A Senate committee is discussing a bill designed to shore up the independence of the Australian Research Council, after recent high-profile cases of ministers vetoing research grants.
Preprints are scientific papers made available before being published in a peer-reviewed journal. The Australian Research Council has banned researchers from citing them in grant applications.
While COVID-19 has highlighted the invaluable nature of medical research, it has unfortunately also seriously disrupted it. In Australia, the sector now teeters on the brink of collapse.
No-one wants our children to be used as research guinea pigs. High standards of ethical oversight are needed to ensure no child is exposed to possible harm.
New draft guidelines recommend limiting alcohol consumption to no more than ten standard drinks per week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day.
Drinking guidelines are based on the levels of alcohol consumption the latest research says can be harmful. But these guidelines don’t necessarily suit the alcohol industry.
Australian medical researchers are under intense pressure to find funds to continue their research, and there is some optimism that the latest NHMRC funding changes will help.
When not being forced to waste their time and formidable expertise researching furphies like wind turbine syndrome or homeopathy, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) can get on with…
Many guidelines offered to GPs are based on evidence unrelated to general practice. Studies show doctors tend to ignore these guidelines which can pose a risk to patients’ health.
How does Australia fare in science and research funding? Where have recent cuts been made? This infographic shows the state of science funding in Australia.
The traditional starting point for considering the scientific impact of research are its citations. But judging which research applications should be funded is a very inexact science.
The risk of harm in sex selection stems from the fact that parents don’t desire any child, they want a child of a particular sex, who is to remain within the limits of binary gender roles.
The National Health and Medical Research Council call for public submissions on whether sex selection should be allowed without a medical reason recognises changing social attitudes.
Government departments often commission research to help them understand and respond to policy issues. But they impose contract conditions that threaten to undermine the integrity of the work.