An introduction to social media for scientists in PLoS Biology. Good discussion of how scientists use various social media - and the pros and cons of the different options. Bik HM, Goldstein MC (2013) An Introduction to Social Media for Scientists. PLoS Biol 11(4):e1001535. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001535
A useful overview in the Science Policy Forum - Global Research Integrity Training. Article reviews in particular ninitiatives for training and the case for global standards. Steneck, N H, Science 3 May 2013: Vol. 340 no. 6132 pp. 552-553 DOI: 10.1126/science.1236373
The Wellcome Trust has awarded £5 million to the GSK Tres Cantos Open Lab with the goal of developing two high quality experimental drugs over a five-year period.
The UK National Heritage Science Forum has developed from a House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry on Science and Heritage (2006), the Science and Heritage Programme (AHRC/ESRC 2007/12) and the Science and Heritage Strategy (Published 2010), together with a Lords follow-up in 2012. Broadly, heritage science includes archaeological science, conservation science and building science and is of funding interest to AHRC, who have provided support for the Forum, Programme and Strategy.
The Forum aims to co-ordinate policy responses on behalf of the heritage science domain; ensure professional standards across heritage science; enable contact with other sector bodies; develop cross-domain working; develop link research tools and resources; share skills and equipment; promote and demonstrate public benefit of heritage science; actively map and show demographic trends in heritage science employment.
Current members are:
Wildlife and Countryside Link is an umbrella membership organisation for wildlife and conservation NGOs. One of its policy campaigns is Nature Check, assessing the UK government's activity and progress on commitments to the natural environment. The 2012 Nature Check is available.
The UK research councils, RCUK, have launched a new Gateway to Research (GtR) in a beta version for development to the end of 2013. This allows search for information of all grants since 2006. Improvements are planned, with possible development of links to other funding information such as studentships and to data and publication repositories. A blog gives updates.
IUCN have produced a comprehensive guide to the 2010 Nagoya Protocol to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Access and Benefit Sharing is an area of policy and legal development in progress on an international and national level, but the guide provides a very useful 390 pages of interpretation, explanation and insight.
GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) has issued Best practice guide for compiling, maintaining, disseminating national species checklists - including the use of herbaria and museum collections.
A range of UK agencies and NGOs have produced the State of the UK's Birds 2012, summarising status and trends. Big emphasis on the role of volunteer recording and citizen science.
The European Marine Board has produced in November 2012, with the European Science Foundation, a new report looking at policy, science and research needs - Marine Biodiversity: a Science Roadmap for Europe. Also earlier in 2012 Marine Microbial Biodiversity and its role in Ecosystem Functioning and Environmental Change. EMB members are research councils and research institutions from across Europe.
