How many scientists fabricate and falsify research?

It's a long-standing and crucial question that, as yet, remains unanswered: just how common is scientific misconduct? In the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE, Daniele Fanelli of the University of Edinburgh reports the ...

A clear, molecular view of how human color vision evolved

Many genetic mutations in visual pigments, spread over millions of years, were required for humans to evolve from a primitive mammal with a dim, shadowy view of the world into a greater ape able to see all the colors in a ...

Keeping warm: Coordinated movements in a penguin huddle

To survive temperatures below -50 C and gale-force winds above 180 km/h during the Antarctic winter, Emperor penguins form tightly packed huddles and, as has recently been discovered – the penguins actually coordinate ...

Is the p-value pointless?

For the first time in its 177-year history, the American Statistical Association (ASA) has voiced its opinion and made specific recommendations for a statistical practice. The subject of their ire? The (arguably) most common ...

Criteria for funding and promotion lead to bad science

Scientists are trained to carefully assess theories by designing good experiments and building on existing knowledge. But there is growing concern that too many research findings may in fact be false. New research publishing ...

Intertwined evolution of human brain and brawn

The cognitive differences between humans and our closest living cousins, the chimpanzees, are staggeringly obvious. Although we share strong superficial physical similarities, we have been able to use our incredible mental ...

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