World View in 2012

US science advocates are depending on strategies and statistics that may not survive contemporary politics, says David Goldston.

The energy in–energy out hypothesis is not set in stone, argues Gary Taubes. It is time to test hormonal theories about why we get fat.

Biotechnology can help to save endangered species and revive vanished ones. Conservationists should not hesitate to use it, says Subrat Kumar.

Researchers can find plenty to like in a US budget scenario that scientific societies are comparing to the apocalypse, says Colin Macilwain.

Extreme events are on the rise. Governments must implement national and integrated risk-management strategies, says Erwann Michel-Kerjan.

A resource crisis exacerbated by global warming is looming, argues financier Jeremy Grantham. More scientists must speak out.

By bringing in people with more varied backgrounds, China’s leadership change could benefit science, argues Peng Gong.

Rana Dajani argues that true equality for women scientists requires recognition of their family roles as well.

Improving Wikipedia entries for notable women scientists should be only the start for a higher profile for women in science, says Athene Donald.

Serge Haroche, co-winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics, warns against the growing trend towards short-termism in science funding.

For the Oxford Martin Commission on Future Generations to be heard, it should learn from previous mistakes, argues Ehsan Masood.

As with other medicines, the approval of gene therapies should hinge on a risk–benefit analysis for the patient, argues Fulvio Mavilio.

Online databases could increase fairness and transparency by fully documenting the role of each contributor to a paper, says Sebastian Frische.

The classic economic approach of using incentives is not always the best way to change human behaviour, argues Paul Ormerod.

Journals that exploit the author-pays model damage scholarly publishing and promote unethical behaviour by scientists, argues Jeffrey Beall.

Greater transparency about the scientific process and a closer focus on correcting defective data are the way forward, says Jim Woodgett.

A chief scientific adviser is no substitute for a ruling elite that is actually engaged with science and engineering, argues Colin Macilwain.

The Higgs boson, and its role in providing a rational explanation for the Universe, is only part of the story, says Daniel Sarewitz.

The problem isn’t the public’s reasoning capacity; it’s the polluted science-communication environment that drives people apart, says Dan Kahan.

Islamist academics are gaining power in the Middle East and North Africa. But to build science needs liberal input, argues Ehsan Masood.