In brief: Cyber-attacks are the new proxy wars
Why science needs failures, how sustainable goals can be focussed better, and a great deal for Open Access: brief news on global science policy.
Big cities should suffer less smog in future – researchers now propose focussing on just a few of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. | Image: istock.com / eal444
“The whole point of science is that it is cutting edge. Comfortable science is an oxymoron. If we want to make new discoveries, that means taking a leap in the dark — a leap we might not take if we’re too afraid to fail”.
The English biologist Eileen Parkes describes in the journal Nature how she learnt the importance of failure in research when she was a PhD student. It’s also important to talk about it with your colleagues.
“Cyber-attacks will increasingly be used as proxy conflicts between smaller countries, funded and enabled by large nations looking to consolidate and extend their spheres of influence”.
The American cyber-security company Check Point warns in its blog about a new Cold War of the cyber-kind, and predicts more fake news during the US presidential elections.
Well-focussed global goals
In 2015, the UN adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that should be attained by 2030. Researchers are now proposing that the UN should concentrate on smaller-scale, better integrated goals. This could reduce the number of cases in which one SDG contradicts another. These researchers were commissioned by the UN Secretary-General’s Office, but worked independently. They recommend focussing on six ‘entry points’: “human well-being (including eliminating poverty and improving health and education); sustainable economies (including reducing inequality); access to food and nutrition; access to – and decarbonising – energy; urban development; and the global commons (combining biodiversity and climate change)”.
6
According to a new study, six out of ten articles published in so-called predatory journals over a period of five years were not cited even once. The authors of the study believe that these findings dispel any belief that the studies published in those journals garner undue attention. But Rick Anderson, an associate dean at the University of Utah, is of a differing opinion. The fact that 40 percent of articles in predatory journals are cited at least once still seems “pretty alarming” to him.
