British Library boss unexpectedly quits amid ongoing strike. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

British Library boss unexpectedly quits amid ongoing strike (over pay) Further blow to national institution as Rebecca Lawrence steps down after just 10 months Also how good is this pic I took of the BL last week researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Sheffield Hallam apologises after halting academic’s China research V interesting case here. Laura Murphy led a research team looking at allegations Uyghur Muslims in China’s north-western region of Xinjiang were subject to forced labour. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Pretty extraordinary story here www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

‘Damascene conversion’: ex-science adviser sees light on AI. In government, Paul Monks became convinced of technology’s “transformative potential” to advise ministers. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

‘Damascene conversion’: ex-science adviser sees light on AI In government, Paul Monks became convinced of technology’s “transformative potential” to advise ministers I spoke with Monks a month after he left the UK's energy department. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Dsit allocations: ‘Agile’ R&D funding approach welcome but risky, experts say. R&D experts also question “bold” doubling of Advanced Research and Invention Agency spending. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

A two-track REF 2029, seen as increasingly likely prospect, "could create a two-tier research ecosystem with major long-term—and unnecessary—negative consequences", one sector body warns. @francesjones.bsky.social @fionamcintyre.bsky.social report www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Now free to access. Just like libraries.

‘Suffering’ British Library staff take to picket lines. Library “operating reduced service” as PCS members demand better pay, two years on from cyberattack. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

‘Suffering’ British Library staff take to picket lines I went down to the British Library picket lines yesterday. Staff are demanding an “inflation-proof” pay rise two years after a major cyberattack affected resources. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

UK ‘closing gap with US’ on conditions for university spinouts But experts say more proof-of-concept funding is needed for British universities to match international competitors www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...

How could Europe’s defence boom transform research? Via @chrisjparr.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Gulf widens between UK and rival nations on scientist visa costs Analysis for Royal Society finds UK is now 22 times pricier upfront than similar countries www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Research funding and REF reforms ‘will drive specialisation’ Government says plans for university sector in its post-16 skills and education white paper could result in “more focused volume of research” www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Invite US peers to consider Europe, EU researchers advised US biological invasions expert who crossed the Atlantic advocates for “grassroots” efforts to tempt others to follow. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Google DeepMind pulled back funding for academia in 2024 AI research firm moves from directly supporting universities (inc stopping funding for scholarships at Imperial) to partnering with a foundation to offer scholarships at 6 UK universities. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...

This is a growing problem for cultural archives, heritage databases, social statistics and scientific databases. A number of charities have (wonderfully) been stepping in, but the scale is such that governments and NGOs will surely need to collaboratively work to preserve essential data.

Genetics database hit by Trump cuts bailed out by Wellcome. Stopgap funds support UK-based researchers, but future of FlyBase in jeopardy after terminated NIH grant. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

'The British Library...has taken years to recover from a major cyberattack that disrupted its services and restricted access to its collections. The walkout is set to take from 27 October to 9 November, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of the cyberattack.'

Generative AI ‘better than citation data’ for judging research quality, finds ESRC–funded project. Project lead Mike Thelwall tells me that these initial findings suggest a potential use for AI in the REF, eliciting typically polarised reactions.

Generative AI performs better than citation data for judging quality of academic papers, suggesting a potential use for AI in the REF, according to a (preprint) study. By @francesjones.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

‘Livid’ British Library staff vote to strike over pay. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Could AI help to cut reviewers' workloads? Or is it a 'sticking plaster' being used to mask serious problems in peer review? www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

The govt is making much of the promise of AI-powered science (there's a strategy incoming) but will it primarily benefit the most research-intensive universities? Great piece from @sophieatrpn.bsky.social

There's a German research funder where staff get told they should "love failures" and being taken to court on funding decisions is good - because it shows they were taking risks. @francesjones.bsky.social speaks to Cyberagentur's Christian Hummert. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

‘US anti-science stance poses global existential threat’. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

UKRI chief: funding processes hinder ‘wacky’ ideas. Ian Chapman wants UK Research and Innovation to have more “strategic” relationship with universities. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Good to get the opportunity to ask Ian Chapman (UKRI's new CEO) a couple Qs alongside other science journalists this morning ! UKRI chief: funding processes hinder ‘wacky’ ideas www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

‘It’s bananas’: why student fee levy spells trouble for research. Funding maintenance grants through money raised from international fees leaves universities facing “awkward questions”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Rising UK visa fees have forced research-intensive universities into spending hundreds of thousands of pounds extra to recruit international staff over the last two years—with costs at individual institutions reaching as high as £2 million a year. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Royal Society rules out expelling Elon Musk after rally speech. Society president criticises billionaire’s “language of violence” but says organisation should not “police political opinions”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Good to hear @laurensullivanmp.bsky.social engage with the recently established ResearchPlus group at a Labour conference Fringe event. Member & Sussex v-c says group wanted to “find a better way... of HE than the current broken market-based system that is causing enormous damage”.

unusually big armhole

An interesting perspective, arguing that reliance is a better way to think about science than trust.

Alan Turing Institute ‘must deliver value for money’, says Vallance. Minister asked about claims universities are threatening legal action over cancelled partnerships with AI institute. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

‘Complex’ visa policy poses ‘significant barrier’ to research. Major research organisations warn of high costs and lack of flexibility, in Case report. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Breaking story by me: The Royal Society’s governing council will debate Elon Musk’s fellowship on 1 October Is Musk’s violent speech at an anti-immigration rally in London a step too far for the UK’s science academy?

Royal Society's governing council will meet on 1 October to consider expelling Elon Musk. Adrian Smith, its president, taking a new stance in light of Musk address to far-right rally in London last week. @francesjones.bsky.social with the latest. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

BREAKING: Royal Society to reconsider expelling Elon Musk Violent rhetoric in address to anti-immigration rally pushes science academy to reassess billionaire’s fellowship (Free to read) www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Looks like Musk's speech at the far-right march in London could be the last straw for the Royal Society Adrian Smith has written to fellows saying the governing council will discuss on 1 October Great reporting by @francesjones.bsky.social

Nice to interview Royal Society Faraday fellowship winner @katiefield4.bsky.social who tells me that "fungi is having a bit of a moment"

Peter Kyle’s exit as science secretary not going to halt plans for the Alan Turing Institute to refocus on defence, the institute’s chair has told an all-staff meeting. @francesjones.bsky.social with inside track again on Turing developments. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Gaza conflict: should Israel face more academic boycotts? Good to have the opportunity to explore this Q in-depth. I spoke with boycott supporters, an Israel science academy head & looked at what happened to Russia when Western academia cut links www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

AI could be used for REF, says Royal Society president. The president of the Royal Society has suggested that artificial intelligence could ease the burden placed on academics by the Research Excellence Framework and peer review. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Interview from my visit to the UK's laser facility in Didcot (aka the big doughnut)- was impressed by the breadth of what they can do there for scientific research !

Exclusive by me: US research agency upheaval costs UK universities millions Scale of disruption to British medical research caused by Trump’s science cuts revealed Been working on this (intermittently) for months www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

🚨BREAKING🚨 Patrick Vallance announces three-month pause in REF. Science minister announces hiatus but says results for next Research Excellence Framework still on track for 2029. Free to read: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

CDC turmoil under RFK Jr ‘unlike anything US has seen’. Nine ex-heads of agency condemn firing of director, as Democrat attacks “anti-science” agenda under Trump. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-usa-...

Head of Turing institute to step down after political pressure. Jean Innes is to step down following pressure from the science secretary for new leadership at the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence and data science. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...