OMG science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 day agoUnlikely paths to discovery
Space hotels have been envisioned since the 1950s, but none have been realized despite multiple ambitious plans and predictions.
Iranian researchers are in a difficult situation. Those in Iran face low wages, high inflation, sociopolitical instability, resource mismanagement, oppression by the authorities and long-standing international sanctions. High prices hinder conference attendance, as do difficulties obtaining visas. Unstable Internet connections, frequent power outages and lack of access to scholarly sources jeopardize collaborations. Scholars also have to contend with isolation, and sometimes biases, from the international community. And for those who work abroad, travelling to and from Iran is risky, even with visas and double citizenship.
Many researchers are surprised and relieved over an unusual step taken by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH): the agency is rolling back the red tape on a host of basic-science experiments that involved human participants and had been classified as clinical trials. The decision, which was announced on 29 January and is part of a broader NIH effort to reduce administrative burden, should free such research from the heavy bureaucratic requirements that are designed for clinical trials but are sometimes ill-suited to other fields, such as basic psychology and behavioural studies.
Last November, the UK government announced a bold plan to phase out animal testing in some areas of research. Animal tests for skin irritation are scheduled for elimination this year, and some studies on dogs should be slashed by 2030. The long-term vision is 'a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances'.
Calling nanoscientists: your field needs you to try to replicate a landmark finding that quantum dots can act as biosensors inside living cells. As part of the first large-scale effort in the physical sciences to tackle the reproducibility crisis, researchers in France and the Netherlands are offering funds and resources in exchange for a few months of work. "We are trying to use