Frontiers Communications

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1,341 news posts

Humanities

22 Jun 2023

Breaking down invisible barriers for LGBTQIA+ in STEM

By Dr Aswathi K Sivan and Dr Andrew L Miller June is the month of the year dedicated to LGBTQIA+ pride. In a previous post, we interviewed Dr Alfredo Carpineti (chair of the association Pride in STEM) and we talked about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in science and research. As we mentioned, Frontiers is proud to offer a platform for the empowerment of openly-LGBTQIA+ editors. Specifically, the journal Frontiers in Nanotechnology recently launched a special issue with an editorial team composed fully of openly queer researchers in nanotechnology. We asked this editorial team to share with us their point of view, so as to be able to focus the attention on relevant themes and really offer an empowering platform to the community we wish to represent. The following opinion piece is from Dr Aswathi K Sivan (University of Basel), in collaboration with Dr Andrew L Miller (Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics). LGBTQIA+ scientists have made significant contributions to their respective fields, despite the myriad of barriers they face. The pioneering works of several scientists such as Alan Turing, Lynn Conway, and Ben Barres have paved the way for a greater acceptance and inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ people in the scientific community. Despite all the […]

Frontiers news

22 Jun 2023

Predatoryreports.org: An open letter from Frontiers’ chief executive editor

To our community, In March of this year, we alerted you to the emergence of predatoryreports[.]org. This website and its authors, whose motives are unknown, deliberately seek to undermine our organization, our community, and the open access movement by disseminating false information about Frontiers. At the risk of feeding the egos of the anonymous and irresponsible people behind predatoryreports.org with this second public acknowledgement, I report here on how we are seeking to address this issue. As responsibly asserted by the Committee of Publication Ethics in April, ‘authors and institutions should treat lists of predatory (or fake) journals with the same degree of scrutiny as they do with the journals themselves. Lists that are not transparent about criteria used should not be relied on.’ Researchers and institutions have valid questions about the quality, impact, and motives of their publishers. Predatoryreports[.]org attempts to undermine any constructive discussion by sloppily promulgating “the p-word”; unfortunately, this unethical behavior is being noticed, creating concern and bewilderment. The p-word is a blanket derogatory term that is so easy to use that it blocks scientific, critical, and common-sense thought processes. Some employ it liberally to create a smokescreen, in the hope that no one will feel […]

Frontiers news

20 Jun 2023

Frontiers’ first open access publishing agreement in Poland

The journal Acta Biochimica Polonica will be published by Frontiers as part of an agreement signed with the Polish Biochemical Society (PTBioch). Credit: Frontiers Acta Biochimica Polonica’s will open for submissions with Frontiers in August 2023. The journal will publish its first papers on Frontiers gold open access platform in January 2024. Marking Frontiers’ first publishing partnership in Poland, the agreement with the Polish Biochemical Society represents a significant milestone for open access publishing in biochemistry in Central and Eastern Europe. Prof. Adam Szewczyk, president of the Polish Biochemical Society, commented on the agreement saying: “We are delighted to partner with Frontiers and transition Acta Biochimica Polonica to their open access platform. We look forward to the opportunities this partnership presents for sharing new and innovative research in the field of biochemistry.” Robyn Mugridge, head of publishing partnerships at Frontiers, said: “Frontiers is excited to welcome the Polish Biochemical Society as a publishing partner. We are confident that our collaboration will foster the visibility of research in the field of biochemistry in Poland and beyond.” Established in 1958, the Polish Biochemical Society is a well-respected promoter and supporter of all aspects of biochemistry research in Poland. Specifically, initiatives like the Society’s annual […]

Frontiers Community Summit 2023: accelerating open science

The Frontiers Community Summit highlighted the accelerator effect of open science – and the critical need for quality, to ensure society is enabled by science and can take the right decisions. The summit took place as part of Frontiers Forum Live, an annual event that brings together Frontiers’ editors, other top researchers, innovators, and policy makers in a united mission to accelerate and mobilize open science. This 8th edition took place in Montreux, Switzerland, from 27-29 April as our first-ever hybrid event. The event opened with the Community Summit, where Frontiers’ publishing and technology experts provided an update on the global transition to open science – and demonstrated Frontiers’ laser focus on quality across all stages of the publishing process. Opening access to science is the most affordable, simplest, and fastest way to deliver solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet. – Kamila Markram, Frontiers Co-founder and CEO Dialogs and discussions between key stakeholders across science and policy further strengthened actions and collaborations for open science, which will help build a brighter future for everyone, all around the world. Watch the talks via the links below. Jump to: Kamila Markram | Why our mission matters: driving the transition to […]

Research Topics

07 Jun 2023

Pride Month 2023: Article collections celebrating the LGBTQ+ community

Each June it’s pride month, a celebration of the LGBTQ community and their many achievements. To join in on the celebrations, we have put together Research Topics. Read about the amazing research done by scientists from across the globe. With more than 820,000 collective views, researchers explored topics such as barriers to workplace equality, co-parenting fathers, perspectives on cancer issues affecting LGBTQ communities, and anti-transgender prejudice. Read our closed article collections: Barriers to workplace equality 12 articles | 221,000 views Gaining a better understanding of workplace inequality affecting people from a range of social groups and categories, including members of the LGBTQ+ community Cancer Disparities in Diverse Populations 18 articles | 67,000 views Presenting current perspectives on cancer issues affecting the minority, including LGBTQ, communities by convening both community and academic investigators, clinicians, and stake holders from the translational, clinical and public heath communities Transgender healthcare 14 articles | 199,000 views Adding value to our current knowledge about the developmental origins and the influence of hormonal interventions on the mental and physical health trajectories of people with gender dysphoria Co-parenting fathers 10 articles | 21,000 views Exploring co-parenting in alternative family structures, particularly gay father co-parents LGBTQ parents 15 articles […]

Frontiers Forum Live 2023: Accelerating and mobilizing open science for global challenges

This year’s Frontiers Forum Live brought top researchers, innovators, and influencers together in-person and virtually, united in a common mission to accelerate the global transition to open science and mobilize solutions for critical challenges – with the most urgent being to reach net-zero carbon to prevent climate disaster. The Frontiers Forum is where researchers, policymakers, and other experts from around the world discuss science-led solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet. This 8th edition was the largest yet, taking place in Montreux, Switzerland from 27-29 April as our first-ever hybrid event. The program highlighted the accelerator effect of open science, making it clear that science has solutions to the climate crisis and other critical challenges – but must be openly available to researchers and innovators across the globe for these solutions to be implemented in time to avert disaster. Keynote talks from Frontiers co-founder and CEO Dr Kamila Markram as well as four iconic representatives of biodiversity, sustainability, and climate change – conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, former US Vice President Al Gore, and planetary boundary pioneer Prof Johan Rockström – reinforced the central role of science in restoring planetary health. And […]

eBooks

05 Jun 2023

Frontiers ebook releases: June 2023

Download the top ebook releases from this month, including work on new wolf conservation and conflict management, new insights into potential biomarkers in neurovascular disorders, findings on neonatal health in low- and middle-income countries, and research on classroom assessment practices and teacher decision-making. All ebooks are free to download, share and distribute. Shape the future of your field — and publish your own ebook — by editing a special collection around your research area. Learn more about Research Topics or submit your suggestion. What do we know about COVID-19 implications for cardiovascular disease?Edited by Hendrik Tevaearai Stahel; Masanori Aikawa; Shuyang Zhang; Mingxing Xie; Shuping GePDFAn Alien place on Earth: The Red Sea as a model for Future OceansEdited by Christian Robert Voolstra; Rúben Martins CostaPDFCorporate Behavior and Sustainable DevelopmentEdited by Rui Xue; Haiyue Liu; Yuli Shan; Shiyang Hu; Xiaoyu WangPDFMobile and Wearable Systems for Health MonitoringEdited by Mohamed Elgendi; Richard Ribon Fletcher; Derek Abbott; Dingchang Zheng; Panicos Kyriacou; Carlo MenonPDFARDS in COVID-19 – Insights for TreatmentEdited by Koichi Ikuta; Michael Karin; Yoshio KoyanagiPDFGenome Wide Association Studies and Genomic Selection for Crop improvement in the Era of Big DataEdited by Nunzio D’Agostino; Alison Bentley; Charles ChenPDFClinicopathological Factors and Staging in Gastrointestinal CancersEdited […]

Frontiers responds to the European Council’s conclusions on open science publishing

On 23 May 2023, the European Council adopted conclusions that called for transparent, equitable, and open access to scholarly publications. It argued for immediate and unrestricted access to published science that benefits from public funding. The Council has reached an ethically sound conclusion – that paywalls around publicly funded scientific research should be taken down. We fully agree. The question is not whether open access scientific publishing – but how. How can we expand those publishing models making rigorously peer reviewed research articles immediately accessible on publication, free to read and open to all? Our starting point is that we need a range of options. A diversity of open access publishing models drives innovation and will better serve the diversity of our scientific communities. And the principles of open science have successfully been applied in a wide range of publishing contexts, with excellent return on investment and the careful stewardship of public funds. That evolution must be encouraged. Commercial and non-profit models, including those backed by societies or research institutions, have demonstrated that open access publishing is effective at scale and can be applied universally. Competition, with price transparency, will help drive down cost, spur the amount of rigorous science […]

Frontiers news

16 May 2023

Open access publisher Frontiers moves to a new article metric platform COUNTER

To ensure even more transparent and consistent data reporting, Frontiers has moved to a new metric platform COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources). It is an initiative that provides standards and protocols for measuring and analyzing usage data for online scholarly content. Established in 2002 and endorsed by publishers, librarians, and research institutions around the world as a trusted source of usage data, it secures credible, consistent, and compatible statistics of electronic resources. COUNTER Release 5 (R5) is the latest version of the COUNTER Code of Practice. It includes new metrics and reporting requirements for measuring the usage of online scholarly content, such as articles views and downloads, by providing more granular and flexible reporting options. COUNTER R5 allows publishers and authors to measure the impact of their research and ensure their usage data is consistent and reliable. It provides item metrics, trend data, and open access usage. This includes: displaying human views and downloads on public pages, which excludes bots by applying newer standard of Counter 5.02 (2023+) software. This might result in a decrease of 17% for views and 12% for downloads, but will make it more precise, reliable, and industry compliant. displaying geolocation data, which […]

Frontiers news

15 May 2023

Frontiers in Blockchain announces Yun Family Prize Winners

Frontiers in Blockchain is delighted to reveal the winners of the Yun Family Prize, awarded to outstanding research articles related to blockchain technology. 1. Yun Family Best Inclusive Stakeholding Research Prize for excellence in research for the best article published in Frontiers in Blockchain’s Research Topic entitled “Inclusive Stakeholding: Reimagining Incentives to Promote the Greater Good” edited by Natalie Geld. More information about this prize can be found here. Winner: Andrej Zwitter and Jilles Hazenberg “Decentralized Network Governance: Blockchain Technology and the Future of Regulation”. “This ground-breaking article presents the potential for blockchain technology to create a new model of governance that is transparent, secure, and efficient. The article explores the benefits of decentralized decision-making systems based on blockchain technology, including community representation, and the need for collaboration between government, the private sector, and civil society to develop this system. It also identifies the key challenges and opportunities of blockchain technology in the future of regulation. This award-winning article is a must-read for stakeholders that are interested in the potential of blockchain technology to create a fairer and more inclusive society.” 2. Yun Family Frontiers in Blockchain Prize for excellence in research for any article published in Frontiers in Blockchain within 2019 on a subject within the subject area of blockchain and its possible applications. More […]

Open science and peer review

15 May 2023

Why is it Important to Talk about Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Research?

We asked Dr. Alfredo Carpineti, chair and founder of the organization “Pride in STEM”, a UK-based charity organization run by an independent group of LGBTQIA+ scientists & engineers from around the world, to share his insight on the matter. The language we use when we talk about research and the work done in science is often impersonal. As if science is something that naturally happens, independently of the choices of humans. In reality, it is our choices that guide research efforts, and I think it’s important not to shy away from them. When we recognize science as a matter of choices, we bring to light what science really is: a tool for humanity. Maybe one of its greatest tools, but a tool, nevertheless. Another consequence of understanding science for what it is, it’s the realization that the choices that guide scientific investigation are influenced by people’s own ideas and biases. And so, it is important to understand and challenge the biases we possess. Understanding how we think is as equally important as understanding how the cosmos works. With that in mind, Pride in STEM, the charity I have founded and run, challenges some of those biases – in particular, those that […]

Health

12 May 2023

Tackling the Obesity Crisis with VR

Approximately 69 billion euros is spent on healthcare issues related to dealing with overweight or obese patients in Europe every year. Obesity increases the likelihood of physical illnesses and mental health issues such as: diabetes, coronary artery and stress and depression. Moreover, according to WHO, 50% of the adult population is overweight (23% of women and 20% of men being classified as obese). Current treatments for obesity have limited effectiveness. Treatments for obesity focus on trying to change the patient’s behaviour, predominantly with respect to diet and exercise. However, these treatments have been shown to be largely ineffective with most patients failing to lose weight in the medium to long term. Telemedicine has been proposed as an alternative to this, with some Virtual Reality solutions beginning to penetrate the market. However, these solutions are essentially the same lifestyle behaviour change treatments in a VR environment instead of in reality. Over time, the patient returns to their previous weight. SeminarHostRegistration linkTackling the Obesity Crisis with VR: Introduction to the study of obesityPilar Lusilla Palacioshttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qckvhEetSRyEixNVyl4mvwTackling the Obesity Crisis with VR: Technical solutions to the representation of bodiesElena Álvarez de la Campahttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k5X-YFO7Qj2-ZdF27BPdLgTackling the Obesity Crisis with VR: ConVRSelf and the idea of using […]

Robotics and AI

10 May 2023

Frontiers in Virtual Reality Seminar Series 3: Fostering inclusion and social interaction in XR

Online Seminar Series Inclusion, accessibility, and social interaction in virtual and augmented reality environments is key to ensure the success of the deployment of this technology at a public scale. Although immersive environments offer fantastic opportunities for creativity, learning, and social interaction, there is a risk of abusive behavior and exclusion of people with special needs. The GuestXR European project embraces artificial intelligence, together with neuroscience and social psychology research to increase harmony and improve the participants’ experience in shared 3D virtual or augmented reality spaces. This seminar series, organized by Frontiers in Virtual Reality journal and partners from the GuestXR project, will start with a webinar on the features of an innovative XR technology for meeting with participants around the world. The series of online series will follow on with sessions on the research and advancements on haptic technologies and 3D audio techniques to support social interactions and inclusion in XR environments. Finally, we will delve into advanced multisensory features to improve accessibility to VR environments by publics with special needs. Speakers Bio: SeminarDate AbstractRegistration linkSEMINAR 1. A Shared XR System with Full Body Avatars and AI Agent Integration for Enhanced Inclusivity17 May 2023, 16.00h CESTIn this webinar, we will discuss an innovative […]

eBooks

08 May 2023

Frontiers ebook releases: May 2023

Download the top ebook releases from this month, including work on the biodiversity of the Philippine Seas, new insights into understanding emerging and reemerging viruses, findings on how big data can be used in health care applications, and research on what effects space flight has on human brains. All ebooks are free to download, share and distribute. Shape the future of your field — and publish your own ebook — by editing a special collection around your research area. Learn more about Research Topics or submit your suggestion. Emerging and Re-emerging Viral DiseasesEdited by Shuofeng Yuan; Xing-Yi Ge; Xin Yin; Jun WangPDFEmerging SARS-COV-2 Variants: Genomic Variations, Transmission, Pathogenesis, Clinical Impact and InterventionsEdited by Prygya Dhruv Yadav; Éric Bergeron; Sanjay Kumar; Meerjady Sabrina FloraPDFThe Synaptic Basis of NeuropathologyEdited by P. Jesper Sjöström; Fereshteh S. Nugent; Alfredo Kirkwood; Carl R. LupicaPDFBig Data Analytics for Smart Healthcare applicationsEdited by Celestine Iwendi; Thippa Reddy Gadekallu; Ali Kashif BashirPDFBreast Milk and Passive Immunity during the COVID-19 PandemicEdited by Veronique Demers-Mathieu; Lars Bode; Johannes (Hans) Van GoudoeverPDFAdvanced Technologies for Planning and Operation of Prosumer Energy SystemsEdited by Bin Zhou; Siqi Bu; Liansong Xiong; Junjie Hu; Jingyang Fang; Jian Zhao; Hugo Morais; Peng HouPDFTrends and Challenges of Medical […]

Research Topics

05 May 2023

Life with pets: Research Topics on living with animals

Has domestication induced cognitive changes in domesticated species? How can we optimize nutrition for dogs and cats? What is it about cats that makes their behaviors so enticing? We put together the top Research Topics about animals living with us. Read about the amazing research done by scientists from across the globe. With more than 1.4 million collective views, researchers explored topics such as the benefits and history of human-animal interaction, how animals perceive and differentiate between humans, and what roles assistance animals can play in daily life. Research Topics: Exploring cat behaviors 11 articles | 87,000 views Updating our understanding on the special qualities and behaviors of cats and scrutinizing our mutual interactions with these companions Reimagining animal sheltering 22 articles | 113,000 views Assembling evidence for or against critical concepts, programs, and methods related to community-based animal sheltering and support services which may shape the future of animal services Benefits of human-dog interactions 13 articles | 229,000 views Contributing to the current standard of understanding of human-animal interaction, suggesting future directions in applied research, and considering the interdisciplinary societal implications of the findings Cognitive processing by domesticated animals 11 articles | 84,000 views Bringing the latest findings cognitive […]