Comment in 2018

To highlight uncertain norms in authorship, John P. A. Ioannidis, Richard Klavans and Kevin W. Boyack identified the most prolific scientists of recent years.

Information from satellites, mobile phones and other sources is not a panacea for international-development problems, warns Joshua Blumenstock.

A worldwide monitoring and modelling network would reduce the dramatic toll of air pollution on health and food production, urge Rajesh Kumar and colleagues.

Jessica K. Polka and colleagues call on journals to sign a pledge to make reviewers’ anonymous comments part of the official scientific record.

Change the funding system and approaches to international partnerships for US-led big science projects, urge Matt Mountain and Adam Cohen.

Ecologists must understand how marine life responds to changing local conditions, rather than to overall global temperature rise, say Amanda E. Bates and 16 colleagues.

Misleading accident classifications skew research and regulation. Zheng Wan and Jihong Chen set out three priorities for scientists and industry.

Track vehicles to link tolls with demand and cut congestion, urge Peter Cramton, R. Richard Geddes and Axel Ockenfels.

Reserves of cobalt and nickel used in electric-vehicle cells will not meet future demand. Refocus research to find new electrodes based on common elements such as iron and silicon, urge Kostiantyn Turcheniuk and colleagues.

Genetic testing for dogs is big business. It is too easy for companies to sell false hope, warn Lisa Moses, Steve Niemi and Elinor Karlsson. They call for regulation.

Computer scientists must identify sources of bias, de-bias training data and develop artificial-intelligence algorithms that are robust to skews in the data, argue James Zou and Londa Schiebinger.

Applying carbon charges, not trade tariffs, to imports would bolster the Paris Agreement, argue Michael Mehling and colleagues.

Fund and study these priorities for natural and social sciences to meet a gaping need, urge Abdallah S. Daar, Trillium Chang, Angela Salomon and Peter A. Singer.

People, politics and poor planning are behind most urban water shortages, argues Mike Muller.

Funders Jean Lebel and Robert McLean describe a new tool for judging the value and validity of science that attempts to improve lives.

Support from mainstream diversity initiatives would create a virtuous circle of visibility and benefit science for all, urges Jon Freeman.

A switch to projects led by independent principal investigators would build on the success of the nation’s centralized research agenda, urges Han Woong Yeom.

Plug the digital divide, improve health care, develop bio-based industries and innovate for Halal industries, urges Asma Ismail.

Systematic reviews have transformed medicine, but a more cost-effective means of appraisal is needed for fields in which data are sparse and patchy, argue William J. Sutherland and Claire F. R. Wordley.

Reward the creation of analyses for policymakers that are inclusive, rigorous, transparent and accessible, urge Christl A. Donnelly and colleagues.