Comment in 2011

The past year has shown how prone a highly networked society is to abrupt change. The future of our complex world, says Philip Ball, depends on becoming resilient to shocks.

Peer review continues long after a paper is published, and that analysis should become part of the scientific record, say Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky.

Only by bringing the nuclear power station into government hands can scientists find out what really happened, say Tomoyuki Taira and Yukio Hatoyama.

Large-scale research facilities need to reduce their energy consumption and begin moving towards sustainability, says Thomas Parker.

Social media hold a treasure trove of information. But the secretive methods of ethics review boards are hindering their analysis, says Alexander Halavais.

Greater global cooperation is needed to avert the risk of further militarization, says James Clay Moltz.

Northern soils will release huge amounts of carbon in a warmer world, say Edward A. G. Schuur, Benjamin Abbott and the Permafrost Carbon Network.

Research, not pole-bagging, was the lasting achievement of Antarctic exploration 100 years ago, says Edward J. Larson.

To find out what distinguishes one cell type from another, cell biologists must renounce popular cell lines, argue Anthony H. Hyman and Kai Simons.

Simply giving people food is not enough to prevent famine, says Peter Rosset. Instead, we need to overhaul the policies that have upended the food supply.

Fifty years after its founding, UN World Food Programme head Josette Sheeran explains why the agency is now focusing on projects that help communities weather food crises.

If African countries can't plant genetically modified crops to produce more and healthier food, vulnerable populations will be at risk, argues Calestous Juma.

A preoccupation with binding commitments blocks progress in climate-change negotiations. It is time to correct course, says Elliot Diringer.

Phil Macnaghten and Richard Owen describe the first attempt to govern a climate-engineering research project.

A discovered letter explains the loss of key paragraphs during the translation of one of Georges Lemaître's papers about the expanding Universe, shows Mario Livio.

Experts must agree a set of acceptable ways to assess and present forensic evidence, says Norman Fenton.

Recent data — and personal experience — suggest that autism can be an advantage in some spheres, including science, says Laurent Mottron.

Drought is the most pressing problem caused by climate change. It receives too little attention, says Joseph Romm.

Mobility can bring opportunities for coping with environmental change, say Richard Black, Stephen R. G. Bennett, Sandy M. Thomas and John R. Beddington.

Proposed rules to protect research subjects will impede progress, say Krishanu Saha and J. Benjamin Hurlbut. Instead, give donors more say in how samples are used.