For Yet Better Science

To understand disease, scientists are producing comprehensive omics datasets. However, the majority of these are Eurocentric. Recently, the inclusion of patients from Asia and the Middle East in genomic analyses uncovered unique loci linked to COVID-19 severity. This demonstrates that focusing on diversity and underrepresented populations can benefit all.  

From leading-edge discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, and medicine, to inventing revolutionary devices, these women have made an indelible impact on our understanding of the world.

The European Commission is set to insist on steps that will make research design more inclusive.

Giving humility a key role in scientific practice and communication would improve its objective social function—that is, the production of knowledge about our world and its application to the improvement of the human condition—and its public acceptance. This article reviews the limits of science arising from systemic, epistemic, methodological, and individual limitations and links them to the phenomena in scientific practice that they originate from. The reflection invites us to consider science from the point of view of its limits in situations where there is difficulty in reaching a consensus but also when a consensus has indeed been achieved. Science and technology reflect who we are as individuals and as a society and inherit both our virtues and weaknesses. Humility is the key to getting technoscience that brings us closer to the truth and helps us advance toward improving the human condition. Humbler science becomes a better science.  

One Notre Dame researcher says we should look beyond the hype to see how virtual reality can make scientists more effective. But to realize the benefits, researchers must also plan well and avoid potential pitfalls.