Science & Society

  1. Science & Society

    Citation inflation

    Many journals – and the authors who publish their novel data and analyses in them – rely on “impact factors” as a gauge of the importance and prestige of their work. However, a new analysis turns up subtle ways that journals can game the system to artificially inflate their impact factor.

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  2. Science & Society

    Students win big at Intel ISEF 2010

    Global high school science competition concludes with top prizes going to projects on cancer-fighting quantum dots, quantum computer algorithms and computer programming.

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  3. Science & Society

    Intel International Science and Engineering Fair begins

    Young scientists converge in San Jose, Calif., where they will compete for over $4 million in scholarships and prizes.

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  4. Science & Society

    Intel Science Talent Search spotlights America’s whiz kids

    Top winner of the enduring high school science competition takes 2010 prize for work on a space navigation system.

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  5. Science & Society

    Don’t know much about…

    A measure of U.S. science literacy has increased - to 28%

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  6. Science & Society

    Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

    In her new book, science writer Rebecca Skloot describes how Henrietta Lacks' cells changed the face of modern medical science.

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  7. Science & Society

    Science literacy: U.S. college courses really count

    Over the past two decades, science literacy in the United States – an estimate of the share of adults who can follow complex science issues and maybe even render an informed opinion on them – has nearly tripled. But – and it’s a big but -- the proportion of people who fall into this category remains small. Just 28 percent.

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  8. Science & Society

    Placement of marine reserves is key

    A study finds that focusing on the heaviest-fished areas can help meet conservation goals.

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  9. Science & Society

    In Memoriam: In life and death, a scientist brings out the best in others

    BLOG: Science News reporter Bruce Bower describes how relationship researchers gathered to honor Caryl Rusbult’s influential career after her recent death.

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  10. Science & Society

    A modest proposal for federal science spending

    President’s proposed FY 2011 budget outlines 5.9 percent increase in nondefense-related research and development funding.

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  11. Climate

    IPCC to offer climate science scholarships

    The Nobel Peace Prize will pay dividends in the developing world by funding scholarships for climate-science studies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which received the 2007 Nobel Prize, announced today that it is investing its winnings as seed money for these scholarships. They’d go to residents of nations expected to experience dramatic impacts of climate change.

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  12. Ecosystems

    Dining: Bugged on Thanksgiving

    Earlier this week, I met with Zack Lemann at the Insectarium, a roughly 18-month-old Audubon museum. He gave me a behind-the-scenes tour of its dozens of living exhibits hosting insects and more -- including tarantulas and, arriving that day for their Tuesday debut, white (non-albino) alligators. But the purpose of my noon-hour visit was to sample the local cuisine and learn details of preparations for a holiday menu that would be offered through tomorrow at the facility’s experiential cafe: Bug Appetit. There’s Thanksgiving turkey with a cornbread and wax worm stuffing, cranberry sauce with meal worms, and Cricket Pumpkin Pie. It’s cuisine most Americans would never pay for. But at the Insectarium, they don’t have to. It’s offered free as part of an educational adventure.

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