Indian science budget fails to impress — despite funding boost

India will raise its spending on science by 10% to 536.2 billion rupees (US$8.4 billion) for 2018–19, compared with the previous year, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on 1 February. The budget includes 30.7 billion rupees earmarked for a digital programme that includes artificial intelligence and cyber …

They came out of a 2014 decision by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to phase out conventional grant programmes, in which reviewers evaluated both the science and the investigator. Instead, the CIHR started one programme that focused its evaluation on the applicants and another that …

In last month’s ‘Science Notes’ we took you on a tour of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, discussing the intricacies of radiocarbon dating. There is the risk of portraying the process as fixed and static, but it is always being updated with new treatments and techniques – to make the method even …

That muted family tie came to light thanks to the successful retrieval of two types of DNA from the mummies’ teeth, the scientists report in the February Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The finding highlights the importance ancient Egyptians placed on maternal lines of descent, Drosou’s group …

The program offers unique sessions to meet with editors, cover fascinating stories and talk to the leading scientists in the field, all within a flexible working environment. Over the past six years, our interns have made an invaluable contribution to the cause of environmental journalism through their hundreds …

Scientists have known that warming ocean waters are skewing sea turtle populations toward having more females, but quantifying the imbalance has been hard. Researchers analyzed hormone levels in turtles collected on the Great Barrier Reef (off the northeastern coast of Australia) to determine their sex, …

Mankoff is one of many scientists worldwide who face emotional and practical challenges in their work as a result of long-lasting or recurrent medical conditions. Working as a scientist can be physically and mentally demanding, in the laboratory and in the field. It can be even harder for those with physical …

For the first time, China has overtaken the United States in terms of the total number of science publications, according to statistics compiled by the US National ScienceFoundation (NSF). The agency’s report, released on 18 January, documents the United States’ increasing competition from China and …

Clifford Johnson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed … But really science is part of the wonderful tapestry of human culture, intertwined with things like art, music, theater, film and even religion.