Editorials in 2010

Researchers and activists alike benefit from dialogue — and a clear line between legal and illegal acts.

The decade-late, over-budget arrival of SOFIA shows that NASA's practices need to change.

The parlous state of the US icebreaker fleet could soon put a freeze on the country's polar research.

In today's tough climate, UK science must produce evidence to affirm its worth to the nation.

Ten years ago, Brazilian bioscience was transformed by a bold initiative. Scientists and the government must develop and extend the progress that has resulted.

There are tools to detect non-originality in articles, but instilling ethical norms remains essential.

Developing drugs for rare diseases is a challenge that requires new regulatory flexibility.

A legal challenge to US stem-cell policy poses a serious threat to the federal funding system.

Much tighter regulations are needed to reap the full benefits of stem-cell treatments.

It isn't enough to explain the facts of climate change very, very clearly. Building public trust requires researchers to change their practices.

Biologists and astronomers approach data sharing differently, but both need better public outreach.

The BP spill should help make the case for bringing ecosystem services into the economy.

National academies can be pivotal in speaking up for science, both to those in power and to the public.

We must learn lessons from the handling of the flu pandemic to improve future research and public-health responses to emerging diseases, but retrospective hindsight and recriminations are not the answer.

Taking personal genetic testing into the classroom brings ethical and legal sensitivities to the fore.

Celebrating the treasures of topological twists.

Transparency, education and communication are key to ensuring that appropriate metrics are used to measure individual scientific achievement.

Biomedical research continues to use many more male subjects than females in both animal studies and human clinical trials. The unintended effect is to short-change women's health care.

The re-auditing of accounts from the closed Sixth Framework Programme is generating hostility.