Cathleen O’Grady

Science & society

How science is used and abused in making crucial societal decisions

2026

Reporting on Flaws in Science in an Era of Mistrust

Covering issues of scientific integrity, such as fraud, fabricated data, or problematic publishing practices, is particularly challenging in political climates where science is under attack.

The Open Notebook

2025

A simple policy corrected pervasive gender imbalance in Ph.D. awards at Dutch university

Eindhoven University of Technology’s success sets example for other institutions to follow, researchers say

‘Unethical’ AI research on Reddit under fire

Ethics experts raise concerns over consent, study design

Imperfect Sounds

Cochlear implants give deaf kids unprecedented access to sound. But insisting they avoid using sign language may be risky

Winner of the 2026 Linguistics Journalism Award (Linguistic Society of America)

2024

Key global bioethics guidelines get ‘dramatic’ update

Revised Declaration of Helsinki stresses need for equity, protection of vulnerable groups, and research integrity

AI can help warring political camps find common ground

Virtual mediation of a mock citizens’ assembly generated more accurate, less biased consensus statements than humanmade ones

AI makes racist decisions based on dialect

Large language models strongly associated negative stereotypes with African American English

Radical women-only hiring policy improves diversity at Dutch university

Number of women faculty at the Eindhoven University of Technology jumped from 22% to 29% in first 5 years

Spectrum 10K consultation report delayed

The U.K.-based genetics study launched the consultation more than a year ago in response to fierce criticism from autistic self-advocates.

The Transmitter

2023

‘Quietly revolutionary’ plan would shake up the way U.K. universities are evaluated

Proposals to reform Research Excellence Framework take aim at inequity in science

Unlucky Numbers

Richard Gill is fighting the shoddy statistics that put nurses in prison for serial murder

2022

‘Helicopter research’ comes under fire at Cape Town conference

Statement presses for equity when scientists from wealthy nations do research in poorer ones

In the Line of Fire

Scientists have been harassed for years. But a Science survey shows the pandemic has made things far worse for some

2021

Applying for a faculty job? Here’s one way to solicit diverse feedback on your application

Online postdoc community that reviews peers’ job applications sees equity and mental health benefits

Cosmic Dawn, Nitro, GeoTime—diverse South African scientists get superhero alter egos

Creator of Marvel Comics–style trading cards wants children to see researchers who look like them

COVID-19 affects men and women differently. So why don’t clinical trials report gender data?

Some countries combine men, women in reports of cases and vaccinations, too

Academia is often a family business. That’s a barrier for increasing diversity

Faculty are 25 times more likely to have a parent with a Ph.D. than the general population

Media outlets inconsistently mention uncertain status of COVID-19 preprints

Failure to note lack of peer review could risk overselling research

2020

The wear patterns of your jeans aren’t good forensic evidence

Low reliability, high rate of false alarms in denim-matching forensics...

2018

Why figuring out what’s behind a big gender paradox won’t be easy

Historical relationships between countries haven’t been taken into account.

In Tackling Gender Inequality in STEM, Considerations of Culture

For the numerous organizations dedicated to addressing the problem of women’s underrepresentation in science, solutions are far from clear.

2014

Search engine aims to make charity studies easy to find

The tool could widen access to useful findings by solely archiving NGO research and encouraging robust studies.