Commentary / World Jan 22, 2019
Competitive culture brings out the worst in scientists
by Faye Flam
A Chinese researcher wanted to be a pioneer so badly that he ignored ethical boundaries; others think a Nobel is a license to rant
Commentary / World May 29, 2018
How scientists succumb to corruption and cook results
by Faye Flam
It starts with a dash of temptation. Stir in some rationalization and deception. The final and key ingredient is: stupid systems with perverse incentives.
National Jan 6, 2017
Researcher soars to second most popular job for Japanese boys
Researcher is now the second most popular job among Japanese boys, a nationwide survey of 1,100 elementary school and preschool children said Friday. Soccer player remained the top job for the seventh consecutive year, followed by police officer or detective, according to the annual survey ...
National May 30, 2016
Science Council of Japan considers overturning long-held opposition to military research
by Tomoko Otake
The nation's largest and most powerful group of scientists has started discussing lifting its decades-old ban on defense-related research as the government seeks more collaboration with civilians in the development of weapons technology. The move comes as the Defense Ministry, under the "proactive peace" policy ...
World / Science & Health Feb 12, 2016
One small 'chirp' for mankind: Scientists hear gravitational waves, proving Einstein prediction
In an announcement that electrified the world of astronomy, scientists said Thursday that they have finally detected gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time that Einstein predicted a century ago. Astronomers hailed the finding as an achievement of historic proportions, one that opens ...
World / Science & Health Jan 8, 2016
'Anthropocene' epoch mulled over Earth's human imprint but starting date eludes
The indelible imprint left by human beings on Earth has become so clear that it justifies naming a new geological epoch after mankind, experts said on Thursday. The dawn of the "Anthropocene" would signal the end of the Holocene epoch, considered to have begun 11,700 ...
National / Science & Health Dec 26, 2015
An international body of chemistry and physics is set to announce in late January whether a Japanese or joint U.S.-Russian team will be handed the naming rights for atomic element 113, a new synthetic provisionally named ununtrium, Japanese scientists said Saturday. The U.S.-Russia team first ...
World / Science & Health Jun 10, 2015
February's milky rain in Pacific Northwest laid to dry lake bed, not eruption in Japan
Scientists have finally solved the mystery of a milky rain that coated cars and raised eyebrows across a wide swath of the Pacific Northwest this February, researchers said on Tuesday. A multidisciplinary Washington State University team said they had determined that dust from the dry ...
World / Science & Health May 28, 2015
Coldest case? Spain cave yields 430,000-year-old murder mystery
This 430,000-year-old case may be the world's oldest murder mystery. Scientists on Wednesday said a fossilized skull discovered deep inside a Spanish cave shows telltale signs of homicide: two fractures inflicted by the same weapon. The skull, belonging to a primitive member of the Neanderthal lineage, ...
National / Science & Health Apr 23, 2015
Japanese, American, French researchers receive 2015 Japan Prize
Japanese flood control expert Yutaka Takahashi, and American and French gene therapy scientists received the 2015 Japan Prize at a ceremony in the presence of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo on Thursday. The Japan Prize Foundation awards the annual prize to those who ...
World / Science & Health Apr 1, 2015
Little songbird's arduous migration reaches 'brink of impossibility'
The blackpoll warbler accomplishes a mighty big feat for a such a little bird. Scientists on Tuesday documented how this songbird that weighs half an ounce (12 grams) completes an arduous nonstop flight over the Atlantic Ocean from forests in New England and eastern Canada ...
World / Science & Health Feb 13, 2015
Study sees even bigger longer droughts for much of U.S. West
As bad as recent droughts in California, the U.S. Southwest and Midwest have been, scientists say far worse "megadroughts" are coming — and they're bound to last for decades. "Unprecedented drought conditions" — the worst in more than 1,000 years — are likely to come ...