Peter Rodgers
Peter Rodgers
@drpeterrodgers.bsky.social

Father, editor [@elife.bsky.social], rower. Views my own

Business 35%
Economics 27%

HARSH!!!
One day you are the editor-in-chief of @nature.com
Next, according to @science.org, you are an “Unaffiliated scholar, London, UK”

AI leads to surge in the number of letters being sent to scientific journals or, as one editor-in-chief puts it - “the mass production of junk”
A rapidly growing share of letters to journals may be drafted by machines, undetected by editors. Study quantifies recently ‘prolific debutante authors’ who had published no letters before 2022, when ChatGPT debuted. #academicjournals #peerreview @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI
New study reinforces worries about “mass production of junk” by unscrupulous scholars aiming to pad their CVs
www.science.org
A rapidly growing share of letters to journals may be drafted by machines, undetected by editors. Study quantifies recently ‘prolific debutante authors’ who had published no letters before 2022, when ChatGPT debuted. #academicjournals #peerreview @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI
New study reinforces worries about “mass production of junk” by unscrupulous scholars aiming to pad their CVs
www.science.org

@vtraag.bsky.social et al. found the Matthew effect to be robust across 14 funders, and to generalize from those close to the funding threshold to the whole population.

However, early-career setback effect was not robust across funders and did not generalize to the whole population.
The Matthew effect and early-career setbacks in research funding—a replication study
elifesciences.org

Those just below were - perhaps surprisingly - were found to be more likely to go on to have stronger publication records (early-career setback effect).

Several previous studies focused on ECRs with grant proposals that fell just above/below a funding threshold.

Those just above were more likely to be successful when they applied for funding later in the career (the well-known Matthew effect).

Replication studies meet #metaresarch!!

@vtraag.bsky.social and colleagues at @rorinstitute.bsky.social and elsewhere attempted to replicate two phenomena of interest to ECRs and funders: the Matthew effect and the early-career setback effect.
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...; @elife.bsky.social
The Matthew effect and early-career setbacks in research funding—a replication study
elifesciences.org

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

New accessibility pilot on bioRxiv pilot: AI-generated paper summaries at 3 levels (general -> expert).

Click Automated Services in the dashboard to view these. We welcome feedback. connect.biorxiv.org/news/2023/11...

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Booker Prize 2023: Who are the shortlisted authors?
Booker Prize 2023: Who are the shortlisted authors?
Three men called Paul are on the shortlist of six. Will one of them take the prize in tonight's ceremony?
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

I remember it was quicker to set a job running on our 32-bit VAX-11 overnight, than it was to get the results back from he supercomputer up in Birmingham (because it was so oversubscribed). thechipletter.substack.com/p/why-are-th...
Why Are There No Minicomputers Any More?
What lessons can we learn from the demise of 'mini' form factor, architectures and companies?
thechipletter.substack.com

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

A new computational tool provides insights into the structure of the cerebellum in mammals. elifesciences.org/articles/931...

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Please suggest a cool paper/preprint in your field in the last year or so!
For a course I teach, I am collecting papers on: cell/dev bio, microbio, neuro, maths/stats/CS/chem/phys applied to biology.

🧪
1/2

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS – I'm teaming up with Marie-Gabrielle Verbergt to edit a special issue of Minerva on the history of peer review in the humanities (and its connection to the sciences). Submit your abstracts by March 15, 2024, and help us spread the word!

link.springer.com/collections/...
Call for Abstracts: The Past and Present of Humanities Peer Review
Abstract submission deadline: 15 March 2024 Peer review, i.e. the institutionalized evaluation of scholars and their outputs by others working in the same ...
link.springer.com

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

‘When the painting was rediscovered by modern scholars in the 1990s, many distinguished commentators presumed that it was a caricature.’

Fara Dabhoiwala on uncovering the secret of the 18th-century portrait of a Jamaican scholar and businessman:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Fara Dabhoiwala · A Man of Parts and Learning: Francis Williams Gets His Due
The only certainty about the picture is that it shows Francis Williams. No one has ever been able to discover who...
www.lrb.co.uk

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

The peer review system needs change. Let’s make publishing faster, more efficient, and rewarding 📈

Join us on 21 Nov at #AIMOS2024 or online on 26 Nov for the launch of MetaROR - an open platform by RoRI & AIMOS making reviews visible & reusable.

More info: researchonresearch.org/metaror-laun...

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

This is how we do it: ‘My life with my lover exists in a different universe to my marriage’
This is how we do it: ‘My life with my lover exists in a different universe to my marriage’
Sebastian and Vivianna have been in a secret relationship for seven years, which has maintained its intensity despite long absences from each other How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously There was always a sense that we were…
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

A new Science and Retraction Watch investigation finds AI-generated commentary articles flood the literature with poor-quality publications and casts doubt on metrics of scholarly output and impact. scim.ag/4gJmD6O
Shoddy commentaries—a quick and dirty route to higher impact numbers—are on the rise
AI-generated content floods literature with poor-quality publications, casts doubt on metrics, Science and Retraction Watch investigation finds
scim.ag

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

🎉 eLife is pleased to announce Timothy Behrens (@behrenstimb.bsky.social) as our new Editor-in-Chief!

A distinguished neuroscientist and long-time supporter, Tim will lead our efforts in transforming research communication for all.
eLife appoints Timothy Behrens as Editor-in-Chief
Behrens will lead eLife’s efforts to improve research communication for all.
buff.ly
Hope you'll forgive a quick thread as I take over as the new EiC of @elife.bsky.social

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Nature @nature.com · Feb 27
Can toads can find their way home across long distances

https://go.nature.com/4ij5ZLM
Take me home, country toads
Cane toads have remarkable navigation abilities, even when their sense of smell and magnetic-sensory systems are compromised.
go.nature.com

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

CERN's secular plan: Can we predict what technologies will be available 50 years from now that could make high-energy colliders radically different — or even obsolete? And some wonder whether we can even imagine what questions physicists will be asking in 2070. #FCC
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The biggest machine in science: inside the fight to build the next giant particle collider
The European physics laboratory CERN is planning to build a mega collider by 2070. Critics say the plan could lead to its ruin.
www.nature.com

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Others in this growing collection:
By @blekhman.bsky.social

“Make no mistake: this is not just bad for science – it is bad for America.“

elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond
Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.
elifesciences.org

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

By Nicolas Gilpin:
“It is clear that scientific communication by scientists, universities, and research societies must drastically improve.”

elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Science Under Threat in the United States: The NIH is a sound investment for the US taxpayer
Research funded by the National Institutes of Health is essential for improving the health of Americans and developing new drugs and treatments for a wide range of diseases.
elifesciences.org

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Trying to make sense of the current situation, I put together some thoughts in an op-ed for @elife.bsky.social on what we, as scientists, can do – and what institutions MUST do – to protect science right now

elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond
Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.
elifesciences.org

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

Last year, I was surprisingly diagnosed with AML. Attacks on science that we currently face threaten future scientific discoveries that can benefit individuals' health. This should scare us all. Read more about my story and thoughts on this below (with @casey.greenelab.com).

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

My undergraduate students & I have been having discussions about what the current US policies mean for the science, their career aspirations, & public health.

Thank you @drpeterrodgers.bsky.social @elife.bsky.social @elifecommunity.bsky.social
for giving us a space to share our voices & fears.

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

1/ NIH-funded research has come under a new level of fiscal scrutiny under Trump, sending shock waves through biomedical research.

As Nick Gilpin writes, at the core of these cuts is one question: Is it a worthwhile investment for the US taxpayer?
buff.ly/qJ8axNe

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

@abankston.bsky.social – a science policy fellow at the US House Representatives – outlines some options available for responding to the attacks on science and the scientific workforce in the US.
buff.ly/udqoZI5

Reposted by Peter Rodgers

There is plenty of scope for reducing bureaucracy for the benefit of research, @stuartbuck.bsky.social argues. However, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency are going about this completely the wrong way.
buff.ly/aLkxKhC