By Richard Gallagher The Last Act My final editorial. Ten problems I believe could bollix biology in years to come. After seven-and-a-half years as editor, and with 130-plus editorials behind me, I’m facing the tyranny of the blank page for the final time: my last editorial. How lucky I’ve been to be editor of this publication at this time. I often think of the poor editor of a glossy golf magazine who talked at a publishing me

By Richard Gallagher Stumbling Towards Nirvana The promises of personalized medicine have failed to materialize. That may be about to change. The $1,000 genome will be an incredible technological achievement. But not necessarily a great medical one. Several years ago, Francis Collins, current director of the National Institutes of Health, described the coming era of personalized medicine as “medical Nirvana.” It̵

By Richard Gallagher Authors of Our Own Misfortune Don’t make promises you can’t keep—please. That research is presented to the public in this fashion is scandalous. On the 7th of September this year, readers of the British press were presented with some very encouraging news. “Alzheimer’s gene hope for 100,000 Brits,” said The Sun. “The breakthrough, announced yesterday, was called ‘the bi

By Richard Gallagher Memo to Moneybags For $1 billion you can buy a mid-ranked soccer club…or a world class biotech cluster. A relatively small additional investment could end up with a big payout for the investor and the region. One of my fantasies is to own Celtic Football Club, a storied club based in Glasgow. So I can’t find it in me to outright criticize Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who recently splashed out £8

By Richard Gallagher Aid for Poverty—and Pudding New technology for curbing nutrient deficiency is being cruelly held up. Not for nothing is micronutrient malnutrition known as the “hidden hunger.” At my school dining hall in 1970s Scotland, tapioca was sometimes served as pudding. It has since fallen out of favor as a culinary treat, and I can’t say I’m surprised. This, along with a recent (a

By Richard Gallagher Bailed Out by Science The US healthcare system is hurting, but research can come to its rescue. Science won’t feature extensively in talks over the coming weeks, but it is central to effectively rehabilitate the healthcare system. It’s a daunting task, but the ailing beast that is the US healthcare system must be brought to heel. Its feverish appetite for dollars needs to be curbed while getting t

By Richard Gallagher Fairness for Fraudsters The punishment for researchers guilty of misconduct is excessively punitive, and needs reform. At the end of the exclusion period, researchers should be able to participate again as full members of the scientific community. But they can't. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI), part of the US Public Health Service (PHS), serves an indispensible function: the identification and punishment

For Shame, Merck and Elsevier Everyone makes mistakes—it's how you handle them that matters. By Richard Gallagher It was a stealth marketing campaign to Australian doctors under the guise of a regular journal. Merck and Elsevier, two life sciences giants, are taking different tacks in responding to a crisis that arose from an ill-judged publishing collaboration. Will

Citation Violations Scientists are guilty of bibliographic negligence. Here's how to police the pages of journals. By Richard Gallagher The age-old problem of attribution in science—in other words, the practice of citation—has resurfaced with a vengeance in a couple of recent fracases. What's new about these cases is that they're being played out online in full gory detail and in real time. For the first time, large sections of the co

Many ask, but few answer. We present two of science's most intriguing theories.

Amateurs have the freedom to experiment and innovate – watch out for their impact.

Here's how microorganisms may be the power plants of the future.