Researchers from our Dept. of Biochemistry and @uni-kiel.de led by @sunsicker.bsky.social show in @pnas.org that the loss of plant diversity has an impact on the odor signals emitted by plant communities—with consequences for their interactions with other organisms. www.ice.mpg.de/527832/PR_Me...
Our #OA meta-analysis on ecological predictors of plant responses to sequential herbivory is out in @newphyt.bsky.social. It was an enjoyable collaboration with Zoë Delamore & Erik Poelman from @w-u-r.bsky.social and Zoë did a great job leading the project nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Richard McElreath: It must not be overlooked that junior researchers DO NOT TRUST US. We, the directors, are a big part of the problem. We made this system, we remake it every year, and we benefit from it. What can we do to credibly signal our commitment to reform a corrupt research culture? My conversations with junior scientists in the society has taught me that directors are too often either indifferent or hostile to science reform. We cannot hope to convince our prize winning colleagues. Their egos are immune. But we can replace retirements with researchers who care more about integrity than their own prestige. This is important both for earning the trust of the junior researchers who really do the research in the MPG and for attracting excellent future directors and starting to earn the trust of the public. So I suggest two strong signals to our junior researchers (and the public): (1) we will reform recruitment and promotion at all levels to eliminate proxies like citation counts and journal brands in favor of reliability and sustainability; (2) we will make open science skills a core part of scientific training, through the graduate schools at a minimum, as conditions for the central funding. The most ambitious thing we could do, as hinted at in item 5 above, is to meaningfully invest in metascientific research. As the largest basic research organization in the world, the MPG is uniquely suited to studying research and its products from a broad perspective that includes the humanities, the sciences, and policy. Governments are already involved in science reform. Someone should study it in an organized and sustained way.
The Max Planck Society has begun an exploratory round table for open science. We are drafting some recommendations to leadership. Still a long way to go! But here are my notes on the most recent draft, just so you all know how I am trying to steer things.
pedermisager.org/blog/seven_b...
