Science 28Feb2020

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ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

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UC to subsidize PLOS fees

PUBLISHING | The University of California

(UC) last week announced a 2-year agree-

ment with the open-access publisher PLOS

to subsidize papers by authors on the univer-

sity system’s 10 campuses. UC will contribute

at least $1000 per paper, and more if

authors lack other funds; PLOS journal

charges vary, with PLOS ONE’s author fee set

at $1595. PLOS agreed to hold author fees

at 2019 levels during the agreement, the first

subsidy arrangement it has inked with any

university. Some UC campuses already subsi-

dize author fees charged by other publishers

to free journal articles from subscription

paywalls, but in some cases, the PLOS sub-

sidy will be more generous. UC wants to sign

more deals with publishers of open-access

journals to make it as easy for researchers

to publish there as in subscription journals,

says Jeff MacKie-Mason, co–lead negotiator

for UC’s deals with publishers.

Bayer, BASF lose herbicide case

BIOTECHNOLOGY | A U.S. federal jury has

awarded a peach farmer in Missouri a

$265 million verdict against agrochemical

giants Bayer and BASF, finding that a widely

used herbicide damaged his trees. Bader

Farms owner Bill Bader said the weed-killing

chemical, dicamba, drifted into his orchard

from neighboring farms that grew soybeans

and cotton genetically modified to resist

the herbicide. The award, announced

14 February, includes $250 million in puni-

tive damages. The companies will appeal.

They face more than 130 other lawsuits,

also alleging dicamba drifts from targeted

crops. Dicamba is being used more

NEWS

“

MeTooSTEM is beyond salvaging as an organization.

”

Virologist Angela Rasmussen, in a 21 February letter resigning from the nonprofit that helps

survivors of sexual harassment in science. She and others allege that its founder, BethAnn McLaughlin,

sidelined people of color and bullied volunteers. McLaughlin has denied the allegations.

M

inistries in China last week said Chinese universities should

de-emphasize publication citations when evaluating sci-

entific research, a striking shift from a long-standing pref-

erence in Chinese academe for relying on citations when

deciding whether to promote faculty members or award de-

grees. The joint statement by the ministries of education and

science and technology said an excessive and distorted reliance on the

Science Citation Index, part of the Web of Science owned by Clarivate

Analytics, has hurt the country’s research efforts by emphasizing

quantity over quality of scientists’ publications. Although not specifi-

cally mentioned in the statement, many institutions used to give re-

searchers monetary rewards for landing publications in journals with

high journal impact factors, although that practice has already fallen

out of favor. The statement calls for overhauling evaluations of sci-

entists by using qualitative and quantitative measures that consider

innovativeness, although it is short on details for implementation. It

comes as some academics and policy organizations in Europe and the

United States have sought a similar shift in academic culture there.

IN BRIEF

Edited by Jeffrey Brainard

PUBLISHING

China sours on publication metrics

U.K. science minister demoted

LEADERSHIP | The United Kingdom has a

new science minister—the fourth appoint-

ment in 1 year—and the position has been

downgraded. As part of a Cabinet reshuffle,

Amanda Solloway took over the post from

Chris Skidmore. She has a background

in retail and human resources and is the

first science minister without a university

degree. The role was changed from senior

minister of state to undersecretary, a sign

of lesser influence, and responsibility

for universities was switched to a separate

position. “The role of science minister

is too important, and too critical right

now, for this to be anything other than

an important, visible, decision-making

role,” said John Womersley, former head

of the United Kingdom’s Science and

Technology Facilities Council. Despite

the status change, Prime Minister Boris

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit blamed the herbicide dicamba

for stunted peaches grown at their farm.

Johnson has said he will prioritize science

and innovation, and his chief adviser,

Dominic Cummings, is expected to push

that agenda.

China bans wildlife trade

PUBLIC HEALTH | A key Chinese legislative

body this week called for stricter enforce-

ment of laws governing trade in wild

animals, which is believed to be linked to

the COVID-19 outbreak, China’s Xinhua

News Agency reported. Conservationists

caution that the government has not

adequately enforced previous such restric-

tions. China issued a temporary ban during

the outbreak of the severe acute respira-

tory syndrome coronavirus in Hong Kong

and mainland China in 2002–03, which

was traced to eating wild animals. China is

the largest consumer of many threatened

species for food and traditional medicines.

960 28 FEBRUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6481

Published by AAAS