PUBLISHING
▸ Gender, nationality factor into paper acceptance, study says
C&EN Global Enterp 2018.96:19-19. Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by UNIV OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on 09/11/18. For personal use only.
Editors and peer reviewers of scientific journals favor manuscripts from authors of their gender or nationality, a study concludes. In an analysis posted on the preprint server bioRxiv, a team led by Dakota Murray of the University of Indiana, Bloomington, examined thousands of papers submitted to the biosciences journal eLife between 2012 and 2017 (bioRxiv 2018, DOI: 10.1101/400515). Murray and his colleagues found that women and authors from outside North America and Europe were underrepresented as editors and peer reviewers and as authors listed last on papers. They note that previous work shows the underrepresentation of these two groups as editors and peer reviewers is common at international scientific journals and not just eLife. When the researchers evaluated the gender balance of editors and peer reviewers for individual papers, they found that participation of men and women led to more diversity in authors of published papers. Murray and colleagues note that though the disparities they found in peer review outcomes are modest, the differences can be compounded through all the stages of manuscript review. The researchers have submitted their study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, to PLOS Biology.—CHERYL HOGUE
NANOMATERIALS
C R E D I T: ATH E N A M. KE E N E/ U.S . F DA /ACS NA N O
▸ Advancing nanoparticle manufacturing Nanoparticles have already found their way into cosmetics, medicine, and electronics, among other products. Yet manufacturing challenges keep society from reaping the technology’s full benefits. A new study indicates that by looking at nanoparticle manufacturing as a holistic venture and working together, researchers and other stakeholders could speed up the transfer of nanoparticle technologies from laboratory to market (ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2018, DOI:
POLLUTION
1 year Reduction in average global life expectancy at birth from exposure to airborne particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2018, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00360). Such particles are linked to heart and lung disease. They are emitted by activities such as combustion or form in the air through chemical reactions. 10.1021/acsanm.8b01239). A team led by Samuel Stavis at NIST emphasizes that a central challenge in manufacturing is unwanted variation in nanoparticle shape, size, and other properties. This heterogeneity increases quality-control costs. The team found that minimizing heterogeneity during early stages, such as synthesis and functionalization, reduces waste, increases yields, and makes it easier to integrate nanoparticles into products, which helps to make innovations profitable. To ensure a smooth transition from research to applications, the group encourages researchers to consider prior knowledge from other disciplines as well as challenges that others have faced at different research and development stages. The team also advocates that researchers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and administrators coordinate efforts and share knowledge and resources.—PRACHI
PATEL, special to C&EN Collaboration could help nanomaterials developers make more heterogeneous nanoparticles, such as these gold ones.
OVERHEARD
“The robustness of the biomedical research enterprise is under constant threat by risks to the security of intellectual property and the integrity of peer review.” —Francis S. Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, announcing that NIH is forming a working group to identify ways to improve investigator reporting of all research funding sources and financial interests, ensure intellectual property security while continuing collaborations, and protect the confidentiality of peer review
SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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