Comment in 2011

We are getting smarter, and as a result the world is becoming a more peaceful place, says Steven Pinker.

Indigenous knowledge is maturing as a science, says Henry P. Huntington. But more work is needed to give the field the respect it deserves.

Academic collaboration is essential for creating a sustainable future for Arctic development, says Lars Kullerud.

Encourage dialogue between the producers and consumers of scientific knowledge in the north to keep the region conflict free, says Oran R. Young.

Excess phosphorus is polluting our environment while, ironically, mineable resources of this essential nutrient are limited. James Elser and Elena Bennett argue that recycling programmes are urgently needed.

Charles Seaford argues that a clear measure of well-being should be devised to help people judge how government policies affect their quality of life.

John P. A. Ioannidis proposes ways to save scientists from spending all their time writing grants.

Civilians and the military must cooperate on global disease control, say David Blazes and Kevin Russell.

Ann Finkbeiner explains JASON, the autonomous group of academics that has been reporting to the US government on military matters for more than 50 years.

Leaders are ill-prepared for the ethical complications of new 'killer applications', says P. W. Singer.

Extracting gas from shale increases the availability of this resource, but the health and environmental risks may be too high.

Researchers must make a stronger case for funding in the face of a perfect storm of budget cuts and eroding political support, says Jay Gulledge.

In ten years of operation, the unwieldy Department of Homeland Security and its science directorate have seriously underperformed, says Peter D. Zimmerman.

Scientists should make time for play to complement their intense work, maintain creativity and keep the ideas flowing, argues Julie Overbaugh.

Concerns about antibiotics focus on bacterial resistance — but permanent changes to our protective flora could have more serious consequences, says Martin Blaser.

The ethical challenges of memory-dampening drugs are likely to be manageable and the pay-offs considerable, says Adam Kolber.

Chemistry needs new female role models and a less macho culture to appeal more to the next generation of young women, says Carol V. Robinson.

Paul Ginsparg, founder of the preprint server, reflects on two decades of sharing results rapidly online — and on the future of scholarly communication.

On the twentieth anniversary of the World Wide Web's public release, Oren Etzioni calls on researchers to think outside the keyword box and improve Internet trawling.

There could be unexpected consequences if greater understanding of disease genetics gives parents more choice in what they pass to their children, says David B. Goldstein.