Molekyylibiologian emeritusprofessori, Tampereen yliopisto
The world of media has been in constant flux for over a century, with print successively supplanted by radio, broadcast TV, cable, DVDs, streaming, internet-based video and, most recently, podcasts. These are essentially the same as radio once was, though delivered by different means and available on demand rather than dictated by someone else’s scheduling....
I have always opposed blanket boycotts of countries whose governments implement policies contrary to basic human rights and dignity, or that conduct military operations in violation of international law [1]. The civil population of such countries – usually ruled by unelected regimes – are little more than innocent bystanders in such actions, and include victims...
With the pandemic well behind us, it has become common once again for us academics to travel to conferences, collaborations and courses. But at the same time travelling seems far more difficult than it used to be. How do we juggle these competing needs and constraints? On balance, I think travelling to conferences, both to...
Most of us in the world of scientific publishing agree that the integrity and reliability of the literature is under threat from many directions. One of the most perfidious is generative AI. As it improves, it will soon be capable not just of writing a paper based around ‘real’ experimental data. It will become able...
Ever since the exodus of European scientists in the 1930s, people the world over have looked up to the US as the bastion of free enquiry and intellectual ingenuity, backed up by stalwart public support for science and academia. This is the world in which I grew up, forging part of my own scientific career...
It’s very hard to write about the current state of global science without getting sucked into the whirlpool of events in the United States that is perceived by most of our colleagues as nothing short of disastrous. However, so much has been written about it already. And by the time this blogpiece goes out some...
Setting aside the growing threat to the scientific literature from outright fraud, wilful misinterpretation, undeclared conflicts of interest, low-quality peer review and malign pseudo- science, it is an inevitable fact that much of what is put into print today will turn out to be erroneous when revisited in the future. At the very least, it...
When I first joined the faculty in Tampere, a high-point of every working week was the institute seminar. Except when they were away at some other meeting, all PIs attended every time, and so did their PhD students, postdocs and other associates. Nobody was formally compelled to attend. They did so because that was what...
The landscape of scientific publishing is rapidly changing. We academics need not only to keep pace with the changes, but preferably take back control of the entire process. Having been involved with the ‘industry’ for almost 3 decades, both as author/reviewer and editor, it feels to me as if we are close to a tipping...
Recently I happened upon a group of students in the atrium of our institute, resplendent in their traditional student overalls, who were busy putting out plastic glasses and ice buckets of sparkling wine. “What are you celebrating?”I asked. They seemed a bit nonplussed, even slightly embarrassed by my question. I asked it again adding a...