NewsBlog: Fighting for the right to research Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 28th February 2006 11:31 PM GMT] Scientists from both sides of the pond are taking dramatic steps to save animal research. Days after researchers and animal rights groups staged parallel protests about the future of Oxford labs in the UK, Ohio State University primate researcher Sally Boysen and other protestors physically chained themselves to a gate outside a chimpanzee center slated for closure. ... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: More Korean research problems Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 16th February 2006 11:03 PM GMT] In the latest of a long line of developments, Columbia University appears to have withdrawn its name from a 2001 study in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine co-authored by Korean researcher Kwang Yul Cha. During the study, prayer appeared to boost the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF), even though infertile couples weren?t aware of the... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: This time, the Times may be a little off Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 14th February 2006 10:55 PM GMT] When I saw this month?s cover story earned a mention in Monday?s New York Times article called "Reporters find science journals harder to trust, but not easy to verify," my eyes lingered over both the headline of the story and the writer?s take on our article? namely, that the rocketing rate of submissions to top-tier journals was "weakening the screening process." On the one hand, I see her point. While journals appear to... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: James Hansen speaks?and maybe says too much Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 13th February 2006 11:25 PM GMT] Little did I know what a treat I was getting at last week?s conference at the New School in New York called "Politics & Science: How their interplay results in public policy." On the second day, attendees heard a meticulous synopsis of the scientific data to support the trend of global warming, presented by James Hansen, the now-beleaguered NASA climate scientist who has accused the U.S. government of suppressing his findings. Hansen ?... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Reviewing peer review Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 8th February 2006 09:19 PM GMT] Peer review is on every life scientist?s mind lately, it seems. One of the main complaints I heard while researching the February cover story is that the process is inherently difficult to investigate scientifically. Each journal has a somewhat unique system for reviewing papers, and each paper will have a unique journey through a journal?s reviewing machinery. But I?ve learned that even though peer review has obvious imperfections, it?s the... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog

Alison's blog Alison McCook Location: Philadelphia, USA Who am I? News Editor at The Scientist Previous months >>   November 2008 >>   September 2008 >>   August 2008 >>   July 2008 >>   June 2008 >>   April 2008 >>   March 2008 >>   February 2008 >>   January 2008 >>   December 2007 >>   November 2007 >>   October 2007 >>   September 2007 >>   August 2007 >>   July 2007 >>   June 2007 >>   May 2007 >>   April 2007 >>   March 2007 >>   February 2007 >>   January 2007 >>   August 2006 >>   July 2006 >>   June 2006 >>   May 2006 >>   April 2006 >>   March 2006 >>   February 2006 >>   January 2006 >>   December 2005 >>   October 2005 >>   September 2005