By: Sofia Rasmussen

As consequence of the “Great Recession,” states across the US have been mired in debt and forced to make dramatic cuts to higher education. As funding for higher education constricts, fewer tenure track academic positions for recent graduates are opening as universities increasingly turn to economically cheaper adjunct and part-time professors to instruct their ballooning classes. Amid this reduction in the demand for PhDs is the fact that the United States is producing a record number of doctorates. The result is a job crisis for PhD candidates that must be addressed. Read More…

By: Gautham N.

Journal of Errology was launched last month with an aim of providing a medium for researchers to share experiences learned through those unpublished futile hypotheses, errors, iterations, negative results, false starts and other original stumbles that are part of a larger successful research in biological sciences. Still in its beta stage, this is the first journal of its kind, which focuses on the experience side of a research, which is often overlooked. Read More…

By: Mark Hahnel

Today sees the launch of a new website from figshare which allows you to publish all of your research in seconds. Your data becomes citable, searchable and discoverable – helping you to increase the impact of your research. Read More…

Having earned degrees in Auckland, London and Miami, Elizabeth Iorns has witnessed first-hand the joys and  frustrations of lab research around the world. She’s noticed that, as technology advances and research becomes more cross-disciplinary, it is increasingly difficult to get access to all the necessary equipment and expertise to conduct cutting-edge research. Some researchers are able to use their institution’s in-house core research facilities to help out, while others must often seek outside resources. And the search for outside assistance can be “a nightmare,” according to Iorns....

Continue Reading...

Dr. Veronica Stevens...

Continue Reading...

As the beginning of 2011 approaches, we’ve compiled a “Top Ten” list of the most popular PostDocs Forum articles from 2010 (in no particular order).

Laboratory Notebooks: A thing of the past?
Laboratory notebooks are essential for reproducing experiments. For years we have been raised in our labs knowing that every action must be written down in our lab notebook. Perhaps it is now time to ask the questions: Are written lab notebooks a thing of the past? How can we adjust our lab notebooks to the 21st century, taking advantage of technology?

Building a Motivated Research Group
Uri Alon, a PI in the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, recently published an article in Molecular Cell where he discusses how to build a motivated research group. This essay is very important, not because it brings a new message, but rather because it touches both on personal and group motivation – something not all PIs consider.

The iPad Makes Its Way Into The Research Lab
Apple’s iPad is making its way to the world of research labs. Biodata Inc. is excited to announce that its flag service – BioKM™ – now fully supports Apple’s iPad, and that it plans to launch several specifically designed applications for research labs.

Successful Scientist Qualities
A few months ago I took to twitter, linkedin, facebook, and other social networking venues asking the question: What is the most important quality for a successful scientist? The following is a compilation of responses that I’ve received from scientists I’ve interviewed and from those that responded via social network.
Read More…

The NPA is looking for committee leaders to serve as Chair of the Meetings Committee and Chair and Vice Chair of the Outreach Committee. The application deadline is November 19 so make sure to apply soon!...

Continue Reading...