Research

‘Little universities can do’ to stop Beijing interference, as politicians on both sides of the Atlantic mull enhanced restrictions

Increase in projects featuring ‘progressive discourse’ likely to fuel criticism that academia is too left wing, study warns

Africa’s flagship university may have escaped the arson that has blighted some South African campuses but its research prowess could have gone up in smoke earlier this year when Donald Trump began slashing research funding, Cape Town’s vice-chancellor tells Jack Grove

Chinese researchers worst affected as hundreds excluded from influential ranking because of ‘extreme’ level of authorship

Timetable for phasing out testing on animals for antibody research and drug analysis is too demanding and may risk patient safety, argues expert

Strong levels of ‘instinctive’ backing for UK research cannot be taken for granted given lack of personal connection, warns science campaign group

UK delegation to Beijing paves way for ‘cautious, sensible and informed international science cooperation’ says minister

Focus switches to lifelong learning, TNE and online education as UK schools seek to overcome financial and demographic challenges

The recent skills White Paper foreshadows the shuttering of some or all research in certain UK universities. But what will the effects of that be on teaching – and on research itself? How could it be enacted? And will it even happen at all? Jack Grove reports

Economic policy is boosting political interest in science, but researchers must bear in mind the time pressures on MPs, says Tracey Brown.

Successful research projects in scheme designed to foster collaboration involve 21 US-based grantees, up from 12 in 2024

City leader outlines how government is making help available for universities to recruit top scientists and researchers

New target for study permits down to 150,000 a year as Carney’s government shows little sign of reducing pressure on overseas enrolments

Former Leicester administrator who sued Steve Coogan says ‘we need more trust in expertise’ after actor backs inquiry into university’s actions during ‘tumultuous period’

National library chief Rebecca Lawrence will be replaced by interim head Jeremy Silver with immediate effect

Majority of researchers feel greater pressure to focus on topics deemed important by government, says Elsevier survey

Financial restrictions oblige funders to reject vast numbers of sound proposals. Why not retain them for other funders to consider, asks Mikhail Spivakov

Country urged to invest in education at time of upheaval, as vice-chancellor claims student caps ‘inconsistent’ with global leadership ambitions

US climate scientist wins Maddox Prize after highlighting attempts to downplay findings about human-caused warming

Four-year allocation confirmed by science department as it signals new approach to funding research

UK told to strengthen and protect its visa offer to international scientists if it wants to achieve ambition of becoming Europe’s leading life sciences economy

Leading European institutions warn of ‘risk of instrumentalisation’ and say they should be allowed to determine their own role in bloc’s agenda

All levels of scientific research must be transparent about where grants come from to avoid ‘manipulation and bias’, global science group says

As European nations thrash out ideas to ‘safeguard’ knowledge, Australian progress has stalled, expert warns

Low wages and system reforms blamed as gap opens up between number of older scientists and new entrants

Social sciences funding would be best spent on narrower calls. But would it dry up if we stopped pretending we can save the world, asks Andreas Schedler  

Association to all parts of EU framework funding programme ‘historic step’, Egyptian ministry says

‘Significant’ number of institutions predicted to drop deals with main scholarly imprints, leaving journal access much reduced

The European Research Area was first proposed 25 years ago in the hope of levelling up Europe’s national research systems and challenging global rivals. Implementing that vision has been achingly slow, but with legislation pending, is serious progress now realistic? Emily Dixon reports

Technology can be used to offer vital research experience and create inclusive curricula, according to physicist Jess Wade

Researcher says course at Sorbonne did not require clearance, but university decided to conduct screening anyway

‘Transformative’ change will not happen unless panel outlines ‘coherent’ vision for R&D, representative bodies warn

Measuring researchers’ output mass against their body mass will incentivise even harder running on the academic treadmill, says Dariusz Jemielniak

Survey of more than 3,000 researchers by Cambridge University Press reveals widespread concerns over the rise of ChatGPT-assisted papers

Dean hopes new model for postgraduate study in Asia will influence education in the region more broadly

Bosnian-born president of University of Connecticut says her unusual academic career shows how US promotes outsiders like no other country

Success of two health spin-outs from UCL and Cambridge helps drive value of deals higher in 2024

Knowledge transfer should include the university itself, says thinktank after identifying disconnect between managers and those who study them

Even as the US shrinks and narrows trials, the need for this research continues. Other countries can and must step in, says Stephen Jane

Nation’s high research quality score is in spite of second-lowest share of internationally co-authored papers  

Russell Group calls for long-term partnerships to be secured amid political uncertainty

Sethuraman Panchanathan says research funder and scientists must improve ‘storytelling’ as agency faces $5 billion cuts

Demonstrating research impact more clearly will reverse falling public support for higher education, argues scholar turned education minister

Voters more likely to support pro-immigration messages for the R&D sector when they are ‘inspiring’ and don’t paint the UK as ‘passive’

New chief executive of UK Research and Innovation sets out how relationship with universities could change

An AHRC scheme based at Northumbria simplifies application, widens participation and maximises dissemination, say Katy Shaw and Rachel Connor

Otago v-c Grant Robertson says overhaul of New Zealand’s research assessment exercise combined with dire sector finances could present a ‘double whammy’ for some subjects

As the regulations governing FP10 are thrashed out, there is a risk that industrial policy will taint the programme’s USP, says Jan Palmowski

The panel’s overriding concern is to ensure that research is used productively. But observers worry that pushing universities to specialise in centrally determined ‘focus areas’ risks inadvertently turning them, in effect, into government agencies. John Ross reports

Coming together of 10 research-led universities not a ‘self-serving’ mission group, say vice-chancellors

UCL professor Alice Sullivan, who led review into how biological sex is captured in data collection, is vying for Nature-led award

Commission confirmation that €400 billion competitiveness budget will not fund research and innovation sparks outcry

Academic life was a lot simpler in the humanities and social sciences when simply finding a document guaranteed originality, says Disha

Successor to Horizon Europe still at risk of being overly influenced by political priorities including defence, say leading university groups

Clear policies, transparent disclosure and shared accountability are essential to protect the integrity of research, says George Chalhoub

Researchers replicate impact of Trump’s cuts on previous decades, identifying steep drop in medical innovations

The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should the changes be? Should there be any at all? Is it time to start again? We present five very different views

With the veteran BBC presenter leaving the landmark Radio 4 show, some say the job should next go to one of a growing breed of academic broadcasters

Registration requirements and compact negotiations would be reformed to funnel universities into ‘focus areas’, under panel’s draft proposals

Results of the fifth annual Knowledge Exchange Framework show research-intensive institutions performed most strongly on intellectual property and commercialisation