Editor’s Note: The following is an article originally published on the College Fix on May 14, 2025. With edits to match Minding the Campus’s style guidelines, it is crossposted here with permission. Far too many students are entering higher education ill-equipped to handle the rigors of collegiate-level science classes, according to professors who say they’ve had to alter their […]| Minding The Campus
In Episode 9 of The Week in Science, Director of Science Programs at the National Association of Scholars (NAS) Scott Turner takes us on a tour of scientific upheaval—political, bureaucratic, and biological. We begin with the five stages of grief—not for people, but for scientists, who are still grappling with the Trump administration’s supposed war […]| Minding The Campus
Research misconduct scandal after research misconduct scandal has surfaced in the science world as of late. Between neuroscientist and National Institute of Health (NIH) officer Eliezer Masliah, who Minding the Campus contributor David Randall reported on in late September, and superconductivity physicist Ranga Dias, whom I reported on, news of scientific misconduct has become increasingly […]| Minding The Campus
The Trump Administration has proposed a much-needed reform of how we reimburse so-called “overhead expenses” associated with federal research grants made by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is reasoned that research activity financed by the Feds involves not only paying researchers, buying lab equipment, and some travel but also increases needed administrative oversight, […]| Minding The Campus
Author’s Note: July 2025 will mark the centenary of the famous Tennessee “Scopes Monkey Trial.” This is the second article in a series leading up to the centennial events in Dayton, Tennessee, the site of the trial. Read the first in the series here. A century ago, the world’s greatest three-ring circus was about to […]| Minding The Campus
In Episode 6 of The Week in Science, host Scott Turner, Director of Science Programs at the National Association of Scholars, explores a trio of fascinating topics. Science magazine decries “massive cuts” to the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget, slashing it from $9 billion to $3.9 billion—a 57 percent reduction. The chance of a research […]| Minding The Campus
Over the past three years, the general public has been inundated with appeals to “Trust the science.” In spite of this, many have grown increasingly distrustful of both science and scientists. It is the height of hypocrisy to expect people to put their blind faith in scientific authority—for that is what “trust the science” amounts […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the soon-to-be-published National Association of Scholars report, Rescuing Science. It has been edited to align with Minding the Campus’s style guidelines and is cross-posted here with permission. Recently, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposed that indirect costs rates (administrative overheads) on research grants from the NIH […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the soon-to-be-published National Association of Scholars report, Rescuing Science. It has been edited to align with Minding the Campus’s style guidelines and is cross-posted here with permission. Indirect costs are a hot topic right now, set off by the Trump administration floating a proposal for the National […]| Minding The Campus
I have previously reported through two Minding the Campus articles (here and here) that the National Science Foundation (NSF) director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, published a paper through the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) that copied an uncited source previously published through the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In addition to copying from IEEE for […]| Minding The Campus
For millennia, man has wondered whether he is alone in the universe. Organizations such as the SETI Institute (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), founded in 1984, once employed more than 100 scientists, educators, and support staff in their quest to “explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.” To […]| Minding The Campus
Another day, another science scandal. Recently, we learned that leading Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease researcher Eliezer Masliah is seriously suspected of research misconduct. A Science investigation has now found that scores of Masliah’s] lab studies at UCSD and NIA are riddled with apparently falsified Western blots—images used to show the presence of proteins—and micrographs of brain […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the College Fix on March 12, 2025. With edits to match MTC’s style guidelines, it is cross-posted here with permission. A Planned Parenthood executive is researching “power and oppression” and “reproductive health services” with the help of nearly half a million in taxpayer funds. The study, “Enhancing Policy Impact for […]| Minding The Campus
Research misconduct. It is defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as “fabricating, falsifying, and/or plagiarizing in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.”[1] It is deplorable and shameful behavior, grounds for serious disciplinary action. And it is alarmingly on the rise in the science world. In mid-September, science journalism was […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify the roles of Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn in the legal disputes involving Michael Mann. The original text suggested that Steyn himself made the comparison between Mann and Jerry Sandusky. In fact, the comparison originated with Simberg, and Steyn quoted and commented on Simberg’s remarks while […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This essay is the second installment of a two-part series. You can read Part 1 here. Yesterday’s assessment of Jay Bhattacharya’s appointment as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was written before I had seen two excellent weekend Wall Street Journal stories on the Trump appointee. In a news story by Liz […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This essay is the first installment of a two-part series. You can read Part 2 here. Probably the most important federal funder of traditional advanced research is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). President-Elect Trump has appointed a remarkable man to head that key branch of the federal government, Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., and Ph.D. […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by RealClear Science on November 4, 2024. With edits to match Minding the Campus’s style guidelines, it is crossposted here with permission. The latest research fraud scandal concerns one Eliezer Masliah. He’s one of the world’s leading researchers into Alzheimer’s and it looks as if he fabricated a good deal of his data. […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: The following is a short excerpt from an article originally published on the author’s Substack Purpose and Desire on August 21, 2024. With edits to fit MTC’s style, it is crossposted here with permission. Jennifer Hernandez has a useful piece in a recent City Journal, about how the Green New Deal is actually harmful to the poor. Well, […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: The following is a short excerpt from an article originally published by James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal on September 4, 2024. With edits to fit MTC’s style, it is crossposted here with permission. For decades, aspiring college students have had to submit with their applications scores from standardized tests, such as the SAT […]| Minding The Campus