aspects of research environment in Nepal and the challenges in carrying out research here. It further seeks to explore the relationship between different levels of research satisfaction, publications, funding and work experience. Here, we present the results of online questionnaire survey of 472 researchers from 47 countries who published research articles and collaborated with Nepal based researchers. A significantly high proportion of researchers stationed in Nepal reported an unfavourable research environment compared to their foreign counterparts. There were, however, no significant differences between the proportion of respondents stationed in Nepal and abroad who had favourable and neutral views on the research environment in Nepal. Researchers who were satisfied and very satisfied with their own performance had a favourable view on Nepal's research environment. Lack of funding was the most agreed challenge among all researchers whereas "no government policies" received the most support from researchers based in foreign countries, and "no research culture", "research facilities" obtained more responses from Nepal based researchers. With the exception of very dissatisfied ones, the number of publications, years in research experience and total funding (median) increased gradually from 'not satisfied" to 'very satisfied' in both Nepal and foreign country-based researchers. Nepal based researchers published significantly fewer journal articles as lead authors compared to their foreign counterparts. They received a high proportion of funding from international grants and often self-funded their research projects. It is crucial to address funding challenges and foster a supportive research culture to enhance the research environment in Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have become increasingly dissatisfied with how science funding is distributed. Traditional grant funding processes are seen as stifling the creativity of researchers, in addition to being bureaucratic, slow, and inefficient. Consequently, there have been increasing popular calls to make "fast funding" – fast, unbureaucratic grant applications – a new standard for scientific funding. Though this approach to funding, implemented by Fast Grants, has been successful as a pandemic response strategy, we believe there are serious costs to its wide-scale adoption, particularly for transparency and equity, and that the purported benefits – increased creativity and efficiency – are unlikely to materialize. While traditional funding mechanisms are certainly not perfect, scientific communities should think twice before adopting fast funding as a new standard for funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the year 2000, cancer research in Europe had the potential to make a difference as it had several unique strengths, such as a strong foundation in biomedical science, good patient registries, infrastructures that spanned from biological repositories to bioinformatic hubs as well as thriving Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs) and basic/preclinical cancer research institutions of high international standing. Research, however, was fragmented and lacked coordination. As a result, Europe could not harness its potential for translating basic research discoveries into a clinical setting for the patients' benefit. What was needed was a paradigm shift in cancer research that addressed the translational research continuum. Along these lines, in 2000, European Union (EU) Commissioner Philippe Busquin established the European Research Area (ERA) and in 2002 the European Cancer Research Area (ECRA), and their political approval was a powerful catalyst for the increased involvement of scientists in science policy in the EU. In this report, we briefly describe the actions embraced by the cancer community and cancer organizations in response to Busquin's proposals that led to the creation of the EU Mission on Cancer (MoC) in Horizon 2020 in 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Actual Problems of Jurisprudence / Habaršy. Zan̦ Seriâsy is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The transition to the market economy, which began in Russia more than 30 years ago, has dramatically affected the performance of the Russian academic sphere. The market transformation in the country coincided with significant changes in the global academia. Bureaucratization and obsession with performance indicators have been very welcomed by the Russian system and have been incorporated in various academic excellence programs adopted in the country. A closer look at these programs reveals that the real driving force behind the initiatives is not public spiritedness of the country's policymakers but wishes of various groups to be engaged in the rent-seeking activities of contemporary Russia. The present paper focuses on the interplay between the predatory publishing industry and the apparent encouragement of fraudulent practices by some universities in Russia. It highlights the problem of "predatory universities" and explains the evolution of such strategies in the academic sphere of the country. The Russian case allows to look at the problems of the global academia from a new angle. It should be acknowledged that the predatory publishing industry is much greater than it seems within the initial "open access" model. It is clear that the authors are very often not less predators than the publishers, and this predatory ecosystem has been significantly expanded beyond the merely publisher-author interactions. Moreover, the noticeable players in these predatory markets are universities and governments that play with the systems designed by the leading citation databases and global ranking organisations, which apparently also benefit from these arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is wide agreement among scholars in research policy that the position of the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in interdisciplinary research is not as good as it should be. Academics give many reasons why SSH fields should become more active collaborators in interdisciplinarity, including the capacity within these disciplines to introduce new research questions and to make interdisciplinary research more ethically and societally grounded. This article assesses the conditions attached to 127 recent funding programmes for interdisciplinary and crossdisciplinary research. The findings indicate that the exclusion of SSH from interdisciplinary fields is an ongoing problem in research funding. Furthermore, when given funding, SSH disciplines are less likely to be given the opportunity to connect their research questions and targets solely to the advancement of knowledge. These priorities increase the likelihood of SSH disciplines contributing to multidisciplinary research rather than focusing on interdisciplinarity with knowledge integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are worries about the quality of scientific research, the validity of the knowledge it produces and the integrity of academics. What is lacking in the debate is what scientists have to say and what they do to create and safeguard what they see as 'good science'. Using Dutch academia as a case, we show that the academics' understandings of scientific practice differ in vital ways from those of policy makers. Policy maker's understanding of academia as a competitive marketplace to foster innovative research disturbs the everyday ethics and creativity of scientific work according to the scientists, who see academia as a collective practice aimed at understanding the world in which tradition and innovation have to find a balance. We conclude that this misunderstanding and its consequences do more to damage research integrity than fraudulent activities of individual researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science students face specific challenges associated with their field of study. The purpose of this study was to assess science students’ use of support services and programs, identify barriers to use and group differences, determine professors’ and staff’s familiarity with programs and solicit ideas from all participants about what programming changes should be made. Survey questions were completed by 308 students and 40 staff and professors in our institution’s Faculty of Science. Students’ participation rates and professors’ and staff’s familiarity with programs ranged significantly but most services were rated as helpful by both groups. Few demographic group differences emerged in program use. Participants recommended a number of improvements to the Faculty of Science including strengthening mental health awareness and support services, fostering student engagement in science, building students’ relationships with professors and cultivating a healthy learning environment. Implications for program development in science faculties are considered.

Analyses of inequalities related to prevention and cancer therapeutics/care show disparities between countries with different economic standing, and within countries with high Gross Domestic Product. The development of basic technological and biological research provides clinical and prevention opportunities that make their implementation into healthcare systems more complex, mainly due to the growth of Personalized/Precision Cancer Medicine (PCM). Initiatives like the USA‐Cancer Moonshot and the EU‐Mission on Cancer and Europe's Beating Cancer Plan are initiated to boost cancer prevention and therapeutics/care innovation and to mitigate present inequalities. The conference organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the European Academy of Cancer Sciences discussed the inequality problem, dependent on the economic status of a country, the increasing demands for infrastructure supportive of innovative research and its implementation in healthcare and prevention programs. Establishing translational research defined as a coherent cancer research continuum is still a challenge. Research has to cover the entire continuum from basic to outcomes research for clinical and prevention modalities. Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCCs) are of critical importance for integrating research innovations to preclinical and clinical research, as for ensuring state‐of‐the‐art patient care within healthcare systems. International collaborative networks between CCCs are necessary to reach the critical mass of infrastructures and patients for PCM research, and for introducing prevention modalities and new treatments effectively. Outcomes and health economics research are required to assess the cost‐effectiveness of new interventions, currently a missing element in the research portfolio. Data sharing and critical mass are essential for innovative research to develop PCM. Despite advances in cancer research, cancer incidence and prevalence is growing. Making cancer research infrastructures accessible for all patients, considering the increasing inequalities, requires science policy actions incentivizing research aimed at prevention and cancer therapeutics/care with an increased focus on patients' needs and cost‐effective healthcare.

The Brazilian Amazon is one of Earth’s most biodiverse and ecologically important regions. However, research investments for biodiversity in the biome are disproportionately low compared with other regions of Brazil. In 2022, the Amazon received 13% of master's, doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships and hosted 11% of all researchers working in biodiversity postgraduate programs. Amazonian institutions received approximately 10% of all federal budget spent on grants and scholarships and about 23% of all resources destined to support long-term ecological sites. The cities of Manaus and Belém concentrate about 90% of all grants and scholarships available for the entire region. Despite per capita research investment in the Amazon being equal to or better than that available for the more economically developed regions of Brazil, the distribution of resources by area is highly unequal. Increasing research funding for the Amazon region requires differential input by federal agencies and more transnational collaborations and integration between Amazonian programs and international funds.

Despite prevalent diversity and inclusion programs in STEM, gender biases and stereotypes persist across educational and professional settings. Recognizing this enduring bias is crucial for achieving transformative change on gender equity and can help orient policy toward more effective strategies to address ongoing disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on scientists working with CRISPR in Norway, where genetic modification is thought to be a particularly stigmatized technology with strict regulation and a strong consumer skepticism. Drawing on actor–network theory, we investigate the translation work these scientists perform to mobilize CRISPR as a more legitimate technology and how they relate to society's perception of GMO. We find that the scientists make co-productions of CRISPR as a 'more controllable' and 'socially useful' technology and show how they attempt to mobilize industry, farmers, media, politicians, and youth by (1) distinguishing CRISPR from GMO, (2) assuring the consumers of CRISPR's safety, and (3) creating trust through openness about the risks. We conclude that the scientists' efforts are twofold; they work on solving societal challenges, as well as making continuous efforts to manage their relationship to society. An important part of this work was seen as providing knowledge and creating 'new understandings' about CRISPR; however, if research should take place in conversation with society's views and opinions, we suggest that the scientists should enter into a two-way dialog with the consumers about these definitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In European universities of applied sciences (UASs), the intensity of research activities and the level of differentiation from universities vary across countries. We investigate whether the differentiation in the research function of UASs is reflected in their participation in the European Union Framework Programs for Research and Innovation (EU-FPs). We focus on the current and former UASs in four higher education systems with distinct levels of differentiation—the UK, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Our results show significant cross-country differences in the intensity and type of EU-FP projects acquired. The former UASs in the UK and Norway had a participation profile similar to that of universities. In more differentiated higher education systems, Swiss and Dutch UASs were more geared toward applied projects. Variations both across and within countries emphasize the importance of research capacities. Our results carry implications for how national and European authorities can foster UAS participation in EU-FPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the quantitative changes in the publishing of Lithuanian scientific journals from 2015 to 2022. The research, aiming to comprehensively examine the printed and electronic scientific journals published by the public and private sectors, revealed state bibliographic accounting and terminology issues. The identified gaps and ambiguities allow for the improvement of official publishing accounting, avoiding ambiguities in assessing the volume of scientific journal publishing in the future. Science policymakers and implementers should take the initiative to standardize the definition of scientific journals, as only in this way would there be a clearer attitude towards this form of scientific communication. Although the annual volumes of scientific journal publishing decreased by 18.1% (decreasing from 265 in 2015 to 217 publications in 2022), the drop was not abrupt. The decline was stabilized by business involvement, increased publishing activities of colleges, and the transformation of professional journals, book series, and conference proceedings into scientific journals. Flexibility was provided by electronic publishing tools, reducing dependence on external financial sources. The public publishing sector tended to reduce the number of scientific journals in all scientific fields. This was mainly influenced by the restructuring of the higher university sciences network, qualitative requirements for scientific articles, and the reorganization of scientific teams. The publishing business saw the greatest potential in the fields of technology and medical and health sciences, so the volumes of journals in these scientific fields have not decreased and continued to grow. Despite the growth trends of the private sector, 50% of the journals count 30 or more years of publishing. This forms the core of Lithuanian scientific journals, which public sector publishers seek to preserve and integrate into the international scientific environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of language for research publication is a strategic decision that balances such issues as efficient communication of results to the target audience, requirements of the grant agency, the guidelines of desirable publication venues, and promotion criteria. Previous studies have shown that social sciences and humanities (SSH) scholars tend to communicate research in at least two languages and that they increasingly publish in English in addition to national languages. Evidence for disciplinary differences in publication languages in the SSH comes primarily from bibliometric studies that span short evaluative periods. This study aims to provide a complementary perspective on the lifelong publication practices in the SSH in one national context, using data obtained in a survey carried out in Polish universities. Its main objective is to assess the degree of multilingualism of individual disciplines and academic seniority groups, establish which languages are used, and set the results in the context of country- and institution-level science policies. The results show that while all the disciplines are oriented toward internationalization, they have developed distinctive practices reflecting their engagement with locally relevant topics, involvement with projects on the regional or supranational level, and participation in global research. They also show that by prioritizing publication in top-tier international venues across the board, current science policies do not adequately consider disciplinary practices and target audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, bioengineering has seen a sustained growth in scientific publications, patents, and clinical trials. As the field attempts to bridge the gap between discovery and clinical application, a broader societal dialogue is needed to build public trust and address potential ethical, societal, and regulatory challenges. In this essay, we discuss societal aspects linked to the clinical use of biomedical engineering approaches and technologies, with a specific focus on molecular systems engineering. Drawing on data from interviews with 24 scientists, we identified four key aspects for fostering societal support for translational efforts in this domain: (1) effective science communication and internal awareness; (2) open societal dialogue; (3) fair and equitable access to new technologies; and (4) adequate science and technology policies. We conclude that molecular systems engineering would benefit from anticipating future challenges with the view of building a robust bond of trust with lay publics, regulators, and society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]