Column in 2010

Keeping a visible record of your rejected applications can help others to deal with setbacks, says Melanie Stefan.

To get a job these days, don't rely on your adviser — use your own networking skills, says Peter Fiske.

Embracing the unknowns of scientific research is easier when your job has certainty, says Claire Thompson.

University administrators need to understand growing trends if they are to train their postdocs properly and still advance their research efforts, argues Rania Sanford.

The UK government is about to reveal a research spending plan that is too conservative for purpose, warns Colin Macilwain.

Whether money can bring contentment depends on your definition of 'happy', says Philip Ball.

Barack Obama is finding that sometimes politics needs to put science in its place, says Daniel Sarewitz.

There's room at the top for more old-fashioned charisma, says Colin Macilwain.

More and earlier public involvement is required to steer powerful new technologies wisely, says Daniel Sarewitz.

A survey of the cognitive benefits of music makes a valid case for its educational importance. But that's not the best reason to teach all children music, says Philip Ball.

The economic crisis is a setback to the European Research Area, warns Colin Macilwain — and the research community is ill-placed to respond.

The punishment of antisocial behaviour seems necessary for a stable society. But how should it be policed, and how severe should it be? Game theory offers some answers, Philip Ball finds.

Efforts by the US National Academy of Sciences to popularize science through movies will sanitize it as well, says Daniel Sarewitz.

Without effective public engagement, there will be no synthetic biology in Europe, says Colin Macilwain.

Government surveillance technology programmes must aim to protect privacy and civil rights from the start, says Daniel Sarewitz.

Claims of 'synthetic life' reflect only our changing conception of what life is and how it might be made, says Philip Ball.

An oil slick will not re-engage the public with environmental issues, warns Colin Macilwain, but it might lead to a saner US energy policy.

Is Bill Gates's decision to invest in software company Schrödinger an early sign of a new computer-aided era for drug design, asks Derek Lowe. Or is it just another small step on what's been a rather lengthy journey?

A small non-profit organization shows how to reduce the vulnerability of poor countries to earthquakes, says Daniel Sarewitz.

Our genome won't win any design awards and doesn't speak well of the intelligence of its 'designer', as Philip Ball explains.