Last month is tied with September, 2005 for the hottest September on record, according to data from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Global land and ocean temperatures exceeded the twentieth century average by 0.67 degrees Celsius. September was the 331st consecutive month this was the [...]
Dutch authorities to prosecute psychologist Diederik Stapel Dutch psychologist Diederik Stapel is under investigation by the Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecution Service) of the Netherlands for alleged fraud and misuse of government money. Authorities have confiscated Stapel’s equipment and records and are attempting to determine whether the academic misconduct for which he was fired last year [...]
The entire field of particle physics is going to switch to open-access publishing within the next few years, making almost all new research available for free. This move will be paid for by SCOAP3, an international consortium of libraries, laboratories, and research funders. The strange thing about the deal is that it will hardly change [...]
On Tuesday, Sept. 25, the state of California signed a bill into law that will allow self-driving cars on California roadways. It sounds like science fiction, but it actually won’t be long until the technology for fully autonomous vehicles is all worked out. The bill was signed at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, with [...]
This year has been an exciting time in the field of particle physics. A few months ago, scientists in China measured theta-13, a previously unknown mathematical parameter that helps explain neutrino oscillations. In March, physicists from Fermilab analyzing old data from the defunct Tevatron particle accelerator announced they had discovered a promising hint of the [...]
New coronavirus emerges Public health officials are wary as news of a new type of coronavirus emerges. The discovery of the virus was announced on Sept. 15 by Ali Mohamed Zaki of the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A 60-year-old Saudi man died of pneumonia in July and sputum samples from his [...]
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report on the research misconduct of discredited Harvard scientist Marc Hauser. Focusing on research projects supported by grants from the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institutes of Health, the ORI found six instances of misconduct, [...]
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