Dna Lab Sacked for Misconduct

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IRAN TAKES PIVOTAL UK GOVERNMENT NUCLEAR STEP CALL FOR SCIENCE Iran has announced that it ‘WEIRDOS’ PROMPTS will no longer abide by any CAUTION restrictions on its uranium- enrichment programme, Researchers have reacted with prompting fears that the 2015 surprise to a bizarrely worded deal to limit the country’s job advertisement posted by a nuclear activities is effectively senior UK government adviser. dead. Experts say that if Iran The notice calls for scientists, resumes enrichment at full SCI-HUB PROBED mathematicians and “super- throttle, it could be capable talented weirdos” to work for of creating a nuclear bomb in FOR ALLEGED the prime minister, and cites one year. LINKS TO RUSSIAN several scientific papers. The step is widely seen as INTELLIGENCE Dominic Cummings a response to the 3 January (pictured), a political strategist US drone strike on Baghdad that The operator of Sci-Hub, a who is chief special adviser to killed visiting Iranian military website that provides people Prime Minister Boris Johnson, commander Qasem Soleimani, worldwide with illicit access to posted the advertisement on his the architect of Iran’s military a large volume of copyright- personal website on 2 January. operations around the world. protected academic literature, Cummings, known for his strong Iran struck the 2015 nuclear is reportedly being investigated and sometimes controversial deal, the Joint Comprehensive by the US Department of Justice views on science, says that he is Plan of Action (JCPOA), with six (DOJ) on suspicion of stealing seeking “data scientists, project global powers on the condition US military secrets. managers, policy experts, that punishing international The agency suspects assorted weirdos”, as well as sanctions would be lifted. It Kazakhstan-born Alexandra “unusual” mathematicians, agreed to drastic cuts in its Elbakyan, who created Sci-Hub physicists and economists, to ability to produce enriched in 2011, of running the pirate work in the prime minister’s uranium and plutonium, site with silent approval from office in Downing Street. The which can be used to build a the Russian government and, post attracted attention for nuclear bomb. In particular, possibly, with support from its brash language and odd the deal limited the number military intelligence. The requirements, such as that Bush fires of centrifuges Iran could use Washington Post reported the applicants show excitement to separate uranium isotopes, allegations on 19 December, about a slew of specified ‘twice the size and the amount and purity of citing anonymous sources close scientific ideas. of Belgium’ uranium-235 the country could to the DOJ. The DOJ told Nature Researchers, including the stockpile. that it could neither confirm authors of some of the cited rage across The United States unilaterally nor deny the existence of an papers, welcomed a focus pulled out of the JCPOA in ongoing investigation. on data-driven techniques Australia 2018 and resumed harsh Sci-Hub allegedly operates and scientific skills from the economic sanctions against from servers in Russia. Critics top level of government, the country. In May 2019, Iran say that Elbakyan, a computer but cautioned against announced partial removal of scientist whose whereabouts oversimplifying how science is its restrictions. On 5 January, are unknown, uses advanced applied to policymaking. foreign minister Mohammad hacking and phishing practices Javad Zarif tweeted that there to acquire login details illegally will be no more limits on the from libraries and personal numbers of centrifuges. He subscribers. Elbakyan previously added that Iran will continue told Nature that she runs Sci-Hub to allow international nuclear alone as a private enterprise, inspections and that it will revert with financial help from to full compliance with the deal anonymous donors. She did not if the other parties do the same. respond to Nature’s request for comment on her alleged links to Russian intelligence. L TO R: ALEXANDER KRASSOTKIN/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/GETTY; MATTHEW ABBOTT/NYT/REDUX/EYEVINE; BRENDON THORNE/GETTY BRENDON ABBOTT/NYT/REDUX/EYEVINE; MATTHEW LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/GETTY; DANIEL COMMONS; R: ALEXANDER KRASSOTKIN/WIKIMEDIA L TO

Sign up to get essential science Nature news, opinion and analysis Briefing delivered to your inbox daily. Visit go.nature.com/newsletter RUMOURED CHANGES TO US GOVERNMENT OPEN-ACCESS POLICY

A rumour that the White House is considering a policy that would make all federally funded studies free to read on publication has fuelled a debate between scientists who favour open access and publishers of HEAD OF ANCIENT- subscription journals. According to the widely DNA LAB SACKED discussed rumour, whose origin FOR MISCONDUCT is unclear, the administration of President Donald Trump is The University of Adelaide has drafting an executive order fired Alan Cooper, the high- that would force the change in profile leader of its Australian publishing practices. Centre for Ancient DNA, for On 18 December, two groups “serious misconduct”. His that represent publishers — dismissal follows allegations the Association of American that Cooper bullied staff and Publishers in Washington DC students, and an investigation and the International into the ‘culture’ of the centre. Association of Scientific, Cooper is a major figure in Technical, and Medical the field of ancient DNA, and Publishers in Oxford, UK — sent has charted the migrations of letters to the US government prehistoric people and their opposing any such policy. It domestic animals around the would hinder the peer-review globe. process, stifle innovation and In a statement, the university Nearly half a billion native animals are estimated tip the publishing business into said it would not comment on to have perished in bush fires in New South Wales, chaos, they wrote. the circumstances that led to But several scientists who Cooper’s dismissal, but said the Australian state most affected by the ongoing advocate open access countered that the move did not relate to disastrous fires, and where this image was captured. the publishers’ arguments. “I the quality or integrity of his The total number of animals killed is likely to be much welcome the rumored policy,” research or any other research higher across the country, where conflagrations have tweeted John Wilbanks, chief conducted at the centre. been burning in multiple states since September. commons officer at the non- “The university takes profit research organization seriously its commitment to the The fires have so far burnt through at least six million Sage Bionetworks in Seattle, welfare of students and staff,” it hectares of land — more than twice the size of Belgium Washington. “I work at a *really also said. — across five states. In three states alone — New South well funded* non-traditional In response to his dismissal, Wales, Victoria and South Australia — fires have claimed research organization. We still Cooper told Nature that he at least 24 human lives and destroyed more than can’t afford journal access rejects the allegation that he was subscriptions.” a bully. “I work at the highest 1,800 homes. Kristina Baum, a international levels, and want The scale of the disaster prompted the federal spokesperson for the White my students and staff to do the government to call on the country’s defence forces to House Office of Science and same. I’ve occasionally been help fire-affected communities. Technology Policy, declined to too blunt in my language and On 3 January, residents of coastal towns in New South comment on the rumour. actions, and regret this — but The rumour follows an effort it was never bullying,” he says. Wales and Victoria were told to leave ahead of worsening led by European funders, called Cooper says that he was never conditions, leading to one of the country’s largest mass Plan S, that will require that warned about his conduct evacuations on record. About 160 fires were burning research they fund be made before action was taken against across those states as Nature went to press. open access on publication, with him, and that he was never asked liberal licensing terms. to attend management courses.