Site disruption

We are doing some essential maintenance work and you will not be able to register or update your profile setting until we've finished, which should be at about 9pm this evening.

We apologise for any inconvenience - you will be able to register shortly. In the mean time you will still be able to log in as usual.

Research

Latest research news and analysis from around the world, including funding, ethics, impact, and science communication. Also includes PhD, postgraduate and early career research issues, academic publishing, interdisciplinarity and the Research Excellence Framework.

Last year’s scandal over the ministerial vetoing of Australian research grants coincided with the centenary of the fabled principle that politicians should keep out of such decisions. But with governments becoming increasingly ideological and desperate for innovation-fuelled growth, does scientific autonomy have a future? Rachael Pells investigates 

International conferences are a huge boon to academics, allowing them to hear about new findings, make new connections and, above all, enjoy the physical manifestation of their virtual global community. But is all that footfall worth the huge carbon footprint it leaves? Joanna Kidman is increasingly unsure 

 

The quality of Indian higher education outside a few elite institutions is notoriously poor, and a slew of initiatives aimed at addressing it have made little impact so far. Simon Baker analyses the data to assess the scale of the challenge and asks what more could and should be done

 

25 April