The ways of science

"After announcing that neutrinos travelled 60 nanoseconds faster than light, the OPERA (Oscillation project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus) team has recently identified certain flaws, pertaining to the novel use of the global positioning system (GPS) in particle physics to synchronise the atomic clocks "

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The ways of science: Regardless of whether a rerun of the experiment proves or disproves the initial result, the entire exercise has gone a long way in showcasing the way science operates.

This work has shown what is so basic to science — even the most fundamental laws of science will often be challenged by scientists using the most sophisticated instruments and experiments. After all, independent verification and replication of the results are central to science.

Fatal attraction

"Plagiarism is a curse that afflicts every endeavour where pen is put to paper — journalism, literature and academic research — but when it shows up in the world of science, the consequences can be far more damaging. At stake are not just individual reputations but the robustness of scholarly findings. That is why every effort must be made to stamp out the rot. "

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Fatal attraction:  One of the ironies of our times is that the computer makes both plagiarism and its detection easier than ever.

End Of Meat?

Scientists are making it in the lab

End Of Meat

-The Times of India, February 22, 2012

The rot in India's scientific establishment

In a recently concluded and published report from the expert panel setup by the PM Manmohan Singh, former Isro chief Madhavan Nair was suspended from holding any critical posts in the scientific establishment, primarily due to alleged favouritism in the Antrix-Devas deal...

In the wake of such a scandal, Parsa Venkateshwar Rao analyses the entire scientific scenario of this country...

"The Antrix-Devas deal is not about corruption alone. The loss due to the favouritism shown to Devas, a company floated by a former Isro scientist to use the S-band spectrum and the commitment by Isro to build two satellites for dedicated use by Devas, is estimated at Rs2lakh crore, higher than the estimated Rs1.76 lakh crore in the 2G spectrum allocation."

The rot in India's scientific establishment

Cheating science

"The number of researchers getting exposed for data falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism has been increasing. But the sobering fact is that this number is barely the tip of research misconduct. "

With the exception of plagiarism, journals are not fully geared to spot all forms of cheating prior to publication. The problem is particularly heightened in developing countries like India where no system for investigating such cases exists. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Cheating science. Since research misconduct is detrimental to the development of science, it is necessary to make laws that mandate universities to investigate cases thoroughly or allow third-party investigation.

A solution has to be soon found before published journal articles lose their value and pre-eminent place in science.