Data and findings are not always shared openly in science. Sometimes, researchers hoard those data and provide little to no access to colleagues from their field. These were the results of a survey of 563 researchers from 64 countries conducted by scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. The so-called "Gollum effect" hampers collaborations and harms the careers of less established researchers, writes the team in the scientific journal "One Earth".

Both research alliances that submitted proposals on behalf of Goethe University will receive future funding from the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved the new proposal submitted by the SCALE cluster initiative (cellular structures) as well as the renewal proposal from the existing Cluster of Excellence Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI) for cardiovascular and pulmonary research. From 2026, TU Darmstadt and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz will also host a total of three Clusters of Excellence. Together, the three members of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) alliance will submit a joint proposal for funding as a University Excellence Consortium.

Millions of people across the world still lack access to basic eye care such as glasses, according to a new study published in The Lancet Global Health.

Led by Professor Rupert Bourne of Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, the study included data from 815,273 participants from 76 countries and measured the global availability and quality of treatment for uncorrected refractive error, one of the most common forms of vision loss.