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EPA brings in controversial data rule
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the ‘transparency’ rule that would prevent it from basing regulatory decisions on studies for which the full underlying data are not publicly available. “If the American people are to be regulated by interpretation of these scientific studies, they deserve to scrutinize the data,” writes EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. But the rule has been widely panned by researchers and science advocates, who say that it is a Trojan horse aimed at preventing new health and environmental regulations from going into effect. “This is like the tobacco story all over again,” Dan Costa, former head of the agency’s air, climate and energy research programme, told Nature in 2018. “They are trying to pull the carpet out from under scientists.”
The Washington Post | 5 min read
Features & opinion
Look after yourself and others in 2021
After a year of hard-won lessons, scientists offer their views on what’s important for the coming year. Scientist-parents should take careful notes on how the pandemic has directly affected their research output, recommends molecular pharmacologist Lauren May, who co-founded Her Research Matters, a university-based group that supports equitable leadership. Chemist Lee Cronin suggests seizing any opportunity to do research with greater impact. “Let’s write less and say more,” he says. “Everyone’s in the same boat.” And keep the best aspects of the forced move to virtual conferences, says applied microbiologist Emmanuel Adukwu. “They open opportunities to anyone with access to the Internet.”
Rethinking travel in a post-pandemic world
In 2018, social scientist Roger Tyers decided to slash his carbon emissions by taking a work trip to Shanghai by train — all the way from the United Kingdom. “I don’t expect everybody to be taking the train to China to do fieldwork,” he says. “But I think that as academics we can do a little bit better.” Tyers is one of many climate scientists who are advocating for less air travel and following their own advice. They recommend ways to boost the value of virtual conferences and reduce carbon footprints even when travel restrictions ease.
So you want to publish open access
The requirements of Plan S, a European-led open-access (OA) initiative, are coming into force this month across much of scientific publishing. Science offers a detailed guide for authors, examines the costs and benefits, and considers what it all means for the future.