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Even as the US shrinks and narrows trials, the need for this research continues. Other countries can and must step in, says Stephen Jane

Nation’s high research quality score is in spite of second-lowest share of internationally co-authored papers  

Russell Group calls for long-term partnerships to be secured amid political uncertainty

Sethuraman Panchanathan says research funder and scientists must improve ‘storytelling’ as agency faces $5 billion cuts

Demonstrating research impact more clearly will reverse falling public support for higher education, argues scholar turned education minister

Voters more likely to support pro-immigration messages for the R&D sector when they are â€˜inspiring’ and don’t paint the UK as ‘passive’

New chief executive of UK Research and Innovation sets out how relationship with universities could change

An AHRC scheme based at Northumbria simplifies application, widens participation and maximises dissemination, say Katy Shaw and Rachel Connor

Otago v-c Grant Robertson says overhaul of New Zealand’s research assessment exercise combined with dire sector finances could present a ‘double whammy’ for some subjects

As the regulations governing FP10 are thrashed out, there is a risk that industrial policy will taint the programme’s USP, says Jan Palmowski

The panel’s overriding concern is to ensure that research is used productively. But observers worry that pushing universities to specialise in centrally determined ‘focus areas’ risks inadvertently turning them, in effect, into government agencies. John Ross reports

Coming together of 10 research-led universities not a ‘self-serving’ mission group, say vice-chancellors

UCL professor Alice Sullivan, who led review into how biological sex is captured in data collection, is vying for Nature-led award

Commission confirmation that €400 billion competitiveness budget will not fund research and innovation sparks outcry

Academic life was a lot simpler in the humanities and social sciences when simply finding a document guaranteed originality, says Disha

Successor to Horizon Europe still at risk of being overly influenced by political priorities including defence, say leading university groups

Clear policies, transparent disclosure and shared accountability are essential to protect the integrity of research, says George Chalhoub

Researchers replicate impact of Trump’s cuts on previous decades, identifying steep drop in medical innovations

The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should the changes be? Should there be any at all? Is it time to start again? We present five very different views

With the veteran BBC presenter leaving the landmark Radio 4 show, some say the job should next go to one of a growing breed of academic broadcasters

Registration requirements and compact negotiations would be reformed to funnel universities into ‘focus areas’, under panel’s draft proposals

Results of the fifth annual Knowledge Exchange Framework show research-intensive institutions performed most strongly on intellectual property and commercialisation

Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors

Removing fees not enough to make system accessible to talented would-be applicants, says research group

Hopes were high that the end of the far-right Law and Justice Party’s eight years in power would herald a new dawn, after needed reforms to research assessment were undermined by politicisation. But, two years in, scholars are getting restless. Emily Dixon reports

As wellsprings of intellectual thought, universities play a crucial role in shaping democratic nations’ national confidence and identity, says Peter Gluckman

Reduction in inflation compensation adds to pressures on higher education and research, universities say

Universities can’t be expected to absorb escalating financial risk forever. Funders must share the burden, says Stephanie Smith

Can AI match the insights of human referees? We don’t know. So before implementation, let’s run the experiment, says Sheldon H. Jacobson

Research intensive universities warn steady decline of excellence-related funding is ‘undermining’ their work and adding to financial pressures

Views becoming more entrenched on both sides, with roughly equal numbers positive and negative about new technologies, poll finds

National AI institute looks set to forge ahead with focus on defence work despite leadership changes and Cabinet reshuffle

Research support staff are crying out for a more supportive funding and regulatory environment, says Ross McLennan 

Three-month review of Research Excellence Framework could trigger more radical rethink on institutional priorities and spending, sector figures warn

Aston and Leeds plan to create resources and training tools for students, supervisors and examiners

Departure of Peter Kyle as science secretary raises hopes that his successor Liz Kendall will offer a more sympathetic ear on research concerns

Association would have ‘a multiplier effect on research resources and scientific effort’, advocates say

Legal protections and sustainable funding key for Europe to be ‘beacon of open and free science’, guild says

Research England hopes transparency pilot could lead to more accountability but critics fear bureaucracy and government control

Responding to early-career researchers’ honest questions with accusations of misconduct is a travesty of open science, says Madeleine Pownall

The three-month pause to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan

Research England to use REF pause to consider whether institutions must meet baseline performance measures as a condition of receiving funds

Exercise ‘triggered a lot of work that’s still got to be completed’ but succeeded in being ‘provocative’, according to country’s former chief science adviser

Using REF to tackle research culture risks making it too ‘bureaucratic and burdensome’, university leaders warn as Vallance rethinks changes to weightings

Digital Science said its investigation showed how weaknesses in research and publishing systems can be systematically exploited

Ian Chapman backs ministers’ calls for more research specialisation by universities in first public comments since taking over at £9 billion-a-year research funder

Outgoing chief says it is ‘right time for new leadership’ after political pressure to switch to defence focus

Country in second for starting grants but remains some way behind Germany, with UK nationals receiving smaller share

Science secretary wants institutions to use their ‘colossal resource’ to lead innovation drive, expressing concern about research cuts

Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment

Country will lack the expertise to achieve next-generation priorities if funding left at mercy of undergraduate enrolments, Academy of Science analysis finds

Analysis of publications shows influence of research on government, with under-pressure humanities departments often having the most impact

World in ‘flux’ makes it very difficult to predict what’s coming but research-intensive grouping ‘prepared for anything’, according to Daniel Jutras

Portraying ChatGPT as a playground for plagiarists is a timid response to AI’s ability to enhance research in all subjects, argues Agnieszka Piotrowska

Trump security crackdown risks undermining US collaboration, with China now said to be more concerned with protecting its own research than prying into others

Performance-based research fund also faces overhaul, as Wellington embraces least disruptive and costly aspects of landmark review’s proposals

Honest and open-ended conversations over how AI can be productively used in the learning journey are needed, not ChatGPT bans, says Ava Doherty

With academics at ‘increasing risk’ of arbitrary detention, governments and universities must tackle cases in a ‘proactive’ way

Government’s budget also aims to boost welfare of academics but scholars note lack of action on ‘mushrooming’ private sector

Decline in degree programmes, student interest and graduate jobs likely to hold back development of UK’s semiconductor industry as government looks to boost economy