NIH abandons controversial plan to cap grants to big labs, creates new fund for younger scientists
Next Generation Researchers Initiative.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is dropping a controversial, 1-month-old plan to cap the amount of support an individual scientist can receive in order to spread funds to more investigators. Instead, the agency will eventually devote $1 billion a yearabout 3% of its $34 billion budgetspecifically to funding proposals from early- and midcareer investigators.
NIH will set aside $210 million this year to fund proposals from early- and midstage investigators who score well in peer review but fall short of the funding cutoff. The beneficiaries will include young researchers seeking their first grant, those in midcareer who are renewing an initial grant, and midcareer rising stars who are seeking a second grant what would stabilize their careers.
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The problem with scientific publishing
And how to fix it
PERIODICAL journals have been the principal means of disseminating science since the 17th century. Over the intervening three-and-a-half centuries journals have established conventions for publicationsuch as insisting on independent (and usually anonymous) peer review of submissionsthat are intended to preserve the integrity of the scientific process. But they have come under increasing attack in recent years. What is wrong with scientific publishing in journals, and how can it be fixed?.
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