![\"\"](\"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Wikibase-vs-SMW.jpg\")
Wir freuen uns, bekanntzugeben, dass Semantic Wikibase erfolgreich auf Kompatibilit\u00e4t mit MediaWiki 1.43 aktualisiert wurde. Mit diesem Schritt stellen wir sicher, dass Semantic Wikibase weiterhin mit der aktuellen Longterm-Support-Version von MediaWiki kompatibel bleibt und als stabile Grundlage f\u00fcr semantisch angereicherte Wissensinfrastrukturen dient.
\nViele Forschungsprojekte setzen das Mediawiki-Framework als Werkzeug f\u00fcr Forschungsdatenmanagement ein. Mit \u00fcber 1.500 Erweiterungen l\u00e4sst sich dieses an die individuellen Anforderungen anpassen:
\nInsbesondere Wikibase und Semantic Mediawiki werden h\u00e4ufig im Forschungsumfeld verwendet. Beide Erweiterungen haben unterschiedliche St\u00e4rken und Schw\u00e4chen:
\nDie Entwicklung von Semantic Wikibase (SWB) erm\u00f6glichte es erstmals, beide Erweiterungen gemeinsam auf einem System zu verbinden und so die Vorteile beider Systeme gemeinsam zu nutzen. W\u00e4hrend strukturelle Wissensdaten in Wikibase gespeichert und verwaltet werden, sorgt die SWB-Erweiterung daf\u00fcr, dass diese auch in Semantic Mediawiki f\u00fcr die Visualisierung in Wiki-Artikeln verf\u00fcgbar sind. SWB dient also quasi als Br\u00fccke zwischen den beiden Erweiterungen, wobei der Datenfluss nur von Wikibase nach Semantic Mediawiki (nicht umgekehrt) erfolgt. Dies dient dazu, Datenkonflikte zu vermeiden.
\nSemantic Wikibase wurde im September 2020 in einer ersten Version vom Unternehmen ProfessionalWiki ver\u00f6ffentlicht. Dieser erste Prototyp war nur mit der \u00e4lteren Mediawiki Version 1.35 kompatibel, aber unterst\u00fctzte bereits grundlegende Datentypen. Im Open Science Lab sahen wir in der Entwicklung einen Baustein, der das Potenzial hat, im Mediawiki-Umfeld eine bedeutende L\u00fccke zu schlie\u00dfen: Die Kombination aus strukturierter, f\u00f6derierbarer Datenverwaltung und Datenpr\u00e4sentation. Unser Ziel war es, die Erweiterung zu testen, bei Bedarf weiterzuentwickeln und k\u00fcnftig als unser Content-Management-System zur Unterst\u00fctzung von Forschungsprojekten zu verwenden.
\nMitte 2024 wurde mit dem Projekt PhiWiki ein erster Prototyp f\u00fcr Mediawiki 1.39 in Zusammenarbeit mit der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz sowie der AG Digitale Philosophie erfolgreich getestet. Es folgte mit Semantic Glossar ein weiteres Projekt zur kollaborativen Entwicklung von Terminologien mittels Semantic Wikibase.
\nEnde 2024 konnten wir im Rahmen des Projekts Herrenh\u00e4user des Ostseeraums Semantic Wikibase dann in einem umfangreichen Projekt einem herausfordernden Lasttest unterziehen. Mit \u00fcber 14.000 Wikibase-Objekten, die auf mehr als 300 Artikelseiten dynamisch eingebettet als Karten, Zeitstrahlen, Tabellen und Suchformulare verwendet werden, konnten wir die bestehenden Schw\u00e4chen von Semantic Wikibase identifizieren und beheben. Dazu geh\u00f6rte unter anderem die Unterst\u00fctzung des vollen Wikibase-Datenmodells mittels Qualifiers, eine erste grundlegende Unterst\u00fctzung des Extended Datetime Formats (EDTF) sowie die Einbettung von 3D-Visualisierungen aus Semantic Kompakkt. Entscheidend war hierf\u00fcr die\u00a0interdisziplin\u00e4re Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem Enwicklerteam und den LOD- und Wikibase-Datenmodell-Expertinnen Lozana Rossenova und Lucia Sohmen.
\nDie im Projekt entwickelten Best-Practices umfassten unter anderem:
\nMit der Version 1.39 war Semantic Wikibase kompatibel mit der damaligen Longtime Support Version(LTS) von Mediawiki. Diese Unterst\u00fctzung war aber gem\u00e4\u00df des Mediawiki Lifecycle nur bis Ende 2025 gegeben.
\nMediaWiki 1.43 bringt als aktuelle LTS-Version (Support bis 2028) zahlreiche technische Verbesserungen, Performance-Optimierungen sowie langfristige Wartungsvorteile mit sich. F\u00fcr viele Wikibase-Installationen ist die Orientierung an den aktuellen MediaWiki-Versionen essenziell, um Sicherheit, Stabilit\u00e4t und Zukunftsf\u00e4higkeit zu gew\u00e4hrleisten. Durch Versionskonflikte zwischen verwendeten Bibliotheken in Wikibase und Semantic Mediawiki, konnte SemanticWikibase aber nicht ohne Anpassung in dieser neuen Version eingesetzt werden.
\nUnsere gr\u00f6\u00dfte Bef\u00fcrchtung war, dass die aktuellen Versionen grundlegende \u00c4nderung vorgenommen hatten, die einen Weiterbetrieb von Semantic Wikibase technisch unsauber bzw. unwirtschaftlich machen w\u00fcrden. Ende 2025 schaffte Open-Science-Lab-Entwickler Lukas G\u00fcnther die entscheidende Grundlage f\u00fcr das Upgrade, indem er unser Installationstool Wikibase4Research aktualisierte und so mit der Mediawiki Version 1.44 kompatibel machte. Da Semantic Wikibase sich mittels Wikibase4Research automatisiert installieren l\u00e4sst, war so ein geeignetes Test-Setup geschaffen, um die Entwicklung in Angriff zu nehmen. Letzendlich war es uns so m\u00f6glich, Semantic Wikibase mit der aktuellen LTS-Version von Mediawiki zu betreiben und das sogar ohne \u00c4nderungen am Wikibase- oder SemanticMediawiki-Code vorzunehmen. S\u00e4mtliche bisher unterst\u00fctzten Datentypen sind auch weiterhin funktional, was auch ein Update bestehender Installationen auf die neue Version erm\u00f6glicht.
\n![\"\"](\"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SWB-Datatypes.png\")
Die kontinuierliche Synchronisierung von Semantic Wikibase mit dem MediaWiki-Releasezyklus ist ein zentraler Baustein f\u00fcr nachhaltige, semantische Wissensinfrastrukturen. Mit diesem Update schaffen wir die Grundlage f\u00fcr kommende Weiterentwicklungen und eine langfristig stabile Integration in das Wikibase-\u00d6kosystem. Der Einsatz von Semantic Wikibase bedeutet f\u00fcr unsere Forschungsdaten- und Terminologie-Projekte im Open Science Lab:
\nWir freuen uns auf die weitere Entwicklung und die vielf\u00e4ltigen kommenden Projekte mit Semantic Wikibase.
\nDuring the Chan Zuckerberg Institute\u2019s Essential Open Source Software for Science cycle 6 funding round, the Bioconductor Community Manager, Maria Doyle, secured a grant to fund a developer engagement position for Bioconductor, and I was fortunate enough to be offered that role. I am Nick Cooley, and I\u2019m excited to see what this role can bring to Bioconductor. My background is relatively diverse, I received my PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Missouri, and I worked on prokaryotic genomics and functional genomics at the University of Pittsburgh from 2017 to 2025.
\nThe mandate of this role is somewhat broad. Bioconductor, and academic computing generally face a myriad of distinct and interrelated challenges as hardware, computing paradigms, and education environments change rapidly. Improving developer resources for tackling new and existing challenges, modernizing Bioconductor developer onboarding materials (particularly for early career researchers), and improving recognition mechanisms for community members who volunteer time and effort to the Bioconductor project are all general themes within the role scope.
\nA few of the specific efforts I\u2019ll be working on in this role include:
\nThe Developer Forum had previously been run on a volunteer basis, and served as a community resource for discussing technical and infrastructure issues, concerns, and opportunities. The creation of the Developer Engagement Lead allowed us include the Forum as direct responsibility of this role.
\nBioconductor working groups have been a pillar of Bioconductor for a while, and represent a considerable amount of volunteer work towards the project. Improving the visibility of the working groups themselves, and the recognition that project contributors receive for their participation in the working groups can go a long way towards ensuring that that work is valued by contributors home institutions and funding mechanisms. The Champions Program aims to create a clear recognition mechanism for those volunteer efforts.
\nCommunity and collaboration are irreplaceable engines of strong research. Many Bioconductor contributors find community and collaboration within their own disciplines or institutions. Providing an avenue for collaborative and technical events within Bioconductor can fill persistent gaps in the the research tooling present in the project, and present networking opportunities for early career researchers. Part of this role is planning and running these events.
\nThe ways that researchers search for information, tools, and workflow examples are changing with the rise of large language models and their interfaces. There are opportunities for improving how bioinformaticians, especially those outside of the Bioconductor community, find and familiarize themselves with research solutions within the Bioconductor project, including through improvements to website search and documentation discoverability. A long term goal of this role is to work on documentation templates and checking tools to improve their searchability by LLMs, and explore the feasibility of Bioconductor sanctioned and managed LLMs.
\nFor developer discussions and ideas, the Bioconductor Zulip is the best place to connect.
\n\n\u00a9 2026 Bioconductor. Content is published under Creative Commons CC-BY-4.0 License for the text and BSD 3-Clause License for any code. | R-Bloggers\n
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/jrewy-hyc54","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-09-developer-engagement/","id":"db87cbca-ba90-4312-bfee-9e9f908e1933","image":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-09-developer-engagement/featured-image.jpeg","images":[],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775717373,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775692800,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"p3ctn-cs704","status":"active","summary":"Introduction During the Chan Zuckerberg Institute\u2019s Essential Open Source Software for Science cycle 6 funding round, the Bioconductor Community Manager, Maria Doyle, secured a grant to fund a developer engagement position for Bioconductor, and I was fortunate enough to be offered that role. I am Nick Cooley, and I\u2019m excited to see what this role can bring to Bioconductor.","tags":["Developer Engagement"],"title":"Developer Engagement and Bioconductor","updated_at":1775692800,"url":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-09-developer-engagement/","version":"v1"}},{"document":{"abstract":"AP News recently ran a story on the interface of religious inspiration and the search for dark matter. I thought about commenting on it, then thought better of it, but now here I am again. I know some but not all of the people who are quoted, all good scientists.","archive_url":null,"authors":[{"affiliation":[{"id":"https://ror.org/051fd9666","name":"Case Western Reserve University"}],"contributor_roles":[],"family":"McGaugh","given":"Stacy","url":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9762-0980"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"physicalSciences","community_id":"82262dc6-3666-40e2-939a-d4d637d0fd8f","created_at":1713369760,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"A Blog About the Science and Sociology of Cosmology and Dark Matter","doi_as_guid":false,"favicon":"https://rogue-scholar.org/api/communities/82262dc6-3666-40e2-939a-d4d637d0fd8f/logo","feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://tritonstation.com/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress.com","generator_raw":"WordPress.com","home_page_url":"https://tritonstation.com/new-blog-page/","id":"651203f2-4bfe-4788-b4d0-2971b1f8cfe5","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":"https://mastodon.social/@DudeDarkmatter","prefix":"10.59350","registered_at":1729029144,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"tritonstation","status":"active","subfield":"3103","subfield_validated":null,"title":"Triton Station","updated_at":1775721985.347355,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":"83dddbbe-93dc-445b-accd-b0ecfd19f65f"},"blog_name":"Triton Station","blog_slug":"tritonstation","content_html":"\nAP News recently ran a story on the interface of religious inspiration and the search for dark matter. I thought about commenting on it, then thought better of it, but now here I am again. I know some but not all of the people who are quoted, all good scientists. The article ends with a nice quote from Jennifer Wiseman:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cStudying the deep universe may make us feel insignificant,\u201d Wiseman said. \u201cBut it also gives us a sense of unity that we\u2019re all on the same planet. \u2026 The hope is we get a sense of joy, humility and love from these contemplations.\u201d
\n
I’ve known Dr. Wiseman since undergrad days, before either of us were Ph.Ds. We don’t agree on much that is specific to religion, but somehow manage to be friends anyway, and I completely agree with the sentiments she expresses here.
\n\n\n\nThere is a tendency to portray religion as being at odds with science, and that can certainly happen. But they share more in common than this trope implies. Both arise from a deep wellspring in the human spirit, the same wellspring: the desire to know. How does the universe work? How did it come to be so? Why? and on and on. Where they differ is in approach: when encountering an unknown, especially things that are fundamentally unknowable (e.g., does God exist?), religion asserts an answer and asks that we accept it on faith. Faith is anathema to the scientific process; one is, in principle, to search for the truth through observation and experimentation.
\n\n\n\nReligion and science come into conflict when scientific knowledge encroaches on religion’s known unknowns. There was a time when the structure of the heavens must have seemed unknowable; the realm of the sacred, safe from access by mundane human knowledge. So it is easy to see how Galileo came into conflict with the Church despite being a faithful member:
\n\n\n\nChurch: Scripture teaches us that the Earth is the unmoving center of mortal corruption; the heavens above us are perfect and unchanging.
\n\n\n\nGalileo: I can see spots on the sun and mountains on the moon.
\n\n\n\nChurch: We are the center about which the heavens rotate every day, clearly the center of all rotation.
\n\n\n\nGalileo: I see satellites circling Jupiter.
\n\n\n\nChurch: God is great; He could do one thing one day and an entirely different thing another day*.
\n\n\n\nGalileo: It appears that the Earth revolves around the Sun, never the other way around.
\n\n\n\nChurch: Do you see these instruments of torture?
\n\n\n\nThis is a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a serious historical incident, but my point is that conflict arises when scientific knowledge encroaches onto turf that had formerly been the exclusive province of religion. Addressing our spiritual need to know can be inspirational, but it can also be a let down. Giving specific answers to formerly unknowable questions can be a bit of a mood killer. Is that all there is?
\n\n\n\nAnother downside of scientific knowledge is that it can never be complete. There is always something left unknown, and we are not supposed to fill that void with something we take on faith. Yet we are profoundly uncomfortable with not knowing. A little extrapolation at and beyond the fringes of current knowledge is natural, and can sometimes provides a useful way forward in driving new discoveries. But it can get carried away, e.g., string theory. So extraordinary caution is also warranted: the temptation to fill in the blank is where empiricism transitions to theology.
\n\n\n\nUnderstanding that we know a lot – as we do at this juncture in the history of science – and yet still don’t know something important, like what most of the universe is made of, is hard to accept. It becomes even harder when admitting something we thought we understood is wrong, or is less complete than we thought. We know most of the mass in the universe is made of non-baryonic cold dark matter&. Don’t we?
\n\n\n\nThe dynamical evidence for acceleration discrepancies is abundant. That these must be caused by non-baryonic cold dark matter is less clear. This is where cosmology intrudes. Cosmology has always been the nexus where science and religion meet, with philosophical imperatives often obscuring essential observational facts. Before Kepler, orbits had to be circular. After Inflation, the density parameter had to be one. (We meant \u03a9m = 1, not the modern weak-sauce version \u03a9m + \u03a9\u039b = 1.) The mass density is larger than the baryon density from BBN (\u03a9m > \u03a9b), so there has to be non-baryonic dark matter. That such a substance is also required to fit the acoustic power spectrum of the CMB amplifies our faith in the existence of such stuff.
\n\n\n\nWe think we’ve solved cosmology, and that solution requires non-baryonic cold dark matter. So to admit that maybe we were wrong about dark matter just because it persistently remains undetected and provides unsatisfactory explanations of many astronomical observations and is consistently outperformed in predictive capacity by an alternative theory is to admit that we don’t understand as much about the universe as we thought. That’s really, really hard. Our unwillingness to admit that maybe we have been wrong about such an important issue is where human nature kicks in to blur the line between scientific knowledge and religious faith. It’s much easier to ignore those nagging doubts% and have faith that we were right all along.
\n\n\n\nCosmology works so well that dark matter has to exist. I’ve head this sentiment expressed over and over by many different scientists, yet this is an assertion of faith. A more conservative statement is that cosmology as we currently conceive it works if, and only if, an appropriate form of non-baryonic dark matter exists with the required cosmic density. If not, then we need a new model – something that presumably^ stems from a more general underlying theory.
\n\n\n\nSince both religion and science arise from the same desire to know, it is easy to have faith that we know more than we actually do.
\n\n\n\nThis is the sticking point we’ve hit in the dark matter debate. We’ve been calling the acceleration discrepancy the dark matter problem for so long that this linguistic mistake has morphed into an absolute certainty that invisible mass exists. It has become a matter of faith.
\n\n\n\n*Of course an omnipotent deity could do that. Apparently He chooses not to do so, sparking the schism between theists, for whom God actively intervenes in miraculous ways in real world affairs, and deists, who view God more as the great watchmaker, setting creation in motion but not interfering with its operation. Deism is conducive to science, as the search to identify the rules by which the universe works is to gain insight – however remote – into the mind of God. I suspect this attitude informed Einstein’s complaint against quantum mechanics: “God does not play dice with the universe.”
\n\n\n\n&I certainly thought so before I didn’t.
\n\n\n\n%The social pressure to conform to the preferred cosmology is enormous. I know I’m only making it worse for myself. But an explanation that omits MOND is a lie of omission. Here science and religion certainly overlap in the sentiments expressed by the seventeenth century cleric Paul Gerhardt:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWhen a man lies, he murders some part of the world.\u201d
\n
Assertions that somehow “feedback” explains MOND are simply a numerical form of magical thinking; an excuse to not have to explain the inexplicable. By eliding MOND, we murder a part of the world.
\n\n\n\n^Here I am extrapolating at the fringes of knowledge.
\n","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/cgped-pcp45","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://tritonstation.com/?p=12439","id":"f6a23ac7-31ec-4aa5-b909-d3e93d35034f","image":"https://i0.wp.com/tritonstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/nopeaceduckgodrabbitgod.png?fit=1318%2C1470&ssl=1","images":[],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775675719,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775674707,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"snv87-b7a54","status":"active","summary":"AP News recently ran a story on the interface of religious inspiration and the search for dark matter. I thought about commenting on it, then thought better of it, but now here I am again. I know some but not all of the people who are quoted, all good scientists.","tags":["Cosmology","Dark Matter","Philosophy Of Science"],"title":"The well of inspiration","updated_at":1775674708,"url":"https://tritonstation.com/2026/04/08/the-well-of-inspiration/","version":"v1"}},{"document":{"abstract":"Cher lecteur, Ch\u00e8re lectrice. Cette ann\u00e9e, La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve (TGLF) f\u00eate ses dix ans. Nous rassemblons aujourd\u2019hui 80 000 professionnels de la sant\u00e9 et de l\u2019humanitaire dans plus de 100 pays.","archive_url":null,"authors":[{"affiliation":[{"id":"https://ror.org/04h13ss13","name":"The Geneva Learning Foundation"}],"contributor_roles":[],"family":"Sadki","given":"Reda","url":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4051-0606"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"educationalSciences","community_id":"7e26491f-41c6-4665-9088-5aa6643a1ba8","created_at":1731211871,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"Learning to make a difference","doi_as_guid":false,"favicon":null,"feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://redasadki.me/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress","generator_raw":"WordPress 6.7.1","home_page_url":"https://redasadki.me","id":"88b8caba-b485-4654-96ce-a21547abaab3","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":"https://techhub.social/@redasadki","prefix":"10.59350","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"redasadki","status":"active","subfield":"3304","subfield_validated":null,"title":"Reda Sadki","updated_at":1775721944.569326,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":"0d34dfde-a007-4ec9-9bc6-7b0318fa2c5e"},"blog_name":"Reda Sadki","blog_slug":"redasadki","content_html":"\nCher lecteur, Ch\u00e8re lectrice.
\n\n\n\nCette ann\u00e9e, La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve (TGLF) f\u00eate ses dix ans.
\n\n\n\nNous rassemblons aujourd\u2019hui 80 000 professionnels de la sant\u00e9 et de l\u2019humanitaire dans plus de 100 pays. Ce sont des personnes qui ont choisi d\u2019apprendre autrement, de diriger sur place et de refuser l\u2019id\u00e9e que le changement doit attendre l\u2019arriv\u00e9e du prochain expert venu de loin.
\n\n\n\nC\u2019est vous qui avez construit tout cela.
\n\n\n\nPas nous.
\n\n\n\nVous.
\n\n\n\nChaque projet d\u00e9pos\u00e9 et corrig\u00e9 avant la date limite de minuit, chaque pair que vous avez soutenu, chaque plan d\u2019action mis en oeuvre.
\n\n\n\nVous \u00eates au c\u0153ur de tout ce que fait La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve.
\n\n\n\nRacontez-nous votre histoire\u00a0et dites-nous\u00a0ce que vous attendez de la Fondation\u00a0pour l\u2019avenir.
\n\n\n\nTout ce que nous faisons pour marquer cet anniversaire a un seul objectif: vous donner plus.
\n\n\n\nPlus de formations, plus de chemins pour conduire le changement, plus de soutien pour transformer ce que vous apprenez en actions dans votre communaut\u00e9.
\n\n\n\nCette lettre d\u2019information vous parvient chaque fois qu\u2019il y a quelque chose qui m\u00e9rite votre attention: une nouvelle formation ou un nouveau programme qui s\u2019ouvre, l\u2019histoire d\u2019un Scholar qui utilise ce qu\u2019il a appris pour faire la diff\u00e9rence dans sa communaut\u00e9, ou une id\u00e9e du r\u00e9seau trop importante pour la garder pour nous.
\n\n\n\nNous sommes ensemble.
\n\n\n\nReda Sadki\u00a0et Charlotte Mbuh
La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve
PS Vous nous suivez sur WhatsApp?
\n\n\n\nLa lettre d\u2019information Scholar de La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve \u2013 Premier num\u00e9ro (8 avril 2026)
\n\n\n\nCertaines formations sont d\u00e9j\u00e0 ouvertes. D\u2019autres s\u2019ouvrent quand vous invitez vos coll\u00e8gues \u00e0 vous rejoindre. Pensez \u00e0 une ou deux personnes qui travaillent sur les m\u00eames d\u00e9fis que vous. Utilisez les boutons de partage. Mieux encore, envoyez-leur un message personnel avec le lien. C\u2019est votre invitation qui ouvre la formation.
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/0a8fce1-83dc-c15-385f-7a1d38cb1344_20260406.AGEING_closeup.044.800.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
Le vieillissement de la population progresse le plus vite dans les r\u00e9gions qui ont le moins de moyens pour y faire face. Ce nouveau programme de certification vous aide \u00e0 conduire le changement pour un vieillissement en bonne sant\u00e9 dans votre communaut\u00e9, en travaillant avec des pairs de dizaines de pays confront\u00e9s au m\u00eame d\u00e9fi.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification Vieillissement en bonne sant\u00e9 | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/15573ac-1e50-1e23-3c0a-aa7fec0527_20260407.ONEHEALTH.006.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
Les maladies zoonotiques, la r\u00e9sistance aux antimicrobiens et les liens entre le climat et la sant\u00e9 exigent des professionnels de la sant\u00e9 capables de penser et d\u2019agir au carrefour entre l\u2019humain, l\u2019animal et l\u2019environnement. Ce programme d\u00e9veloppe ces comp\u00e9tences par l\u2019apprentissage entre pairs, avec des coll\u00e8gues travaillant dans diff\u00e9rents secteurs.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification Une seule sant\u00e9 | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/353f406-4ec-51-20f5-801f3d45d324_Evaluation_of_a_capacity_building_intervention_on_malaria_treatment_for_children.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
La lutte contre le paludisme et son \u00e9limination demandent des professionnels de la sant\u00e9 capables d\u2019utiliser les donn\u00e9es, d\u2019introduire des innovations qui sauvent des vies et d\u2019adapter les protocoles \u00e0 la situation de leur district. Ce programme, d\u00e9velopp\u00e9 en partenariat avec la Fondation Gates, vous met en contact avec des pairs qui dirigent ce travail dans les pays o\u00f9 le paludisme est pr\u00e9sent. Vous pouvez d\u00e9j\u00e0 rejoindre le Grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement Teach to Reach, organis\u00e9 avec le Partenariat RBM pour en finir avec le paludisme.
\n\n\n\nRejoignez le Grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement Paludisme maintenant. Vous serez alors parmi les premiers \u00e0 recevoir l\u2019invitation pour le nouveau programme.
\n\n\n\nLisez le nouvel article de Reda Sadki et Charlotte Mbuh: \u00ab Repenser les ressources humaines pour la lutte contre le paludisme et son \u00e9limination en Afrique \u00bb
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10dfcdc-d8bf-bed-50c-68b804bd8765_20260218.NCD_primer_course_description-DRAFT-v2.1600.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
Une crise prive une m\u00e8re de son insuline. Un grand-p\u00e8re perd son traitement contre l\u2019hypertension. Un enfant ne peut plus acc\u00e9der \u00e0 son inhalateur. Les maladies non transmissibles (MNT) ne s\u2019arr\u00eatent pas pendant les urgences, mais la plupart des formations humanitaires font comme si c\u2019\u00e9tait le cas. Cette nouvelle formation entre pairs, d\u00e9velopp\u00e9e avec le Dr Shanthi Mendis (ancienne conseill\u00e8re principale de l\u2019OMS pour les MNT), vous donne des outils concrets et des strat\u00e9gies valid\u00e9es par les pairs que vous pouvez utiliser d\u00e8s cette semaine.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification MNT | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3e3001a-b002-43f-e5fa-2b31dd434ca_20260115.TGLF_AI_as_Co-Worker_for_Health_dragged_.640.jpg?ssl=1\"/)
L\u2019intelligence artificielle est d\u00e9j\u00e0 dans votre lieu de travail: dans les outils de diagnostic, dans les syst\u00e8mes de donn\u00e9es, dans les outils que vos coll\u00e8gues utilisent en secret parce qu\u2019il n\u2019y a pas encore de r\u00e8gles. Ce programme est fait pour les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 et de l\u2019humanitaire qui veulent prendre les devants dans la r\u00e9ponse de leur organisation face \u00e0 l\u2019IA, au lieu d\u2019attendre une politique du si\u00e8ge qui n\u2019arrivera peut-\u00eatre jamais. Nous pensons que c\u2019est un changement profond.
\n\n\n\nObtenez le guide sur LinkedIn | En savoir plus sur la certification AI4Health
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/31850f-edda-bbfb-68e-bcd1d2d285_20251005.GENDER_in_emergencies.136.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
Vous n\u2019avez pas besoin de payer pour obtenir votre premi\u00e8re certification sur le genre dans les situations d\u2019urgence. Con\u00e7ue par et pour les praticiens, cette introduction est destin\u00e9e aux humanitaires qui commencent leur parcours pour faire avancer l\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9 des genres dans les crises.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification Genre dans les situations d\u2019urgence | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/5d48c84-2d45-0c70-5f8f-84acaa5c8c1b_20250904.CLIMATE.008.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
La crise climatique n\u2019est pas un sc\u00e9nario futur. C\u2019est la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 de vos patients en ce moment m\u00eame: des maladies qui changent, le stress d\u00fb \u00e0 la chaleur, des cha\u00eenes d\u2019approvisionnement perturb\u00e9es et la capacit\u00e9 de r\u00e9sistance des communaut\u00e9s mise sous pression. Ce programme vous met en contact avec des pairs qui conduisent des r\u00e9ponses d\u2019adaptation en premi\u00e8re ligne, et vous aide \u00e0 d\u00e9velopper et \u00e0 mettre en \u0153uvre les v\u00f4tres.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur cette certification | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/f7c25bd-6887-6757-10da-0b82e4641fc8_20250904.EQUITY.006.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
L\u2019\u00e9quit\u00e9 en sant\u00e9 n\u2019est pas une simple d\u00e9claration de valeurs. C\u2019est un ensemble de comp\u00e9tences pratiques: savoir qui manque dans vos donn\u00e9es, comprendre les causes profondes de cette absence et construire un plan d\u2019action avec votre communaut\u00e9 pour combler l\u2019\u00e9cart. Le programme de certification HEART vous donne les outils d\u2019analyse pour y parvenir.
\n\n\n\nRejoignez le Grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement \u00ab L\u2019\u00e9quit\u00e9 compte: une approche pratique pour identifier et \u00e9liminer les biais \u00bb | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1251463-0715-e1c7-3b3f-b0afe50b385_20251126.HPV_schoolgirls.076.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
Que vous travailliez sur la vaccination de routine, la recherche des enfants z\u00e9ro-dose ou la r\u00e9ponse aux \u00e9pid\u00e9mies, ce programme vous met en contact avec des milliers de pairs qui font face aux m\u00eames d\u00e9fis que vous. Les donn\u00e9es issues de ce r\u00e9seau ont contribu\u00e9 \u00e0 r\u00e9\u00e9crire le guide mondial de mise en \u0153uvre. Venez ajouter votre exp\u00e9rience.
\n\n\n\nD\u00e9couvrez ce que les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 ont appris gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 cette formation | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/60eb767-e5d0-af41-5f2b-42eb2574da_20250401.DECOLONIZATION.004.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
La sant\u00e9 globale a un probl\u00e8me de hi\u00e9rarchie. Les personnes les plus proches des communaut\u00e9s qui portent le plus lourd fardeau de la maladie sont syst\u00e9matiquement plac\u00e9es comme des b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires des orientations, et non comme leurs auteurs. Ce programme vous donne les cadres d\u2019analyse essentiels et une communaut\u00e9 internationale de pairs pour remettre en question cette hi\u00e9rarchie et diriger autrement.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification D\u00e9colonisation | S\u2019inscrire maintenant (disponible uniquement en anglais)
\n\n\n\n![\"\"/](\"https://i0.wp.com/redasadki.me/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/04718a3-ce7f-5d72-e0d0-5112f3068aa_NTD_Dirk_Engels.640.jpg?ssl=1\")
En plus de notre grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement sur la bilharziose g\u00e9nitale chez la femme (BGF), nous pr\u00e9parons une formation de haut niveau avec le Dr Dirk Engels, ancien directeur des MTN \u00e0 l\u2019Organisation mondiale de la Sant\u00e9 (OMS). Nous retracerons le parcours de Dirk, d\u2019une clinique de terrain au Zimbabwe jusqu\u2019au si\u00e8ge de l\u2019OMS \u00e0 Gen\u00e8ve. Qu\u2019est-ce qui a chang\u00e9 dans le paysage de la sant\u00e9 globale ? Pourquoi ces maladies sont-elles encore n\u00e9glig\u00e9es ?
\n\n\n\n2025 a \u00e9t\u00e9 la derni\u00e8re ann\u00e9e de notre premi\u00e8re d\u00e9cennie, et pour beaucoup, une ann\u00e9e difficile. Les financements pour la sant\u00e9 globale se sont effondr\u00e9s. Les effets du changement climatique sur la sant\u00e9 sont devenus une urgence quotidienne. L\u2019IA a commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 creuser l\u2019\u00e9cart entre les mieux dot\u00e9s en ressources et tous les autres. Le r\u00e9seau a tenu bon. Le savoir de qui compte ? raconte l\u2019histoire de cette ann\u00e9e: 60 000 professionnels de la sant\u00e9 dans 137 pays qui ont continu\u00e9, non pas pour les per diem, mais parce que les probl\u00e8mes dans leurs communaut\u00e9s n\u2019attendaient pas le retour des financements.
\n\n\n\nRegarder la r\u00e9trospective 2025 (fran\u00e7ais) \u2192
\n\n\n\nNotre fondateur, Reda Sadki, publie sur redasadki.me. Voici quelques articles r\u00e9cents \u00e0 ne pas louper:
\n\n\n\nAbonnez-vous pour recevoir les articles d\u00e8s leur publication \u2192
\n\n\n\nLes programmes suivants n\u2019ont pas encore de lien d\u2019inscription. Chacun sera annonc\u00e9 dans un prochain num\u00e9ro de cette lettre d\u2019information. Si l\u2019un de ces sujets fait partie de votre travail, c\u2019est une bonne raison d\u2019ouvrir la prochaine \u00e9dition.
\n\n\n\nPour chacun de ces programmes: vous apprendrez avec des pairs. Vous d\u00e9velopperez un plan d\u2019action adapt\u00e9 \u00e0 votre contexte. Et si vous \u00eates pr\u00eat \u00e0 aller plus loin, l\u2019Acc\u00e9l\u00e9rateur d\u2019impact vous accompagnera pour mettre en \u0153uvre ce plan semaine apr\u00e8s semaine et produire des preuves que vos actions ont fait la diff\u00e9rence.
\n\n\n\nQu\u2019est-ce que l\u2019Acc\u00e9l\u00e9rateur d\u2019impact? \u2192
\n\n\n\nAu-del\u00e0 des bouff\u00e9es de chaleur: un guide pour les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 sur la m\u00e9nopause
\n\n\n\nLa m\u00e9nopause touche toute femme qui vit assez longtemps. Pourtant, dans la plupart des syst\u00e8mes de sant\u00e9, elle est invisible. Pas de d\u00e9pistage. Pas de vocabulaire. Pas de budget. Les femmes souffrent en silence. Et le syst\u00e8me regarde ailleurs. Cette formation est en cours de d\u00e9veloppement en partenariat avec Menoglobal, la premi\u00e8re organisation internationale consacr\u00e9e \u00e0 faire de la m\u00e9nopause une priorit\u00e9 de sant\u00e9 globale.
\n\n\n\nPremiers secours psychologiques et soutien en sant\u00e9 mentale et soutien psychosocial (SMSPS)
\n\n\n\nLes populations que vous servez ont v\u00e9cu la perte, le d\u00e9placement et des crises qui durent. Beaucoup d\u2019entre vous aussi. Ce programme vous donne des outils valid\u00e9s pour fournir les premiers secours psychologiques et pour concevoir des r\u00e9ponses SMSPS ancr\u00e9es dans la culture et le contexte de votre communaut\u00e9.
\n\n\n\nD\u00e9veloppement organisationnel et leadership
\n\n\n\nComment conduire le changement dans une institution qui n\u2019a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 con\u00e7ue pour le changement dont vous savez qu\u2019il est n\u00e9cessaire ? Ce programme est destin\u00e9 aux responsables des syst\u00e8mes de sant\u00e9 qui veulent des cadres de travail et le soutien de pairs pour cr\u00e9er les conditions organisationnelles d\u2019une am\u00e9lioration durable.
\n\n\n\nS\u00e9curit\u00e9 alimentaire et nutrition
\n\n\n\nL\u2019ins\u00e9curit\u00e9 alimentaire et la malnutrition sont des probl\u00e8mes du syst\u00e8me de sant\u00e9. Ce programme vous aide \u00e0 comprendre les liens entre ces domaines, \u00e0 \u00e9valuer la situation dans votre district et \u00e0 identifier ce que vous pouvez faire avec les ressources dont vous disposez r\u00e9ellement.
\n\n\n\nBien public ou profit priv\u00e9 ? Un dialogue pour les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 sur la privatisation des soins
\n\n\n\nPartout, les syst\u00e8mes de sant\u00e9 font face \u00e0 l\u2019expansion des acteurs priv\u00e9s, avec des cons\u00e9quences sur l\u2019\u00e9quit\u00e9, l\u2019acc\u00e8s et la redevabilit\u00e9 qui touchent de mani\u00e8re in\u00e9gale les communaut\u00e9s que vous servez. Ce programme vous aide \u00e0 comprendre ces dynamiques, \u00e0 analyser votre propre contexte et \u00e0 conduire une r\u00e9ponse.
\n\n\n\nQue se passe-t-il sur les march\u00e9s quand une catastrophe frappe ?
\n\n\n\nQuand les financements s\u2019effondrent, que les cha\u00eenes d\u2019approvisionnement se brisent ou que des chocs \u00e9conomiques frappent, les march\u00e9s de la sant\u00e9 r\u00e9agissent de mani\u00e8res que les guides ne vous pr\u00e9parent pas \u00e0 affronter. Ce programme vous met en contact avec des pairs qui vivent ces r\u00e9alit\u00e9s et vous donne des outils pour prot\u00e9ger la continuit\u00e9 des services.
\n\n\n\nLe 11 mars, nous avons lanc\u00e9 l\u2019appel international pour les Ambassadeurs \u00abalumni\u00bb (Anciens) de la Fondation, et les places ont \u00e9t\u00e9 prises tr\u00e8s vite.
\n\n\n\nVous serez vraiment impressionn\u00e9s par les histoires des Ambassadeurs.
\n\n\n\nL\u2019appel s\u2019adressait aux Scholars qui ont termin\u00e9 au moins un programme de la Fondation et qui sont pr\u00eats \u00e0 assumer un mandat de leader: mettre en contact les pairs, combler l\u2019\u00e9cart entre les orientations internationales et l\u2019action locale, et construire le r\u00e9seau de l\u2019int\u00e9rieur.
\n\n\n\n314 Ambassadeurs ont \u00e9t\u00e9 nomm\u00e9s: 167 de la RDC, 147 du Bangladesh, du Mali, du Nig\u00e9ria et de l\u2019Ouganda (la premi\u00e8re promotion, 2023), et 536 autres sont en train de terminer leur activation. Le programme est maintenant ferm\u00e9 pour cette session.
\n\n\n\nSi vous avez manqu\u00e9 cet appel: le prochain sera annonc\u00e9 dans cette lettre d\u2019information.
\n\n\n\nPour vous pr\u00e9parer, restez dans le r\u00e9seau, partagez votre exp\u00e9rience et terminez des formations.
\n\n\n\nNous trouvons nos meilleurs Ambassadeurs parmi les Scholars qui font d\u00e9j\u00e0 la diff\u00e9rence, parce qu\u2019ils choisissent de le faire.
\n\n\n\nSurveillez les prochains num\u00e9ros de cette lettre d\u2019information pour la prochaine ouverture.
\n\n\n\nMerci d\u2019avoir lu jusqu\u2019au bout. Voici un aper\u00e7u de ce qui est pr\u00e9vu dans les prochains num\u00e9ros:
\n\n\n\nDear Readers,
\n\n\n\nThis year, The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) celebrates its tenth anniversary.
\n\n\n\nWe now connect 80,000 health and humanitarian workers from more than 100 countries who chose to learn differently, lead locally, and refuse the idea that change has to wait for the next expert to fly in.
\n\n\n\nYou built this.
\n\n\n\nNot us.
\n\n\n\nYou.
\n\n\n\nEvery course you completed, every peer you supported, every action plan you submitted and revised by the midnight deadline.
\n\n\n\nYou are what The Geneva Learning Foundation is all about.
\n\n\n\nTell us your TGLF story\u00a0and\u00a0what you want\u00a0from TGLF\u00a0in the future.
\n\n\n\nEverything we are doing to mark that anniversary is designed to do one thing: give you more.
\n\n\n\nMore courses, more pathways to lead change, deeper support to turn learning into action in your community.
\n\n\n\nThis newsletter arrives whenever there is something worth your attention: a new course or programme opening, a story from a Scholar using what they learned to make a difference in their community, or an insight from the network that is too good to keep to ourselves.
\n\n\n\nBest regards,
\n\n\n\nReda Sadki and Charlotte Mbuh
The Geneva Learning Foundation
PS Are you following us on WhatsApp?
\n\n\n\nThe Geneva Learning Foundation Scholar Newsletter \u2013 Inaugural issue (8 April 2026)
\n\n\n\nSome courses are already open. Others open when you invite your colleagues to join you. Think of one or two people who are working on the same challenges you face. Use the sharing buttons. Even better, send them a personal message with the link. Your invitation is what opens the course.
\n\n\n\nPopulation ageing is arriving fastest in the places with the least infrastructure to support it. This new certificate programme supports you to lead change for healthy ageing in your community, working with peers from dozens of countries facing the same challenge.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about Healthy Ageing certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nZoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance, and the climate-health interface all require health workers who can think and act across the human-animal-environment boundary. This programme builds those competencies through peer learning with colleagues working across sectors.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about One Health certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nMalaria control and elimination requires a health workforce that can use data, introduce life-saving innovations, and adapt protocols to the specific ecology of their district. This programme, developed in partnership with the Gates Foundation, connects you with peers leading that work across endemic countries. You can already join the Teach to Reach Special Event, organized with RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
\n\n\n\nJoin the Malaria Special Event now. You will then be first to receive the invitation to join the new programme.
\n\n\n\nRead the new article by Reda Sadki and Charlotte Mbuh: \u201cRethinking human resources for malaria control and elimination in Africa\u201d
\n\n\n\nA crisis cuts off a mother\u2019s insulin. A grandfather loses his blood pressure medication. A child can no longer access their inhaler. NCDs do not pause for emergencies, but most humanitarian training acts as though they do. This new peer learning course, developed with Dr. Shanthi Mendis (retired WHO Senior Adviser for NCDs), gives you frameworks and peer-reviewed strategies you can use this week.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about NCD certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nArtificial intelligence is already in your workplace: in diagnostics, in data systems, in the tools your colleagues use in secret because there are no rules yet. This programme is for health and humanitarian professionals who want to lead their organizations\u2019 response to AI, rather than wait for a policy from headquarters that may never arrive. We believe this is a paradigm change.
\n\n\n\nGet the Guide on LinkedIn | Learn more about AI4Health certification
\n\n\n\nYou do not need to pay to get your first certification in gender for emergencies. Built by and for practitioners, this primer is for humanitarians starting their journey to advance gender equality in crises.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about Gender in emergencies certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nThe climate crisis is not a future scenario. It is your patients\u2019 reality right now: changing disease patterns, heat stress, disrupted supply chains, and community resilience under pressure. This programme connects you with peers who are leading adaptation responses at the frontline, and supports you to develop and implement your own.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about this certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nHealth equity is not a value statement. It is a set of practical skills: knowing who is missing from your data, understanding the structural roots of that absence, and building an action plan with your community to close the gap. The HEART certificate programme gives you the analytical architecture to do exactly that.
\n\n\n\nJoin the Special Event \u201cEquity matters: A practical approach to identify and eliminate biases\u201d | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nWhether you are supporting routine immunization, zero-dose outreach, or outbreak response, this programme connects you with thousands of peers who are working through the same challenges you are. The evidence from this network helped rewrite the global playbook on implementation. Come add your experience.
\n\n\n\nSee what health workers learned from this course | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nGlobal health has a hierarchy problem. The people closest to the communities bearing the highest burden of disease are routinely positioned as recipients of guidance, not as its authors. This programme gives you the critical frameworks \u2013 and a global community of peers \u2013 to challenge that hierarchy and lead differently.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about Decolonization certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nAlongside our special event on Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS), we are preparing a masterclass with Dr Dirk Engels, retired director of NTDs at the World Health Organization (WHO). We will walk with Dirk to chart his experience, from a field clinic in Zimbabwe to the headquarter of WHO in Geneva. What has changed in the global health landscape? Why are these diseases still neglected?
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2025 was the last year of our first decade \u2014 and, for many, a difficult one. Global health funding collapsed. Climate change impacts on health became a daily operational emergency. AI started to widen the gap between the well-resourced and everyone else. The network held. Whose Knowledge Counts? tells the story of that year: 60,000 health workers across 137 countries who kept going \u2014 not because of per diems, but because the problems in their communities did not wait for the funding to return.
\n\n\n\nWatch the 2025 Year in Review (English) \u2192
\n\n\n\n\u00c9couter la R\u00e9trospective 2025 (Fran\u00e7ais) \u2192
\n\n\n\nMissed 2024? Listen here \u2192
\n\n\n\nTGLF\u2019s founder, Reda Sadki, publishes on redasadki.me. Recent articles you do not want to miss:
\n\n\n\nSubscribe to receive articles as soon as they are published \u2192
\n\n\n\nThe following programmes do not have enrolment links yet. Each one will be announced in a future issue of this newsletter. If one of these topics is part of your work, this is your reason to open next week\u2019s edition.
\n\n\n\nFor every one of these programmes: you will learn with peers. You will develop an action plan for your own context. And if you are ready to go further, the Impact Accelerator will support you to execute that plan week by week \u2013 and produce evidence that your actions made a difference.
\n\n\n\nWhat is the Impact Accelerator? \u2192
\n\n\n\nBeyond the hot flash: A primer for health workers about menopause
\n\n\n\nMenopause affects every woman who lives long enough. Yet in most health systems, it is invisible. No screening. No vocabulary. No budget. Women suffer in silence. And the system looks the other way. This course is being developed in partnership with Menoglobal, the first international organization dedicated to making menopause a global health priority.
\n\n\n\nPsychological first aid and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS)
\n\n\n\nThe populations you serve have experienced loss, displacement, and ongoing crisis. So have many of you. This programme gives you validated tools to provide psychological first aid and to design MHPSS responses that are grounded in your community\u2019s culture and context.
\n\n\n\nOrganizational development and leadership
\n\n\n\nHow do you lead change inside an institution that was not designed for the change you know is needed? This programme is for health system leaders who want frameworks and peer support to build the organizational conditions for sustained improvement.
\n\n\n\nFood security and nutrition
\n\n\n\nFood insecurity and malnutrition are health system problems. This programme helps you understand the intersections, assess the situation in your district, and identify what you can do \u2013 within the resources you actually have.
\n\n\n\nPublic good or private profit? A dialogue for health professionals about the privatization of health care
\n\n\n\nHealth systems everywhere are navigating the expansion of private actors \u2013 with consequences for equity, access, and accountability that fall unevenly on the communities you serve. This programme helps you understand the dynamics, analyze your own context, and lead a response.
\n\n\n\nWhat happens to markets when a disaster strikes?
\n\n\n\nWhen funding collapses, supply chains break, or economic shocks hit, health markets behave in ways that guidelines do not prepare you for. This programme connects you with peers navigating those realities and gives you tools to protect service continuity.
\n\n\n\nOn March 11, we opened the global call for TGLF Alumni Ambassadors \u2013 and it filled fast.
\n\n\n\nYou will be genuinely amazed by the Ambassadors\u2019 stories.
\n\n\n\nThe call was for Scholars who have completed at least one TGLF programme and are ready to take on a mandate to lead: connecting peers, bridging the gap between global guidance and local action, and building the network from within.
\n\n\n\n314 Ambassadors have now been appointed: 167 from the DRC, 147 from Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda (the first cohort, 2023), with 536 more currently completing the activation. The programme is now closed for this round.
\n\n\n\nIf you missed it: the next call will come in this newsletter.
\n\n\n\nThe way to be ready is to stay in the network, share your experience, and complete courses.
\n\n\n\nWe find our best Ambassadors among the Scholars who are already making a difference, because they choose to.
\n\n\n\nWatch future editions of this newsletter for the next opening.
\n\n\n\nThanks for reading to the end! Here is a preview of what is coming in future issues:
\n\n\n\nCreativity in the age of AI faces a major challenge: on the one hand, AI models are constantly hungry for new training data that is as creative as possible. On the other hand, the creators of this data\u2014or the holders of the rights to it\u2014are demanding fair compensation. A new initiative called \u201cReally Simple Licensing,\u201d or RSL for short, promises a straightforward solution.
\nOver 40 copyright lawsuits have been filed against AI companies in the U.S. since 2022. These cases seek compensation for the plaintiffs for the unauthorized use of their data by AI models. The need to find a fundamental solution to this issue is therefore clear.
\nReally Simple Licensing is an open standard that provides the licensing terms of a web resource in a machine-readable format for the bots of AI companies. From a TXT file (named rsl.txt), the bots learn the names of the creators or rights holders of the content, as well as the terms for data usage and compensation. The RSL Standard 1.0 has been officially in effect since December 2025.
\nRSL relies on usage-based licensing fees, ensuring that creators and rights holders are compensated whenever their data is used by AI.\u00a0 For AI companies, this offers the ability to calculate licensing costs based on frequency of use. Even non-public content, such as articles and books behind a paywall, can be included in the RSL system and thus utilized by AI companies.
\nIn a \u201cCreator Bill of Rights for the AI Era,\u201d RSL sets forth three key commitments to creators and rights holders of creative content\u2014whether it be text, images, videos, audio, datasets, or other formats.
\nCreativity should, therefore, be fairly compensated. For AI companies, RSL primarily promises increased efficiency. Automating the licensing process is intended to avoid cumbersome, ad-hoc technical solutions. Standardized licensing terms are also designed to eliminate the need for time-consuming negotiations with individual rights holders.
\nAccess to data is to be made easier overall. This is to be achieved, on the one hand, through access to non-public content that is protected from unauthorized access by encryption. But efficiency is also gained through the legal safeguarding of data use, as this includes transparent documentation of the copyright status of any data used.
\nThe role of the Creative Commons (CC) organization in the context of the RSL initiative is particularly interesting. CC\u2019s current licensing model permits AI training using CC-licensed content; the only restriction applies to commercial use, as governed by the NC license module. However, Creative Commons introduced the new concept of \u201cCC Signals\u201d last year.
\nOur author Fabian Rack describes CC Signals as a concept currently under development, through which CC is responding to the \u201cbreach of the social contract of openness.\u201d The goal of this CC approach is to address the \u201cdistortions caused by AI without resorting to stricter copyright laws.\u201d Instead, in addition to appropriate attribution of rights holders (\u201cappropriate credit\u201d) or open use (\u201cOpen\u201d), CC Signals also provide for two elements that mandate compensation in the form of monetary or in-kind payments: \u201cDirect Contribution\u201d and \u201cEcosystem Contribution.\u201d
\nRSL 1.0 is now the first application to be implemented as part of the CC Signals initiative. If the RSL standard succeeds in establishing itself, CC Signals will thus be brought from the conceptual level to the application level.
\nFabian Rack points out that CC Signals aims to establish \u201ca new give-and-take between content creators and AI providers,\u201d and that CC refers to this as \u201creciprocity.\u201d In the course of the preliminary negotiations between Creative Commons and the RSL Collective, this \u201creciprocity\u201d has been incorporated as a separate component for RSL\u2019s usage compensation: \u201cA monetary or in-kind donation made in good faith that supports the development or maintenance of the assets or the broader content ecosystem.\u201d Thus, the \u201cDirect Contribution\u201d and \u201cEcosystem Contribution\u201d from CC Signals are implemented in the RSL standard.
\nFrom CC\u2019s perspective, the compensation contribution could, for example, take the form of a donation to a nonprofit organization that manages the relevant dataset. The \u201cbroader ecosystem\u201d surrounding a dataset could also benefit financially. Other possible approaches include open licensing of an AI model trained on the data, or making an AI-\u201cmodified dataset\u201d available to the data steward of the original dataset. Creative Commons emphasizes that \u201centirely different models that we cannot yet imagine\u201d may also be added in the future.
\nThe RSL Standard 1.0 has only been active for a few weeks. A number of major companies in the internet industry are already publicly supporting RSL. These include infrastructure companies such as Akamai and Cloudflare, and social media services like Reddit and Stack Overflow. Support from the media industry ranges from A for Associated Press to Z for ZDNET.
\nThe rapidly growing support from content producers is not very surprising. After all, the new standard promises fair compensation for creative work. As is well known, the AI industry is expected to pay these royalties. However, the industry has so far remained tight-lipped about RSL. \u201cTime will tell\u201d is one comment on the matter.
\niRights.info provides information and explanations on the subject of \u201cCopyright and creativity in the digital world\u201d. All texts are published free of charge and openly licensed.
\nIf you like, you can support us via the donation platform Betterplace and receive a donation receip. Betterplace accepts PayPal, direct debit, credit card, paydirekt or bank transfer.
\nWe would be particularly pleased to receive a regular contribution, for example as a monthly standing order. The non-profit organization iRights e.V. would like to thank you for your support!
\n
DOI for this text: \u00b7 Automatic DOI assignment for blogs via The Rogue Scholar
\nThe post \u201cReally Simple Licensing\u201d \u2013 The Path to a Fair Digital Content Economy? appeared first on iRights.info.
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/efz93-ygm80","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://irights.info/?post_type=custom_artikel&p=32803","id":"fc63dcd9-456c-4a4a-8d86-44b4eaeb438f","image":null,"images":[],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775649770,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775649514,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"0yeez-krj85","status":"active","summary":"Creativity in the age of AI faces a major challenge: on the one hand, AI models are constantly hungry for new training data that is as creative as possible. On the other hand, the creators of this data\u2014or the holders of the rights to it\u2014are demanding fair compensation. A new initiative called \u201cReally Simple Licensing,\u201d or RSL for short, promises a straightforward solution.","tags":["Allgemein","Creative Commons + Lizenzen","English","Politik + Recht","Urheberrecht"],"title":"\u201cReally Simple Licensing\u201d \u2013 The Path to a Fair Digital Content Economy?","updated_at":1775649606,"url":"https://irights.info/artikel/really-simple-licensing-the-path-to-a-fair-digital-content-economy/32803","version":"v1"}},{"document":{"abstract":null,"archive_url":null,"authors":[{"contributor_roles":[],"family":"Author","given":"Guest"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"mediaAndCommunications","community_id":"91453087-8910-45af-b4fe-f1c1b65342ec","created_at":1746010049.836079,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"academic publishing: unfiltered and uncensored.","doi_as_guid":false,"favicon":null,"feed_format":"application/rss+xml","feed_url":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/rss","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"Ghost","generator_raw":"Ghost 5.118","home_page_url":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/","id":"b68bd178-3230-4efd-ab67-84bbae17aa88","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":null,"prefix":"10.59350","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"modernpeer","status":"active","subfield":"3315","subfield_validated":null,"title":"the modern peer","updated_at":1775721917.145609,"use_api":null,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":null},"blog_name":"the modern peer","blog_slug":"modernpeer","content_html":"![\"Selecting](\"https://www.themodernpeer.com/content/images/2026/04/jason-leung-dlUDRZli02I-unsplash.jpg\"/)
This is Part II of the series. To read Part I, click here.
For over a decade, organizations such as DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment) or, more recently, CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) have been promoting a change in the way scientists are evaluated. They propose to remove the focus from the most obvious indicators based on simple metrics such as publications and grants, and instead include a much wider view of the activities of researchers in the evaluation process. Initiatives such as the use of Narrative CVs, replacing the traditional category based, bullet point CVs, move in this direction and are becoming increasingly popular among (mainly) European funding agencies and research institutions. They do not guarantee a more complete analysis of the quality of a researcher, that\u2019s fair, but at least the relevant information is available, and one can evaluate motivations, interests or non-conventional career paths, information difficult to extract from bullet point CVs.
But even with these initiatives in mind, we need to admit that the problems of subjectivity and bias combined with the need to make decisions among candidates that are very similar in quality will persist as long as success rates remain low. Peer review is not an adequate tool for the fine tuning required in the \u201cgrey zone\u201d where decisions are made these days. And we will never have a better one, let\u2019s face it.
So, why not be honest about it? Why not admit that while we can be reasonably confident that the candidates at the very top of the ranking are clearly better than the candidates at the very bottom, we cannot possibly distinguish between the candidates within ten positions above or below the cut off?
One obvious consequence is the potential for simplification of the selection process. How do you choose among equally deserving candidates? Lottery. Or in more technical terms, focal randomization (focal, because it applies to a preselected group of candidates, those in the grey zone). This method of selection is not a modern invention. In fact, civic lottery or sortition was already applied in ancient Athens about 2500 years ago to choose the members of the Council of Five Hundred, among preselected individuals. Later, it was used, for instance, to select public officers in Italian republics such as Venice or Florence from the 12th century until the 1700s. And for the last decade or so, some brave funders have been experimenting with it, although to be fair no major international program has ventured into lotteries so far.
A second consequence of this is that we can stop telling candidates we know are good \u201cyou were rejected because there were better candidates\u201d, which we know is not really true (or at least, let\u2019s admit we don\u2019t really know). Instead, we can tell them, \u201cyour application was considered fundable but unfortunately we do not have the resources to fund all meritorious applications\u201d. In one case you are worse than others. On the other, you are as good as them. You could even be awarded a non-stipendiary fellowship and be considered a fellow for all intents and purposes except the money. This may have unintended positive consequences in the future: \u201cFor unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath\u201d, Matthew 25:29. This Bible verse, which in layman\u2019s terms means \u201cthose who already have, will have more, and from those who don\u2019t we will take the little they have away\u201d or even simpler \u201cthe rich will get richer and the poor, poorer\u201d, inspires what is usually known as the Matthew effect. Applied to scientific grants, the simple fact of having been awarded grants or fellowships in the past, increases the chances of getting new ones in the future. Being able to demonstrate that you have been competitive in the past, for instance being awarded a non-stipendiary fellowship of the kind described above, increases your chances to be competitive\u00a0 in the future.
Bottomline, lottery, randomization, sortition or whatever name we use (some people are offended by the use of the word \u201clottery\u201d in this context) is probably the fairest way to distribute a scarce resource among equally deserving individuals. And that is exactly the problem we have here.
And like many other problems in human history, the Greeks invented the solution 25 centuries ago.
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/4n167-5ge16","funding_references":null,"guid":"69ccce0eeffc0a0001c46f1f","id":"c8636339-414c-4083-a291-066d3ec52aa1","image":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/content/images/2026/04/jason-leung-dlUDRZli02I-unsplash.jpg","images":[{"alt":"Selecting the best..from the best - Part II","src":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/content/images/2026/04/jason-leung-dlUDRZli02I-unsplash.jpg"}],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775639382,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775638301,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"dn6cj-5zh59","status":"active","summary":"\u2712\ufe0f\n\n \n \n Editor's Note:\n \n \n\nToday's guest post was written by David del \u00c1lamo. David earned his PhD in Madrid studying fly wing genetics, then continued his developmental biology research as a postdoc in New York and Paris. After that, he stepped into the dark side of science becoming an editor for The EMBO Journal after a short tenure at EMBO reports.","tags":[],"title":"Selecting the best..from the best - Part II","updated_at":1775638301,"url":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/selecting-the-best-from-the-best-part-i-2/","version":"v1"}},{"document":{"abstract":null,"archive_url":null,"authors":[{"contributor_roles":[],"name":"Silvia Czerwinski , David St\u00f6llger"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"engineeringAndTechnology","community_id":"db0d8909-9e37-46d0-b16c-0551f575e86b","created_at":1749798261.334959,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"Das Blog der TIB \u2013 Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften und Universit\u00e4tsbibliothek","doi_as_guid":true,"favicon":"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TIB_fav_icon_24x24.png","feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://blog.tib.eu/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress","generator_raw":"WordPress 6.8.1","home_page_url":"https://blog.tib.eu/","id":"135a354f-2969-4852-9a7c-b6cda0a692a4","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":null,"prefix":"10.65527","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"tib","status":"active","subfield":"1802","subfield_validated":null,"title":"TIB-Blog","updated_at":1775721983.170481,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":null},"blog_name":"TIB-Blog","blog_slug":"tib","content_html":" read this article in English\nDie Blogreihe \u201eFrauen in der Wissenschaft\u201c stellt Frauen aus der TIB vor, die Einblicke in ihre Wege und ihre pers\u00f6nlichen Erfahrungen in der Wissenschaft geben. Dr. Esther Tobschall studierte Chemie an der Universit\u00e4t Hannover und forschte f\u00fcr ihre Dissertation zur NMR-, Impedanz- und Infrarot-Spektroskopie an nanokristallinem und glasigem Lithiummetaborat LiBO2 an einem festk\u00f6rperphysikalischen Thema. Heute ist sie Fachreferentin f\u00fcr Physik an der TIB und ist dort vor allem f\u00fcr die Informationsversorgung von Physiker:innen verantwortlich. Im Interview spricht sie \u00fcber die Ermutigung, Fragen zu stellen, das eigene Selbstverst\u00e4ndnis und die Freude an der Forschung.
\n![\"\"](\"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Tobschall_Esther.jpg\")
Was fasziniert dich an der Arbeit in der Wissenschaft?
\nBesonders gereizt hat mich an der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit, dass ich mich in ein Thema mit all seinen Aspekten einarbeiten und dabei in die Tiefe gehen durfte. Als ich mich f\u00fcr meine Dissertation mit nanokristallinen Substanzen besch\u00e4ftigt habe, war die Forschung an Nanokristallen ein relativ neues Gebiet und wir konnten ausprobieren, mit welchen Messmethoden sich Wesen und Eigenschaften dieser Substanzen am besten erfassen und charakterisieren lassen.
\nDas Auswerten und Vergleichen der Messergebnisse unterschiedlicher Verfahren hat mir besonders viel Freude gemacht, weshalb mir meine Kolleg:innen dann auch ein Universalspektrometer f\u00fcr meinem Doktorhut gebastelt haben (in der Astronomie nennt man das heute Multi-Messenger-Beobachtung).
\nAuch mein Interesse an umfassender Literaturarbeit, den Recherchen und der Auswertung relevanter Paper sowie das Zusammenf\u00fchren der Erkenntnisse, habe ich dabei entdeckt. Deshalb habe ich mir schon fr\u00fch w\u00e4hrend meiner Promotionszeit den Weg ins Fachreferat an einer wissenschaftlichen Bibliothek als berufliche Perspektive vorgestellt.
\nWas h\u00e4ttest du als Frau in der Wissenschaft gerne fr\u00fcher gewusst?
\nIch h\u00e4tte mehr Ermutigung gebraucht: Die Ermutigung, dass ich Fragen nicht nur an mein zu untersuchendes Material oder Literatur stellen darf, sondern auch an erfahrene Forschende. Damals habe ich meine Zur\u00fcckhaltung eher als Pers\u00f6nlichkeitsmerkmal gesehen und sie nicht auf Rollenmodelle zur\u00fcckgef\u00fchrt. Heute w\u00fcrde ich doch sagen, dass sich das gr\u00f6\u00dfere Selbstbewusstsein meiner \u00fcberwiegend m\u00e4nnlichen Kollegen daraus gespeist hat, dass M\u00e4nner seit Generationen selbstverst\u00e4ndlich einen Platz im Wissenschaftsbetrieb hatten und Kommunikation in der Regel unter M\u00e4nnern stattfand, w\u00e4hrend wir wenigen jungen Frauen in der Physikalischen Chemie doch irgendwie noch Exotinnen waren. Ich muss betonen, dass es keine offene oder verdeckte Diskriminierung gab, der Faktor war schlichtweg die Selbstverst\u00e4ndlichkeit.
\nDieses Selbstverst\u00e4ndnis ist auch heute noch in den Regeln f\u00fcr die Schlagwortkatalogisierung (RSWK) verankert: Ich \u00e4rgere mich jedes Mal, wenn ich regelkonform das Schlagwort \u201ePhysiker\u201c f\u00fcr Werke \u00fcber Physiker und Physikerinnen vergeben muss. Das Schlagwort \u201ePhysikerin\u201c dagegen ist den Werken vorbehalten, die sich explizit mit Frauen in der Physik besch\u00e4ftigen \u2013 was ist eigentlich mit Werken, die sich ausschlie\u00dflich mit M\u00e4nnern in der Physik befassen? Immer dann, wenn es sich halbwegs vertreten l\u00e4sst, vergebe ich nat\u00fcrlich beide Begriffe!
\nWelchen Rat w\u00fcrdest du M\u00e4dchen und jungen Frauen geben, die eine wissenschaftliche Laufbahn anstreben?
\nEs ist euer selbstverst\u00e4ndliches Recht, Teil des Wissenschaftsbetriebes zu sein. Stellt das auch bei widrigen Bedingungen nie in Frage. Ich freue mich, dass es inzwischen in der Physik (auch mathematisch gesehen) unendlich mehr Professorinnen gibt, als zu meiner aktiven Zeit in der Forschung und diese mit ihrer Arbeit und ihrem Auftreten zum Vorbild werden. Ihr seid nur wirklich gut in dem, was euch Freude macht und wenn euch wissenschaftliches Arbeiten begeistert, werdet ihr \u2013 allen eventuellen Widrigkeiten zum Trotz \u2013 darin gut und erfolgreich sein. Folgt eurer Freude!
\n![\"\"](\"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/FidW-EstherTobschall-zitat-de.jpg\")
Ein Wunsch f\u00fcr die Zukunft von Frauen und M\u00e4dchen in der Wissenschaft …
\nIch war die erste schwangere Forscherin an unserem Institut, habe meine Dissertation kurz vor der Geburt unserer Tochter eingereicht und die Pr\u00fcfung wenige Monate danach absolviert. Ich w\u00fcnsche mir also, dass f\u00fcr Wissenschaftlerinnen das Muttersein in Zukunft nicht mit so viel zus\u00e4tzlichen Anstrengungen und starkem Durchsetzungsverm\u00f6gen verbunden ist, wie es heute offenbar im Wissenschaftsbetrieb immer noch der Fall ist und damit zum Karrierekiller werden kann.
\nInteressant ist ja, dass forschende M\u00e4nner in h\u00f6heren Positionen h\u00e4ufig auch V\u00e4ter sind, w\u00e4hrend bei forschenden Frauen Mutterschaft meinen Beobachtungen nach doch noch seltener ist. Dass die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie noch viel zu h\u00e4ufig als Thema von Frauen gesehen wird und nicht als Thema von Eltern, ist zwar ein allgemeines gesellschaftliches Problem, aber gerade unsere \u00f6ffentlich gef\u00f6rderte Wissenschaftsstruktur hat das Potential, hier etwas vom Entweder-oder hin zum Sowohl-als-auch zu \u00e4ndern. Wie stellte ich in einem Bewerbungsgespr\u00e4ch fest, als ich nach meiner Tochter und meinen Verpflichtungen als Mutter gefragt wurde: \u201eDas Kind hat auch einen Vater!\u201c
\nFrauen in der Wissenschaft \u2013 eine Blogreihe
\nIn der Blogreihe \u201eFrauen in der Wissenschaft\u201c werden Frauen an der TIB vorgestellt, die Einblicke in ihre wissenschaftlichen Wege, Rollenbilder und ihre Erfahrungen aus dem Arbeitsalltag geben. Sie alle teilen ihre Perspektive und ihre W\u00fcnsche f\u00fcr die Zukunft der Wissenschaft und ermutigen andere Frauen, ihren Platz selbstbewusst einzunehmen.
\n![\"\"](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n3cY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1d9a2ae-8b5e-437d-9164-0c721b80b81f_1520x2048.jpeg\")
It is a bit tricky to balance writing new posts and updating old ones. As this library of societal collapse research grows, there is an ever larger backlog of posts that would like to see some updates. Even though the update posts usually have a readership equal or even slightly higher than the other ones here, I do think that having regular completely new posts is important to keep things interesting. So, I will continue to try to find a balance here, but if any of my readers have a strong preference here, I\u2019d be curious to hear it. Also, I recently was on a podcast, where I summarized many insights from this blog here. Check it out, if you would like to see a bit more conversational version of this living literature review. But now, the actual updates.
This post is meant to give an overview of what all kinds of academic and political institutions think constitutes a global risk. Basically, it is a collection of collections of catastrophes. To this collection I have added two new reports. The first one is by the UK Ministry of Defence, (2024).
Such kinds of catastrophes are also highly relevant to defense. Therefore, defense ministries also try to map out the different risks their countries might face in the future. An example of this would be a report by the UK Ministry of Defence (2024). They tried to map out what the strategic trends will be until 2055. A strategic trend is not the same thing as a catastrophe, but still the main drivers of trends they identify look eerily familiar to the kinds of events we have covered in this post so far. More specifically, they identify six main drivers of global change:
Global power competition
Demographic pressure
Climate change and pressure on the environment in general
Technological advances and connectivity
Economic transformation and energy transition
Inequality and pressure on governance
They assess that we are in for a wild ride, because many of these trends push the world in different directions. For example, economic transformation and technology will connect the world at an increasing rate, while global power competition will lead to fragmentation. Or similarly, that more and more people globally feel empowered to speak up and mobilize, while at the same time autocratic governments seem to be on the rise.
The risks and trends are also assessed on their impact and uncertainty. Here AI comes out on top for causing the most uncertainty, while global power competition is assigned the position of the most impactful one for the state of the world. As they assess global power competition as the most impactful one, much of the rest of the report is trying to map this out in more detail. They think that the United States will remain the most powerful nation, but will face increasing competition from China, Russia\u2019s future depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine, India will play a major role, but struggle with internal unrest and many of the middle power will band together, to have a chance in a world of weakening international agreements.
A second report I have added is by Graham et al. (2025), which translates the methodology of the Swiss national risk assessment to Australia:
What has been encouraging here is that good national risk assessments can work as an inspiration for other actors. For example, in a recent report by Graham et al. (2025), a group of researchers used the methodology of the Swiss national risk assessment and transferred it to Australia and showing that even under traditional risk assessment (accounting for both likelihood and magnitude of the consequences), the annual expected impacts of some global catastrophes are far higher than many of the more frequent threats (like floods or fires) and thus Australia should invest more to prevent damages from global catastrophes.
What are the economic consequences of global catastrophes? This is generally quite hard to assess, as we are often lacking the data to even calibrate our models on. However, there is still some historical data that can be used. One paper that has accumulated such a dataset is by Blouin et al. (2024):
A paper that looks more systematically into the impacts of industrial destruction is by Blouin et al. (2024) (Disclaimer: I am a co-author on this one). The general idea is that, while we cannot easily assess the damages a nuclear war might do to industrial output, we can look into history, to find case studies of how destruction of industry leads to declines in industrial outputs and extrapolate from this. These case studies reach from major hurricanes to the Second World War (Figure 1).
![\"\"](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!alNV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee342de3-9c75-4183-b7d1-7068b3fd6bda_944x629.png\")
Figure 1: Relationship of incapacitated industrial infrastructure and subsequent decline in industrial output. Based on historical case studies and modelling studies.
In addition to establishing this relationship between industrial destruction and declines in output, the study also assesses how much of industrial capacity would be destroyed in US/Russia and India/Pakistan conflicts. This can be estimated from plausible target lists and the destruction caused by the nuclear weapons detonating above those targets. In the case of the US/Russia conflict the estimate is that this could destroy roughly 3 % of global industrial capacity, which would translate to a 24 % loss in global industrial output from the detonation damage alone. This strongly nonlinear relationship between destroyed capacity and declining output highlights the vulnerability of economies to large scale disruptions.
The ongoing polycrisis and systemic risk in general are hard to pin down. This is not also true in general, but even more so the case when it comes to policy making. Still, there are some attempts to think about how even such complex topics might be governed. One of those attempts is by Studzinski et al. (2025):
Coordinating around such complex problems is quite difficult. Where even to start? One thing that is clear, that global coordination is needed one way or the other. An attempt to get this started was the United Nations\u2019 Summit of the Future. The summit was meant to start the reform of the United Nations 75 years after their founding and resulted in the Pact for the Future, which spelled out 56 goals which should guide the way to tackle the existing global challenges. How well this worked out and what we might do better in the future is discussed in Studzinski et al. (2025). They start with the criticism that the Summit of the Future did have a too narrow view on individual hazards and not really the bigger picture that would be needed to address the challenges we face. But the world as it is, is faced by threats that are larger than the sum of their parts. They are interconnected and reinforce each other.
The inability of global governance to effectively address the current global problems is caused by a variety of factors. One of them is that the situation is just tricky in general, and so it is to be expected that it cannot be solved easily and quickly. But also many of the existing institutions for global governance have ambiguous aims and missions, are often working against each other or are trying to find the least disruptive policy, in an attempt to please everyone. All in a world where international agreements are taken less seriously and the funding for global governance is decreasing.
But this does not mean that such summits are a waste of time. Ultimately, events like this are one of the few avenues of global governance that currently exist. Future summits need to get rid of their single hazard focus and instead focus on the interconnected problems we actually face. In addition to that, regional organisations like the European Union or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization could step up their game and implement measures to tackle systemic risks in their own borders, to showcase how this might also work on a global level. None of this is easy and likely needs a paradigm shift on how systemic problems are viewed, but getting this right is essential for the coming decades.
One big factor that has come up in many of the papers I have been reading for this blog is inequality. It is just generally corrosive to societies if it gets too high. A recent paper by Alfani et al. (2025) does a comparative analysis of inequality in the Han, Roman and Aztec Empires:
Another large comparison of how inequality plays out in comparable polities is by Alfani et al. (2025). They created a dataset to compare inequality in the Han Empire and the Roman Empire. In addition, they compared both to a previous dataset from the Aztec Empire. Thankfully, for us the Roman and Han Empire were quite good at record keeping. While comparable on many axes, the Roman Empire tended to be less centralized and more self rule in the provinces.
Alfani and colleagues calculated the wealth of the different regions by the rate of their urbanization and population density, based on the assumption that more and larger cities and a higher population meant a province was richer. This showed that for the Han Empire the central province was quite rich, while the other provinces were much less so. In comparison, the Roman Empire had also a very rich central region, but also several other regions (e.g. in North Africa) which had considerable wealth. This is likely shaped by how both states used their military and bureaucracy. The military is usually deployed in frontier regions, meaning that wealth gets transferred there from the center, while the bureaucracy tends to accumulate in the central region, syphoning away wealth from other regions. The Han Empire had small military and large bureaucracy, while it was the other way around for the Romans.
In addition, to this inequality between regions, the paper also calculates the inequality in the population in general. They do so by tracking the size of the different groups of people in the empires (like peasants, aristocrats, merchants, etc.). This allows them to calculate a Gini index for the Han, Aztec and Roman Empire and compare it to the present day United States (Figure 1).
![\"\"](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7aTJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F311c7138-e71e-427a-8bbf-73d2e49c1b36_1334x740.png\")
Figure 1: Comparison of income shares in the Roman, Han and Aztec Empire and the United States.
This highlights stark differences between the different empires, with the Aztec Empire being the most unequal one by far, followed by the Han and then the Roman Empire. The United States has not yet reached the levels of inequality of those past empires. However, what is notable, that relatively speaking the poorest 10 % in the United States are poorer than their counterparts in all the three other empires.
These differences in inequality are also mirrored in differences in stability. From those empires considered, the one with the highest inequality (the Aztecs) was the most unstable one, while the one with the lowest inequality (the Romans) was most stable. Obviously, these are only three data points and thus not super reliable, but it fits in with the general trend of the instability-inducing power of inequality.
This post is about the importance of trade for the modern world and what might happen if it gets disrupted. I added a short paragraph to discuss a paper that looks into the importance of ports:
In addition to these chokepoints in general, we can also see that ports in general differ a lot in their importance for global trade. A paper by Verschuur et al. (2022) analyzed the world\u2019s 1300 most important ports for global supply chains. Based on a large supply chain database, they tracked how many goods flow through all these ports. They find that in value terms, around 50 % of global trade flows through ports. Also, the ports differ wildly in their importance with some major ports like Antwerp, Los Angeles or Singapore having a highly important role in global trade flows (Figure 2). This means if any of those ports would be disrupted, it would likely have wide reaching ripple effects.
![\"\"](\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YJ8J!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc04d276-ba87-4ec4-aa2b-e66afda8d49a_1221x586.png\")
Figure 2: Globally important ports for imports and exports.
Thank you for your interest in this academic experiment. Here\u2019s a great song as an appreciation.
If this post (or others here) got you thinking, consider leaving a like. It helps more people stumble onto this blog.
As you made it this deep, I assume that you like the stuff that is written here. If you want to do me a little favor, I would really appreciate it if you could share your favorite post with someone who might enjoy it.
Go ahead, you can do it right now. Nothing more to read in this post anyway.
Much appreciated!
Thanks for reading! If you want to talk about this post or societal collapse in general, I\u2019d be happy to have a chat. Just send me an email to existential_crunch at posteo.de and we can schedule something.
Alfani, G., Bolla, M., & Scheidel, W. (2025). A comparison of income inequality in the Roman and Chinese Han empires. Nature Communications, 16(1), 3248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58581-0
Blouin, S., Jehn, F. U., & Denkenberger, D. (2024). Global industrial disruption following nuclear war. EarthArXiv. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31223/X58H9G
Graham, J., Boyd, M., Sadler, G., & Noetel, M. (2025). Mapping Australia\u2019s Risk Landscape: A Comparative Analysis of Global Catastrophic Risks and Traditional Hazards (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 5253625). Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5253625
Studzinski, N. G., Kent, R., & Korowicz, D. (2025). Towards the Governance of Global Systemic Risk: Reforming the Summit of the Future. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 31(2), 113\u2013136. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-03102002
UK Ministry of Defence. (2024). Global Strategic Trends: Out to 2055.
Verschuur, J., Koks, E. E., & Hall, J. W. (2022). Ports\u2019 criticality in international trade and global supply-chains. Nature Communications, 13(1), 4351. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32070-0
This article is cross-posted on rOpenSci and R-Consortium blogs.
\nFor more than two decades, the Bioconductor project has been a cornerstone of the R ecosystem, providing high-quality, peer-reviewed tools for bioinformatics and computational biology. Its curated repository model, rigorous review standards, and tightly coordinated release process have helped establish Bioconductor as one of the most trusted distribution channels in scientific computing.
\nHowever, the infrastructure that supports such a long-standing and large-scale project inevitably accumulates technical debt. Legacy build systems, bespoke tooling, and historically grown workflows add up to costly and unsustainable maintenance work. For this reason, Bioconductor is collaborating with R-universe to gradually modernize parts of its infrastructure, while accommodating the project\u2019s scale, governance, and established processes. In turn, Bioconductor is helping R-universe expand and refine its features as we learn to serve the complex needs of the Bioconductor community.
\nThis collaboration reflects a core principle of R-universe as an R Consortium Infrastructure Steering Committee (ISC) top-level project: supporting reviewed package repositories such as rOpenSci and Bioconductor, and providing modern, open, and reusable infrastructure that strengthens the broader R ecosystem.
\n\nBioconductor maintains two distinct repositories:
\nTo mirror this structure, we currently operate two dedicated R-universe instances:
\nThese universes integrate directly with Bioconductor\u2019s existing Git infrastructure and provide continuous builds for packages in both branches.
\nThrough the R-universe dashboard, package maintainers and users can:
\nThis provides a familiar yet modern interface for Bioconductor contributors, aligned with what users increasingly expect from contemporary R package infrastructure.
\nInformation about each package is available on https://bioc.r-universe.dev/{pkgname}. For example, https://bioc.r-universe.dev/DESeq2 provides details on the DESeq2 package as shown below:
![\"screenshot](\"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png\")
If this is your first time visiting R-universe, we recommend clicking the \u201cWebsite Tour\u201d button which will walk you through the most important information in 1 or 2 minutes.
\nThe R-universe project maintains comprehensive technical documentation at https://docs.r-universe.dev. For Bioconductor specifically, we created a dedicated section summarizing the most relevant topics for developers to get started with R-universe: https://docs.r-universe.dev/bioconductor/
\nAs the collaboration evolves and new components get introduced, the documentation will continue to be expanded. The goal is to provide Bioconductor maintainers with a clear reference point for understanding how R-universe fits into their development workflow, while maintaining compatibility with the established practices that have made Bioconductor a successful project within the R community.
\nAdopting new infrastructure inevitably involves adjustments. For Bioconductor developers, integrating with a new build and distribution system will likely require some changes to workflows, and time to become familiar with new or different package checks, build diagnostics, and binary distribution.
\nHowever, by gradually moving toward common infrastructure, the Bioconductor project will benefit from improvements that are being continuously developed and maintained for the broader R ecosystem. A system based on modern continuous integration (CI) will provide developers with improved tooling, and will give the core team more time to focus on community coordination and quality control, rather than on maintaining costly infrastructure. At the same time, the shared platform provided by R-universe can help to increase the visibility and accessibility of Bioconductor software to the greater R community.
\nWe look forward to continuing this alliance and to working with the Bioconductor community to ensure that the next generation of infrastructure supports the project for many years to come.
\n\n\u00a9 2025 Bioconductor. Content is published under Creative Commons CC-BY-4.0 License for the text and BSD 3-Clause License for any code. | R-Bloggers\n
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/m13nc-2cq81","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-08-r-universe-collaboration/","id":"901132d5-1dc8-4126-863d-8a6b715cb448","image":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png","images":[{"alt":"screenshot of r-universe","src":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png"},{"alt":"screenshot of r-universe","src":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png"},{"src":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png"}],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775639380,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775606400,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"efrdv-zbx98","status":"active","summary":"\n This article is cross-posted on rOpenSci and R-Consortium blogs.\n\nFor more than two decades, the Bioconductor project has been a cornerstone of the R ecosystem, providing high-quality, peer-reviewed tools for bioinformatics and computational biology.","tags":["Bioconductor","R-universe","Infrastructure"],"title":"Collaborating between Bioconductor and R-universe on Development of Common Infrastructure","updated_at":1775606400,"url":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-08-r-universe-collaboration/","version":"v1"}}],"items":[{"abstract":null,"archive_url":null,"authors":[{"contributor_roles":[],"family":"Bailly","given":"Kolja"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"engineeringAndTechnology","community_id":"db0d8909-9e37-46d0-b16c-0551f575e86b","created_at":1749798261.334959,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"Das Blog der TIB \u2013 Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften und Universit\u00e4tsbibliothek","doi_as_guid":true,"favicon":"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TIB_fav_icon_24x24.png","feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://blog.tib.eu/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress","generator_raw":"WordPress 6.8.1","home_page_url":"https://blog.tib.eu/","id":"135a354f-2969-4852-9a7c-b6cda0a692a4","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":null,"prefix":"10.65527","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"tib","status":"active","subfield":"1802","subfield_validated":null,"title":"TIB-Blog","updated_at":1775721983.170481,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":null},"blog_name":"TIB-Blog","blog_slug":"tib","content_html":"Wir freuen uns, bekanntzugeben, dass Semantic Wikibase erfolgreich auf Kompatibilit\u00e4t mit MediaWiki 1.43 aktualisiert wurde. Mit diesem Schritt stellen wir sicher, dass Semantic Wikibase weiterhin mit der aktuellen Longterm-Support-Version von MediaWiki kompatibel bleibt und als stabile Grundlage f\u00fcr semantisch angereicherte Wissensinfrastrukturen dient.
\nViele Forschungsprojekte setzen das Mediawiki-Framework als Werkzeug f\u00fcr Forschungsdatenmanagement ein. Mit \u00fcber 1.500 Erweiterungen l\u00e4sst sich dieses an die individuellen Anforderungen anpassen:
\nInsbesondere Wikibase und Semantic Mediawiki werden h\u00e4ufig im Forschungsumfeld verwendet. Beide Erweiterungen haben unterschiedliche St\u00e4rken und Schw\u00e4chen:
\nDie Entwicklung von Semantic Wikibase (SWB) erm\u00f6glichte es erstmals, beide Erweiterungen gemeinsam auf einem System zu verbinden und so die Vorteile beider Systeme gemeinsam zu nutzen. W\u00e4hrend strukturelle Wissensdaten in Wikibase gespeichert und verwaltet werden, sorgt die SWB-Erweiterung daf\u00fcr, dass diese auch in Semantic Mediawiki f\u00fcr die Visualisierung in Wiki-Artikeln verf\u00fcgbar sind. SWB dient also quasi als Br\u00fccke zwischen den beiden Erweiterungen, wobei der Datenfluss nur von Wikibase nach Semantic Mediawiki (nicht umgekehrt) erfolgt. Dies dient dazu, Datenkonflikte zu vermeiden.
\nSemantic Wikibase wurde im September 2020 in einer ersten Version vom Unternehmen ProfessionalWiki ver\u00f6ffentlicht. Dieser erste Prototyp war nur mit der \u00e4lteren Mediawiki Version 1.35 kompatibel, aber unterst\u00fctzte bereits grundlegende Datentypen. Im Open Science Lab sahen wir in der Entwicklung einen Baustein, der das Potenzial hat, im Mediawiki-Umfeld eine bedeutende L\u00fccke zu schlie\u00dfen: Die Kombination aus strukturierter, f\u00f6derierbarer Datenverwaltung und Datenpr\u00e4sentation. Unser Ziel war es, die Erweiterung zu testen, bei Bedarf weiterzuentwickeln und k\u00fcnftig als unser Content-Management-System zur Unterst\u00fctzung von Forschungsprojekten zu verwenden.
\nMitte 2024 wurde mit dem Projekt PhiWiki ein erster Prototyp f\u00fcr Mediawiki 1.39 in Zusammenarbeit mit der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz sowie der AG Digitale Philosophie erfolgreich getestet. Es folgte mit Semantic Glossar ein weiteres Projekt zur kollaborativen Entwicklung von Terminologien mittels Semantic Wikibase.
\nEnde 2024 konnten wir im Rahmen des Projekts Herrenh\u00e4user des Ostseeraums Semantic Wikibase dann in einem umfangreichen Projekt einem herausfordernden Lasttest unterziehen. Mit \u00fcber 14.000 Wikibase-Objekten, die auf mehr als 300 Artikelseiten dynamisch eingebettet als Karten, Zeitstrahlen, Tabellen und Suchformulare verwendet werden, konnten wir die bestehenden Schw\u00e4chen von Semantic Wikibase identifizieren und beheben. Dazu geh\u00f6rte unter anderem die Unterst\u00fctzung des vollen Wikibase-Datenmodells mittels Qualifiers, eine erste grundlegende Unterst\u00fctzung des Extended Datetime Formats (EDTF) sowie die Einbettung von 3D-Visualisierungen aus Semantic Kompakkt. Entscheidend war hierf\u00fcr die\u00a0interdisziplin\u00e4re Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem Enwicklerteam und den LOD- und Wikibase-Datenmodell-Expertinnen Lozana Rossenova und Lucia Sohmen.
\nDie im Projekt entwickelten Best-Practices umfassten unter anderem:
\nMit der Version 1.39 war Semantic Wikibase kompatibel mit der damaligen Longtime Support Version(LTS) von Mediawiki. Diese Unterst\u00fctzung war aber gem\u00e4\u00df des Mediawiki Lifecycle nur bis Ende 2025 gegeben.
\nMediaWiki 1.43 bringt als aktuelle LTS-Version (Support bis 2028) zahlreiche technische Verbesserungen, Performance-Optimierungen sowie langfristige Wartungsvorteile mit sich. F\u00fcr viele Wikibase-Installationen ist die Orientierung an den aktuellen MediaWiki-Versionen essenziell, um Sicherheit, Stabilit\u00e4t und Zukunftsf\u00e4higkeit zu gew\u00e4hrleisten. Durch Versionskonflikte zwischen verwendeten Bibliotheken in Wikibase und Semantic Mediawiki, konnte SemanticWikibase aber nicht ohne Anpassung in dieser neuen Version eingesetzt werden.
\nUnsere gr\u00f6\u00dfte Bef\u00fcrchtung war, dass die aktuellen Versionen grundlegende \u00c4nderung vorgenommen hatten, die einen Weiterbetrieb von Semantic Wikibase technisch unsauber bzw. unwirtschaftlich machen w\u00fcrden. Ende 2025 schaffte Open-Science-Lab-Entwickler Lukas G\u00fcnther die entscheidende Grundlage f\u00fcr das Upgrade, indem er unser Installationstool Wikibase4Research aktualisierte und so mit der Mediawiki Version 1.44 kompatibel machte. Da Semantic Wikibase sich mittels Wikibase4Research automatisiert installieren l\u00e4sst, war so ein geeignetes Test-Setup geschaffen, um die Entwicklung in Angriff zu nehmen. Letzendlich war es uns so m\u00f6glich, Semantic Wikibase mit der aktuellen LTS-Version von Mediawiki zu betreiben und das sogar ohne \u00c4nderungen am Wikibase- oder SemanticMediawiki-Code vorzunehmen. S\u00e4mtliche bisher unterst\u00fctzten Datentypen sind auch weiterhin funktional, was auch ein Update bestehender Installationen auf die neue Version erm\u00f6glicht.
\nDie kontinuierliche Synchronisierung von Semantic Wikibase mit dem MediaWiki-Releasezyklus ist ein zentraler Baustein f\u00fcr nachhaltige, semantische Wissensinfrastrukturen. Mit diesem Update schaffen wir die Grundlage f\u00fcr kommende Weiterentwicklungen und eine langfristig stabile Integration in das Wikibase-\u00d6kosystem. Der Einsatz von Semantic Wikibase bedeutet f\u00fcr unsere Forschungsdaten- und Terminologie-Projekte im Open Science Lab:
\nWir freuen uns auf die weitere Entwicklung und die vielf\u00e4ltigen kommenden Projekte mit Semantic Wikibase.
\nDuring the Chan Zuckerberg Institute\u2019s Essential Open Source Software for Science cycle 6 funding round, the Bioconductor Community Manager, Maria Doyle, secured a grant to fund a developer engagement position for Bioconductor, and I was fortunate enough to be offered that role. I am Nick Cooley, and I\u2019m excited to see what this role can bring to Bioconductor. My background is relatively diverse, I received my PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Missouri, and I worked on prokaryotic genomics and functional genomics at the University of Pittsburgh from 2017 to 2025.
\nThe mandate of this role is somewhat broad. Bioconductor, and academic computing generally face a myriad of distinct and interrelated challenges as hardware, computing paradigms, and education environments change rapidly. Improving developer resources for tackling new and existing challenges, modernizing Bioconductor developer onboarding materials (particularly for early career researchers), and improving recognition mechanisms for community members who volunteer time and effort to the Bioconductor project are all general themes within the role scope.
\nA few of the specific efforts I\u2019ll be working on in this role include:
\nThe Developer Forum had previously been run on a volunteer basis, and served as a community resource for discussing technical and infrastructure issues, concerns, and opportunities. The creation of the Developer Engagement Lead allowed us include the Forum as direct responsibility of this role.
\nBioconductor working groups have been a pillar of Bioconductor for a while, and represent a considerable amount of volunteer work towards the project. Improving the visibility of the working groups themselves, and the recognition that project contributors receive for their participation in the working groups can go a long way towards ensuring that that work is valued by contributors home institutions and funding mechanisms. The Champions Program aims to create a clear recognition mechanism for those volunteer efforts.
\nCommunity and collaboration are irreplaceable engines of strong research. Many Bioconductor contributors find community and collaboration within their own disciplines or institutions. Providing an avenue for collaborative and technical events within Bioconductor can fill persistent gaps in the the research tooling present in the project, and present networking opportunities for early career researchers. Part of this role is planning and running these events.
\nThe ways that researchers search for information, tools, and workflow examples are changing with the rise of large language models and their interfaces. There are opportunities for improving how bioinformaticians, especially those outside of the Bioconductor community, find and familiarize themselves with research solutions within the Bioconductor project, including through improvements to website search and documentation discoverability. A long term goal of this role is to work on documentation templates and checking tools to improve their searchability by LLMs, and explore the feasibility of Bioconductor sanctioned and managed LLMs.
\nFor developer discussions and ideas, the Bioconductor Zulip is the best place to connect.
\n\n\u00a9 2026 Bioconductor. Content is published under Creative Commons CC-BY-4.0 License for the text and BSD 3-Clause License for any code. | R-Bloggers\n
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/jrewy-hyc54","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-09-developer-engagement/","id":"db87cbca-ba90-4312-bfee-9e9f908e1933","image":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-09-developer-engagement/featured-image.jpeg","images":[],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775717373,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775692800,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"p3ctn-cs704","status":"active","summary":"Introduction During the Chan Zuckerberg Institute\u2019s Essential Open Source Software for Science cycle 6 funding round, the Bioconductor Community Manager, Maria Doyle, secured a grant to fund a developer engagement position for Bioconductor, and I was fortunate enough to be offered that role. I am Nick Cooley, and I\u2019m excited to see what this role can bring to Bioconductor.","tags":["Developer Engagement"],"title":"Developer Engagement and Bioconductor","updated_at":1775692800,"url":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-09-developer-engagement/","version":"v1"},{"abstract":"AP News recently ran a story on the interface of religious inspiration and the search for dark matter. I thought about commenting on it, then thought better of it, but now here I am again. I know some but not all of the people who are quoted, all good scientists.","archive_url":null,"authors":[{"affiliation":[{"id":"https://ror.org/051fd9666","name":"Case Western Reserve University"}],"contributor_roles":[],"family":"McGaugh","given":"Stacy","url":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9762-0980"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"physicalSciences","community_id":"82262dc6-3666-40e2-939a-d4d637d0fd8f","created_at":1713369760,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"A Blog About the Science and Sociology of Cosmology and Dark Matter","doi_as_guid":false,"favicon":"https://rogue-scholar.org/api/communities/82262dc6-3666-40e2-939a-d4d637d0fd8f/logo","feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://tritonstation.com/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress.com","generator_raw":"WordPress.com","home_page_url":"https://tritonstation.com/new-blog-page/","id":"651203f2-4bfe-4788-b4d0-2971b1f8cfe5","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":"https://mastodon.social/@DudeDarkmatter","prefix":"10.59350","registered_at":1729029144,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"tritonstation","status":"active","subfield":"3103","subfield_validated":null,"title":"Triton Station","updated_at":1775721985.347355,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":"83dddbbe-93dc-445b-accd-b0ecfd19f65f"},"blog_name":"Triton Station","blog_slug":"tritonstation","content_html":"\nAP News recently ran a story on the interface of religious inspiration and the search for dark matter. I thought about commenting on it, then thought better of it, but now here I am again. I know some but not all of the people who are quoted, all good scientists. The article ends with a nice quote from Jennifer Wiseman:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cStudying the deep universe may make us feel insignificant,\u201d Wiseman said. \u201cBut it also gives us a sense of unity that we\u2019re all on the same planet. \u2026 The hope is we get a sense of joy, humility and love from these contemplations.\u201d
\n
I’ve known Dr. Wiseman since undergrad days, before either of us were Ph.Ds. We don’t agree on much that is specific to religion, but somehow manage to be friends anyway, and I completely agree with the sentiments she expresses here.
\n\n\n\nThere is a tendency to portray religion as being at odds with science, and that can certainly happen. But they share more in common than this trope implies. Both arise from a deep wellspring in the human spirit, the same wellspring: the desire to know. How does the universe work? How did it come to be so? Why? and on and on. Where they differ is in approach: when encountering an unknown, especially things that are fundamentally unknowable (e.g., does God exist?), religion asserts an answer and asks that we accept it on faith. Faith is anathema to the scientific process; one is, in principle, to search for the truth through observation and experimentation.
\n\n\n\nReligion and science come into conflict when scientific knowledge encroaches on religion’s known unknowns. There was a time when the structure of the heavens must have seemed unknowable; the realm of the sacred, safe from access by mundane human knowledge. So it is easy to see how Galileo came into conflict with the Church despite being a faithful member:
\n\n\n\nChurch: Scripture teaches us that the Earth is the unmoving center of mortal corruption; the heavens above us are perfect and unchanging.
\n\n\n\nGalileo: I can see spots on the sun and mountains on the moon.
\n\n\n\nChurch: We are the center about which the heavens rotate every day, clearly the center of all rotation.
\n\n\n\nGalileo: I see satellites circling Jupiter.
\n\n\n\nChurch: God is great; He could do one thing one day and an entirely different thing another day*.
\n\n\n\nGalileo: It appears that the Earth revolves around the Sun, never the other way around.
\n\n\n\nChurch: Do you see these instruments of torture?
\n\n\n\nThis is a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a serious historical incident, but my point is that conflict arises when scientific knowledge encroaches onto turf that had formerly been the exclusive province of religion. Addressing our spiritual need to know can be inspirational, but it can also be a let down. Giving specific answers to formerly unknowable questions can be a bit of a mood killer. Is that all there is?
\n\n\n\nAnother downside of scientific knowledge is that it can never be complete. There is always something left unknown, and we are not supposed to fill that void with something we take on faith. Yet we are profoundly uncomfortable with not knowing. A little extrapolation at and beyond the fringes of current knowledge is natural, and can sometimes provides a useful way forward in driving new discoveries. But it can get carried away, e.g., string theory. So extraordinary caution is also warranted: the temptation to fill in the blank is where empiricism transitions to theology.
\n\n\n\nUnderstanding that we know a lot – as we do at this juncture in the history of science – and yet still don’t know something important, like what most of the universe is made of, is hard to accept. It becomes even harder when admitting something we thought we understood is wrong, or is less complete than we thought. We know most of the mass in the universe is made of non-baryonic cold dark matter&. Don’t we?
\n\n\n\nThe dynamical evidence for acceleration discrepancies is abundant. That these must be caused by non-baryonic cold dark matter is less clear. This is where cosmology intrudes. Cosmology has always been the nexus where science and religion meet, with philosophical imperatives often obscuring essential observational facts. Before Kepler, orbits had to be circular. After Inflation, the density parameter had to be one. (We meant \u03a9m = 1, not the modern weak-sauce version \u03a9m + \u03a9\u039b = 1.) The mass density is larger than the baryon density from BBN (\u03a9m > \u03a9b), so there has to be non-baryonic dark matter. That such a substance is also required to fit the acoustic power spectrum of the CMB amplifies our faith in the existence of such stuff.
\n\n\n\nWe think we’ve solved cosmology, and that solution requires non-baryonic cold dark matter. So to admit that maybe we were wrong about dark matter just because it persistently remains undetected and provides unsatisfactory explanations of many astronomical observations and is consistently outperformed in predictive capacity by an alternative theory is to admit that we don’t understand as much about the universe as we thought. That’s really, really hard. Our unwillingness to admit that maybe we have been wrong about such an important issue is where human nature kicks in to blur the line between scientific knowledge and religious faith. It’s much easier to ignore those nagging doubts% and have faith that we were right all along.
\n\n\n\nCosmology works so well that dark matter has to exist. I’ve head this sentiment expressed over and over by many different scientists, yet this is an assertion of faith. A more conservative statement is that cosmology as we currently conceive it works if, and only if, an appropriate form of non-baryonic dark matter exists with the required cosmic density. If not, then we need a new model – something that presumably^ stems from a more general underlying theory.
\n\n\n\nSince both religion and science arise from the same desire to know, it is easy to have faith that we know more than we actually do.
\n\n\n\nThis is the sticking point we’ve hit in the dark matter debate. We’ve been calling the acceleration discrepancy the dark matter problem for so long that this linguistic mistake has morphed into an absolute certainty that invisible mass exists. It has become a matter of faith.
\n\n\n\n*Of course an omnipotent deity could do that. Apparently He chooses not to do so, sparking the schism between theists, for whom God actively intervenes in miraculous ways in real world affairs, and deists, who view God more as the great watchmaker, setting creation in motion but not interfering with its operation. Deism is conducive to science, as the search to identify the rules by which the universe works is to gain insight – however remote – into the mind of God. I suspect this attitude informed Einstein’s complaint against quantum mechanics: “God does not play dice with the universe.”
\n\n\n\n&I certainly thought so before I didn’t.
\n\n\n\n%The social pressure to conform to the preferred cosmology is enormous. I know I’m only making it worse for myself. But an explanation that omits MOND is a lie of omission. Here science and religion certainly overlap in the sentiments expressed by the seventeenth century cleric Paul Gerhardt:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWhen a man lies, he murders some part of the world.\u201d
\n
Assertions that somehow “feedback” explains MOND are simply a numerical form of magical thinking; an excuse to not have to explain the inexplicable. By eliding MOND, we murder a part of the world.
\n\n\n\n^Here I am extrapolating at the fringes of knowledge.
\n","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/cgped-pcp45","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://tritonstation.com/?p=12439","id":"f6a23ac7-31ec-4aa5-b909-d3e93d35034f","image":"https://i0.wp.com/tritonstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/nopeaceduckgodrabbitgod.png?fit=1318%2C1470&ssl=1","images":[],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775675719,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775674707,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"snv87-b7a54","status":"active","summary":"AP News recently ran a story on the interface of religious inspiration and the search for dark matter. I thought about commenting on it, then thought better of it, but now here I am again. I know some but not all of the people who are quoted, all good scientists.","tags":["Cosmology","Dark Matter","Philosophy Of Science"],"title":"The well of inspiration","updated_at":1775674708,"url":"https://tritonstation.com/2026/04/08/the-well-of-inspiration/","version":"v1"},{"abstract":"Cher lecteur, Ch\u00e8re lectrice. Cette ann\u00e9e, La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve (TGLF) f\u00eate ses dix ans. Nous rassemblons aujourd\u2019hui 80 000 professionnels de la sant\u00e9 et de l\u2019humanitaire dans plus de 100 pays.","archive_url":null,"authors":[{"affiliation":[{"id":"https://ror.org/04h13ss13","name":"The Geneva Learning Foundation"}],"contributor_roles":[],"family":"Sadki","given":"Reda","url":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4051-0606"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"educationalSciences","community_id":"7e26491f-41c6-4665-9088-5aa6643a1ba8","created_at":1731211871,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"Learning to make a difference","doi_as_guid":false,"favicon":null,"feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://redasadki.me/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress","generator_raw":"WordPress 6.7.1","home_page_url":"https://redasadki.me","id":"88b8caba-b485-4654-96ce-a21547abaab3","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":"https://techhub.social/@redasadki","prefix":"10.59350","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"redasadki","status":"active","subfield":"3304","subfield_validated":null,"title":"Reda Sadki","updated_at":1775721944.569326,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":"0d34dfde-a007-4ec9-9bc6-7b0318fa2c5e"},"blog_name":"Reda Sadki","blog_slug":"redasadki","content_html":"\nCher lecteur, Ch\u00e8re lectrice.
\n\n\n\nCette ann\u00e9e, La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve (TGLF) f\u00eate ses dix ans.
\n\n\n\nNous rassemblons aujourd\u2019hui 80 000 professionnels de la sant\u00e9 et de l\u2019humanitaire dans plus de 100 pays. Ce sont des personnes qui ont choisi d\u2019apprendre autrement, de diriger sur place et de refuser l\u2019id\u00e9e que le changement doit attendre l\u2019arriv\u00e9e du prochain expert venu de loin.
\n\n\n\nC\u2019est vous qui avez construit tout cela.
\n\n\n\nPas nous.
\n\n\n\nVous.
\n\n\n\nChaque projet d\u00e9pos\u00e9 et corrig\u00e9 avant la date limite de minuit, chaque pair que vous avez soutenu, chaque plan d\u2019action mis en oeuvre.
\n\n\n\nVous \u00eates au c\u0153ur de tout ce que fait La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve.
\n\n\n\nRacontez-nous votre histoire\u00a0et dites-nous\u00a0ce que vous attendez de la Fondation\u00a0pour l\u2019avenir.
\n\n\n\nTout ce que nous faisons pour marquer cet anniversaire a un seul objectif: vous donner plus.
\n\n\n\nPlus de formations, plus de chemins pour conduire le changement, plus de soutien pour transformer ce que vous apprenez en actions dans votre communaut\u00e9.
\n\n\n\nCette lettre d\u2019information vous parvient chaque fois qu\u2019il y a quelque chose qui m\u00e9rite votre attention: une nouvelle formation ou un nouveau programme qui s\u2019ouvre, l\u2019histoire d\u2019un Scholar qui utilise ce qu\u2019il a appris pour faire la diff\u00e9rence dans sa communaut\u00e9, ou une id\u00e9e du r\u00e9seau trop importante pour la garder pour nous.
\n\n\n\nNous sommes ensemble.
\n\n\n\nReda Sadki\u00a0et Charlotte Mbuh
La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve
PS Vous nous suivez sur WhatsApp?
\n\n\n\nLa lettre d\u2019information Scholar de La Fondation Apprendre Gen\u00e8ve \u2013 Premier num\u00e9ro (8 avril 2026)
\n\n\n\nCertaines formations sont d\u00e9j\u00e0 ouvertes. D\u2019autres s\u2019ouvrent quand vous invitez vos coll\u00e8gues \u00e0 vous rejoindre. Pensez \u00e0 une ou deux personnes qui travaillent sur les m\u00eames d\u00e9fis que vous. Utilisez les boutons de partage. Mieux encore, envoyez-leur un message personnel avec le lien. C\u2019est votre invitation qui ouvre la formation.
\n\n\n\nLe vieillissement de la population progresse le plus vite dans les r\u00e9gions qui ont le moins de moyens pour y faire face. Ce nouveau programme de certification vous aide \u00e0 conduire le changement pour un vieillissement en bonne sant\u00e9 dans votre communaut\u00e9, en travaillant avec des pairs de dizaines de pays confront\u00e9s au m\u00eame d\u00e9fi.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification Vieillissement en bonne sant\u00e9 | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nLes maladies zoonotiques, la r\u00e9sistance aux antimicrobiens et les liens entre le climat et la sant\u00e9 exigent des professionnels de la sant\u00e9 capables de penser et d\u2019agir au carrefour entre l\u2019humain, l\u2019animal et l\u2019environnement. Ce programme d\u00e9veloppe ces comp\u00e9tences par l\u2019apprentissage entre pairs, avec des coll\u00e8gues travaillant dans diff\u00e9rents secteurs.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification Une seule sant\u00e9 | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nLa lutte contre le paludisme et son \u00e9limination demandent des professionnels de la sant\u00e9 capables d\u2019utiliser les donn\u00e9es, d\u2019introduire des innovations qui sauvent des vies et d\u2019adapter les protocoles \u00e0 la situation de leur district. Ce programme, d\u00e9velopp\u00e9 en partenariat avec la Fondation Gates, vous met en contact avec des pairs qui dirigent ce travail dans les pays o\u00f9 le paludisme est pr\u00e9sent. Vous pouvez d\u00e9j\u00e0 rejoindre le Grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement Teach to Reach, organis\u00e9 avec le Partenariat RBM pour en finir avec le paludisme.
\n\n\n\nRejoignez le Grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement Paludisme maintenant. Vous serez alors parmi les premiers \u00e0 recevoir l\u2019invitation pour le nouveau programme.
\n\n\n\nLisez le nouvel article de Reda Sadki et Charlotte Mbuh: \u00ab Repenser les ressources humaines pour la lutte contre le paludisme et son \u00e9limination en Afrique \u00bb
\n\n\n\nUne crise prive une m\u00e8re de son insuline. Un grand-p\u00e8re perd son traitement contre l\u2019hypertension. Un enfant ne peut plus acc\u00e9der \u00e0 son inhalateur. Les maladies non transmissibles (MNT) ne s\u2019arr\u00eatent pas pendant les urgences, mais la plupart des formations humanitaires font comme si c\u2019\u00e9tait le cas. Cette nouvelle formation entre pairs, d\u00e9velopp\u00e9e avec le Dr Shanthi Mendis (ancienne conseill\u00e8re principale de l\u2019OMS pour les MNT), vous donne des outils concrets et des strat\u00e9gies valid\u00e9es par les pairs que vous pouvez utiliser d\u00e8s cette semaine.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification MNT | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nL\u2019intelligence artificielle est d\u00e9j\u00e0 dans votre lieu de travail: dans les outils de diagnostic, dans les syst\u00e8mes de donn\u00e9es, dans les outils que vos coll\u00e8gues utilisent en secret parce qu\u2019il n\u2019y a pas encore de r\u00e8gles. Ce programme est fait pour les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 et de l\u2019humanitaire qui veulent prendre les devants dans la r\u00e9ponse de leur organisation face \u00e0 l\u2019IA, au lieu d\u2019attendre une politique du si\u00e8ge qui n\u2019arrivera peut-\u00eatre jamais. Nous pensons que c\u2019est un changement profond.
\n\n\n\nObtenez le guide sur LinkedIn | En savoir plus sur la certification AI4Health
\n\n\n\nVous n\u2019avez pas besoin de payer pour obtenir votre premi\u00e8re certification sur le genre dans les situations d\u2019urgence. Con\u00e7ue par et pour les praticiens, cette introduction est destin\u00e9e aux humanitaires qui commencent leur parcours pour faire avancer l\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9 des genres dans les crises.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification Genre dans les situations d\u2019urgence | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nLa crise climatique n\u2019est pas un sc\u00e9nario futur. C\u2019est la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 de vos patients en ce moment m\u00eame: des maladies qui changent, le stress d\u00fb \u00e0 la chaleur, des cha\u00eenes d\u2019approvisionnement perturb\u00e9es et la capacit\u00e9 de r\u00e9sistance des communaut\u00e9s mise sous pression. Ce programme vous met en contact avec des pairs qui conduisent des r\u00e9ponses d\u2019adaptation en premi\u00e8re ligne, et vous aide \u00e0 d\u00e9velopper et \u00e0 mettre en \u0153uvre les v\u00f4tres.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur cette certification | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nL\u2019\u00e9quit\u00e9 en sant\u00e9 n\u2019est pas une simple d\u00e9claration de valeurs. C\u2019est un ensemble de comp\u00e9tences pratiques: savoir qui manque dans vos donn\u00e9es, comprendre les causes profondes de cette absence et construire un plan d\u2019action avec votre communaut\u00e9 pour combler l\u2019\u00e9cart. Le programme de certification HEART vous donne les outils d\u2019analyse pour y parvenir.
\n\n\n\nRejoignez le Grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement \u00ab L\u2019\u00e9quit\u00e9 compte: une approche pratique pour identifier et \u00e9liminer les biais \u00bb | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nQue vous travailliez sur la vaccination de routine, la recherche des enfants z\u00e9ro-dose ou la r\u00e9ponse aux \u00e9pid\u00e9mies, ce programme vous met en contact avec des milliers de pairs qui font face aux m\u00eames d\u00e9fis que vous. Les donn\u00e9es issues de ce r\u00e9seau ont contribu\u00e9 \u00e0 r\u00e9\u00e9crire le guide mondial de mise en \u0153uvre. Venez ajouter votre exp\u00e9rience.
\n\n\n\nD\u00e9couvrez ce que les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 ont appris gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 cette formation | S\u2019inscrire maintenant
\n\n\n\nLa sant\u00e9 globale a un probl\u00e8me de hi\u00e9rarchie. Les personnes les plus proches des communaut\u00e9s qui portent le plus lourd fardeau de la maladie sont syst\u00e9matiquement plac\u00e9es comme des b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires des orientations, et non comme leurs auteurs. Ce programme vous donne les cadres d\u2019analyse essentiels et une communaut\u00e9 internationale de pairs pour remettre en question cette hi\u00e9rarchie et diriger autrement.
\n\n\n\nEn savoir plus sur la certification D\u00e9colonisation | S\u2019inscrire maintenant (disponible uniquement en anglais)
\n\n\n\nEn plus de notre grand \u00e9v\u00e9nement sur la bilharziose g\u00e9nitale chez la femme (BGF), nous pr\u00e9parons une formation de haut niveau avec le Dr Dirk Engels, ancien directeur des MTN \u00e0 l\u2019Organisation mondiale de la Sant\u00e9 (OMS). Nous retracerons le parcours de Dirk, d\u2019une clinique de terrain au Zimbabwe jusqu\u2019au si\u00e8ge de l\u2019OMS \u00e0 Gen\u00e8ve. Qu\u2019est-ce qui a chang\u00e9 dans le paysage de la sant\u00e9 globale ? Pourquoi ces maladies sont-elles encore n\u00e9glig\u00e9es ?
\n\n\n\n2025 a \u00e9t\u00e9 la derni\u00e8re ann\u00e9e de notre premi\u00e8re d\u00e9cennie, et pour beaucoup, une ann\u00e9e difficile. Les financements pour la sant\u00e9 globale se sont effondr\u00e9s. Les effets du changement climatique sur la sant\u00e9 sont devenus une urgence quotidienne. L\u2019IA a commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 creuser l\u2019\u00e9cart entre les mieux dot\u00e9s en ressources et tous les autres. Le r\u00e9seau a tenu bon. Le savoir de qui compte ? raconte l\u2019histoire de cette ann\u00e9e: 60 000 professionnels de la sant\u00e9 dans 137 pays qui ont continu\u00e9, non pas pour les per diem, mais parce que les probl\u00e8mes dans leurs communaut\u00e9s n\u2019attendaient pas le retour des financements.
\n\n\n\nRegarder la r\u00e9trospective 2025 (fran\u00e7ais) \u2192
\n\n\n\nNotre fondateur, Reda Sadki, publie sur redasadki.me. Voici quelques articles r\u00e9cents \u00e0 ne pas louper:
\n\n\n\nAbonnez-vous pour recevoir les articles d\u00e8s leur publication \u2192
\n\n\n\nLes programmes suivants n\u2019ont pas encore de lien d\u2019inscription. Chacun sera annonc\u00e9 dans un prochain num\u00e9ro de cette lettre d\u2019information. Si l\u2019un de ces sujets fait partie de votre travail, c\u2019est une bonne raison d\u2019ouvrir la prochaine \u00e9dition.
\n\n\n\nPour chacun de ces programmes: vous apprendrez avec des pairs. Vous d\u00e9velopperez un plan d\u2019action adapt\u00e9 \u00e0 votre contexte. Et si vous \u00eates pr\u00eat \u00e0 aller plus loin, l\u2019Acc\u00e9l\u00e9rateur d\u2019impact vous accompagnera pour mettre en \u0153uvre ce plan semaine apr\u00e8s semaine et produire des preuves que vos actions ont fait la diff\u00e9rence.
\n\n\n\nQu\u2019est-ce que l\u2019Acc\u00e9l\u00e9rateur d\u2019impact? \u2192
\n\n\n\nAu-del\u00e0 des bouff\u00e9es de chaleur: un guide pour les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 sur la m\u00e9nopause
\n\n\n\nLa m\u00e9nopause touche toute femme qui vit assez longtemps. Pourtant, dans la plupart des syst\u00e8mes de sant\u00e9, elle est invisible. Pas de d\u00e9pistage. Pas de vocabulaire. Pas de budget. Les femmes souffrent en silence. Et le syst\u00e8me regarde ailleurs. Cette formation est en cours de d\u00e9veloppement en partenariat avec Menoglobal, la premi\u00e8re organisation internationale consacr\u00e9e \u00e0 faire de la m\u00e9nopause une priorit\u00e9 de sant\u00e9 globale.
\n\n\n\nPremiers secours psychologiques et soutien en sant\u00e9 mentale et soutien psychosocial (SMSPS)
\n\n\n\nLes populations que vous servez ont v\u00e9cu la perte, le d\u00e9placement et des crises qui durent. Beaucoup d\u2019entre vous aussi. Ce programme vous donne des outils valid\u00e9s pour fournir les premiers secours psychologiques et pour concevoir des r\u00e9ponses SMSPS ancr\u00e9es dans la culture et le contexte de votre communaut\u00e9.
\n\n\n\nD\u00e9veloppement organisationnel et leadership
\n\n\n\nComment conduire le changement dans une institution qui n\u2019a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 con\u00e7ue pour le changement dont vous savez qu\u2019il est n\u00e9cessaire ? Ce programme est destin\u00e9 aux responsables des syst\u00e8mes de sant\u00e9 qui veulent des cadres de travail et le soutien de pairs pour cr\u00e9er les conditions organisationnelles d\u2019une am\u00e9lioration durable.
\n\n\n\nS\u00e9curit\u00e9 alimentaire et nutrition
\n\n\n\nL\u2019ins\u00e9curit\u00e9 alimentaire et la malnutrition sont des probl\u00e8mes du syst\u00e8me de sant\u00e9. Ce programme vous aide \u00e0 comprendre les liens entre ces domaines, \u00e0 \u00e9valuer la situation dans votre district et \u00e0 identifier ce que vous pouvez faire avec les ressources dont vous disposez r\u00e9ellement.
\n\n\n\nBien public ou profit priv\u00e9 ? Un dialogue pour les professionnels de la sant\u00e9 sur la privatisation des soins
\n\n\n\nPartout, les syst\u00e8mes de sant\u00e9 font face \u00e0 l\u2019expansion des acteurs priv\u00e9s, avec des cons\u00e9quences sur l\u2019\u00e9quit\u00e9, l\u2019acc\u00e8s et la redevabilit\u00e9 qui touchent de mani\u00e8re in\u00e9gale les communaut\u00e9s que vous servez. Ce programme vous aide \u00e0 comprendre ces dynamiques, \u00e0 analyser votre propre contexte et \u00e0 conduire une r\u00e9ponse.
\n\n\n\nQue se passe-t-il sur les march\u00e9s quand une catastrophe frappe ?
\n\n\n\nQuand les financements s\u2019effondrent, que les cha\u00eenes d\u2019approvisionnement se brisent ou que des chocs \u00e9conomiques frappent, les march\u00e9s de la sant\u00e9 r\u00e9agissent de mani\u00e8res que les guides ne vous pr\u00e9parent pas \u00e0 affronter. Ce programme vous met en contact avec des pairs qui vivent ces r\u00e9alit\u00e9s et vous donne des outils pour prot\u00e9ger la continuit\u00e9 des services.
\n\n\n\nLe 11 mars, nous avons lanc\u00e9 l\u2019appel international pour les Ambassadeurs \u00abalumni\u00bb (Anciens) de la Fondation, et les places ont \u00e9t\u00e9 prises tr\u00e8s vite.
\n\n\n\nVous serez vraiment impressionn\u00e9s par les histoires des Ambassadeurs.
\n\n\n\nL\u2019appel s\u2019adressait aux Scholars qui ont termin\u00e9 au moins un programme de la Fondation et qui sont pr\u00eats \u00e0 assumer un mandat de leader: mettre en contact les pairs, combler l\u2019\u00e9cart entre les orientations internationales et l\u2019action locale, et construire le r\u00e9seau de l\u2019int\u00e9rieur.
\n\n\n\n314 Ambassadeurs ont \u00e9t\u00e9 nomm\u00e9s: 167 de la RDC, 147 du Bangladesh, du Mali, du Nig\u00e9ria et de l\u2019Ouganda (la premi\u00e8re promotion, 2023), et 536 autres sont en train de terminer leur activation. Le programme est maintenant ferm\u00e9 pour cette session.
\n\n\n\nSi vous avez manqu\u00e9 cet appel: le prochain sera annonc\u00e9 dans cette lettre d\u2019information.
\n\n\n\nPour vous pr\u00e9parer, restez dans le r\u00e9seau, partagez votre exp\u00e9rience et terminez des formations.
\n\n\n\nNous trouvons nos meilleurs Ambassadeurs parmi les Scholars qui font d\u00e9j\u00e0 la diff\u00e9rence, parce qu\u2019ils choisissent de le faire.
\n\n\n\nSurveillez les prochains num\u00e9ros de cette lettre d\u2019information pour la prochaine ouverture.
\n\n\n\nMerci d\u2019avoir lu jusqu\u2019au bout. Voici un aper\u00e7u de ce qui est pr\u00e9vu dans les prochains num\u00e9ros:
\n\n\n\nDear Readers,
\n\n\n\nThis year, The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) celebrates its tenth anniversary.
\n\n\n\nWe now connect 80,000 health and humanitarian workers from more than 100 countries who chose to learn differently, lead locally, and refuse the idea that change has to wait for the next expert to fly in.
\n\n\n\nYou built this.
\n\n\n\nNot us.
\n\n\n\nYou.
\n\n\n\nEvery course you completed, every peer you supported, every action plan you submitted and revised by the midnight deadline.
\n\n\n\nYou are what The Geneva Learning Foundation is all about.
\n\n\n\nTell us your TGLF story\u00a0and\u00a0what you want\u00a0from TGLF\u00a0in the future.
\n\n\n\nEverything we are doing to mark that anniversary is designed to do one thing: give you more.
\n\n\n\nMore courses, more pathways to lead change, deeper support to turn learning into action in your community.
\n\n\n\nThis newsletter arrives whenever there is something worth your attention: a new course or programme opening, a story from a Scholar using what they learned to make a difference in their community, or an insight from the network that is too good to keep to ourselves.
\n\n\n\nBest regards,
\n\n\n\nReda Sadki and Charlotte Mbuh
The Geneva Learning Foundation
PS Are you following us on WhatsApp?
\n\n\n\nThe Geneva Learning Foundation Scholar Newsletter \u2013 Inaugural issue (8 April 2026)
\n\n\n\nSome courses are already open. Others open when you invite your colleagues to join you. Think of one or two people who are working on the same challenges you face. Use the sharing buttons. Even better, send them a personal message with the link. Your invitation is what opens the course.
\n\n\n\nPopulation ageing is arriving fastest in the places with the least infrastructure to support it. This new certificate programme supports you to lead change for healthy ageing in your community, working with peers from dozens of countries facing the same challenge.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about Healthy Ageing certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nZoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance, and the climate-health interface all require health workers who can think and act across the human-animal-environment boundary. This programme builds those competencies through peer learning with colleagues working across sectors.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about One Health certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nMalaria control and elimination requires a health workforce that can use data, introduce life-saving innovations, and adapt protocols to the specific ecology of their district. This programme, developed in partnership with the Gates Foundation, connects you with peers leading that work across endemic countries. You can already join the Teach to Reach Special Event, organized with RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
\n\n\n\nJoin the Malaria Special Event now. You will then be first to receive the invitation to join the new programme.
\n\n\n\nRead the new article by Reda Sadki and Charlotte Mbuh: \u201cRethinking human resources for malaria control and elimination in Africa\u201d
\n\n\n\nA crisis cuts off a mother\u2019s insulin. A grandfather loses his blood pressure medication. A child can no longer access their inhaler. NCDs do not pause for emergencies, but most humanitarian training acts as though they do. This new peer learning course, developed with Dr. Shanthi Mendis (retired WHO Senior Adviser for NCDs), gives you frameworks and peer-reviewed strategies you can use this week.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about NCD certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nArtificial intelligence is already in your workplace: in diagnostics, in data systems, in the tools your colleagues use in secret because there are no rules yet. This programme is for health and humanitarian professionals who want to lead their organizations\u2019 response to AI, rather than wait for a policy from headquarters that may never arrive. We believe this is a paradigm change.
\n\n\n\nGet the Guide on LinkedIn | Learn more about AI4Health certification
\n\n\n\nYou do not need to pay to get your first certification in gender for emergencies. Built by and for practitioners, this primer is for humanitarians starting their journey to advance gender equality in crises.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about Gender in emergencies certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nThe climate crisis is not a future scenario. It is your patients\u2019 reality right now: changing disease patterns, heat stress, disrupted supply chains, and community resilience under pressure. This programme connects you with peers who are leading adaptation responses at the frontline, and supports you to develop and implement your own.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about this certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nHealth equity is not a value statement. It is a set of practical skills: knowing who is missing from your data, understanding the structural roots of that absence, and building an action plan with your community to close the gap. The HEART certificate programme gives you the analytical architecture to do exactly that.
\n\n\n\nJoin the Special Event \u201cEquity matters: A practical approach to identify and eliminate biases\u201d | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nWhether you are supporting routine immunization, zero-dose outreach, or outbreak response, this programme connects you with thousands of peers who are working through the same challenges you are. The evidence from this network helped rewrite the global playbook on implementation. Come add your experience.
\n\n\n\nSee what health workers learned from this course | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nGlobal health has a hierarchy problem. The people closest to the communities bearing the highest burden of disease are routinely positioned as recipients of guidance, not as its authors. This programme gives you the critical frameworks \u2013 and a global community of peers \u2013 to challenge that hierarchy and lead differently.
\n\n\n\nLearn more about Decolonization certification | Enroll now
\n\n\n\nAlongside our special event on Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS), we are preparing a masterclass with Dr Dirk Engels, retired director of NTDs at the World Health Organization (WHO). We will walk with Dirk to chart his experience, from a field clinic in Zimbabwe to the headquarter of WHO in Geneva. What has changed in the global health landscape? Why are these diseases still neglected?
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2025 was the last year of our first decade \u2014 and, for many, a difficult one. Global health funding collapsed. Climate change impacts on health became a daily operational emergency. AI started to widen the gap between the well-resourced and everyone else. The network held. Whose Knowledge Counts? tells the story of that year: 60,000 health workers across 137 countries who kept going \u2014 not because of per diems, but because the problems in their communities did not wait for the funding to return.
\n\n\n\nWatch the 2025 Year in Review (English) \u2192
\n\n\n\n\u00c9couter la R\u00e9trospective 2025 (Fran\u00e7ais) \u2192
\n\n\n\nMissed 2024? Listen here \u2192
\n\n\n\nTGLF\u2019s founder, Reda Sadki, publishes on redasadki.me. Recent articles you do not want to miss:
\n\n\n\nSubscribe to receive articles as soon as they are published \u2192
\n\n\n\nThe following programmes do not have enrolment links yet. Each one will be announced in a future issue of this newsletter. If one of these topics is part of your work, this is your reason to open next week\u2019s edition.
\n\n\n\nFor every one of these programmes: you will learn with peers. You will develop an action plan for your own context. And if you are ready to go further, the Impact Accelerator will support you to execute that plan week by week \u2013 and produce evidence that your actions made a difference.
\n\n\n\nWhat is the Impact Accelerator? \u2192
\n\n\n\nBeyond the hot flash: A primer for health workers about menopause
\n\n\n\nMenopause affects every woman who lives long enough. Yet in most health systems, it is invisible. No screening. No vocabulary. No budget. Women suffer in silence. And the system looks the other way. This course is being developed in partnership with Menoglobal, the first international organization dedicated to making menopause a global health priority.
\n\n\n\nPsychological first aid and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS)
\n\n\n\nThe populations you serve have experienced loss, displacement, and ongoing crisis. So have many of you. This programme gives you validated tools to provide psychological first aid and to design MHPSS responses that are grounded in your community\u2019s culture and context.
\n\n\n\nOrganizational development and leadership
\n\n\n\nHow do you lead change inside an institution that was not designed for the change you know is needed? This programme is for health system leaders who want frameworks and peer support to build the organizational conditions for sustained improvement.
\n\n\n\nFood security and nutrition
\n\n\n\nFood insecurity and malnutrition are health system problems. This programme helps you understand the intersections, assess the situation in your district, and identify what you can do \u2013 within the resources you actually have.
\n\n\n\nPublic good or private profit? A dialogue for health professionals about the privatization of health care
\n\n\n\nHealth systems everywhere are navigating the expansion of private actors \u2013 with consequences for equity, access, and accountability that fall unevenly on the communities you serve. This programme helps you understand the dynamics, analyze your own context, and lead a response.
\n\n\n\nWhat happens to markets when a disaster strikes?
\n\n\n\nWhen funding collapses, supply chains break, or economic shocks hit, health markets behave in ways that guidelines do not prepare you for. This programme connects you with peers navigating those realities and gives you tools to protect service continuity.
\n\n\n\nOn March 11, we opened the global call for TGLF Alumni Ambassadors \u2013 and it filled fast.
\n\n\n\nYou will be genuinely amazed by the Ambassadors\u2019 stories.
\n\n\n\nThe call was for Scholars who have completed at least one TGLF programme and are ready to take on a mandate to lead: connecting peers, bridging the gap between global guidance and local action, and building the network from within.
\n\n\n\n314 Ambassadors have now been appointed: 167 from the DRC, 147 from Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda (the first cohort, 2023), with 536 more currently completing the activation. The programme is now closed for this round.
\n\n\n\nIf you missed it: the next call will come in this newsletter.
\n\n\n\nThe way to be ready is to stay in the network, share your experience, and complete courses.
\n\n\n\nWe find our best Ambassadors among the Scholars who are already making a difference, because they choose to.
\n\n\n\nWatch future editions of this newsletter for the next opening.
\n\n\n\nThanks for reading to the end! Here is a preview of what is coming in future issues:
\n\n\n\nCreativity in the age of AI faces a major challenge: on the one hand, AI models are constantly hungry for new training data that is as creative as possible. On the other hand, the creators of this data\u2014or the holders of the rights to it\u2014are demanding fair compensation. A new initiative called \u201cReally Simple Licensing,\u201d or RSL for short, promises a straightforward solution.
\nOver 40 copyright lawsuits have been filed against AI companies in the U.S. since 2022. These cases seek compensation for the plaintiffs for the unauthorized use of their data by AI models. The need to find a fundamental solution to this issue is therefore clear.
\nReally Simple Licensing is an open standard that provides the licensing terms of a web resource in a machine-readable format for the bots of AI companies. From a TXT file (named rsl.txt), the bots learn the names of the creators or rights holders of the content, as well as the terms for data usage and compensation. The RSL Standard 1.0 has been officially in effect since December 2025.
\nRSL relies on usage-based licensing fees, ensuring that creators and rights holders are compensated whenever their data is used by AI.\u00a0 For AI companies, this offers the ability to calculate licensing costs based on frequency of use. Even non-public content, such as articles and books behind a paywall, can be included in the RSL system and thus utilized by AI companies.
\nIn a \u201cCreator Bill of Rights for the AI Era,\u201d RSL sets forth three key commitments to creators and rights holders of creative content\u2014whether it be text, images, videos, audio, datasets, or other formats.
\nCreativity should, therefore, be fairly compensated. For AI companies, RSL primarily promises increased efficiency. Automating the licensing process is intended to avoid cumbersome, ad-hoc technical solutions. Standardized licensing terms are also designed to eliminate the need for time-consuming negotiations with individual rights holders.
\nAccess to data is to be made easier overall. This is to be achieved, on the one hand, through access to non-public content that is protected from unauthorized access by encryption. But efficiency is also gained through the legal safeguarding of data use, as this includes transparent documentation of the copyright status of any data used.
\nThe role of the Creative Commons (CC) organization in the context of the RSL initiative is particularly interesting. CC\u2019s current licensing model permits AI training using CC-licensed content; the only restriction applies to commercial use, as governed by the NC license module. However, Creative Commons introduced the new concept of \u201cCC Signals\u201d last year.
\nOur author Fabian Rack describes CC Signals as a concept currently under development, through which CC is responding to the \u201cbreach of the social contract of openness.\u201d The goal of this CC approach is to address the \u201cdistortions caused by AI without resorting to stricter copyright laws.\u201d Instead, in addition to appropriate attribution of rights holders (\u201cappropriate credit\u201d) or open use (\u201cOpen\u201d), CC Signals also provide for two elements that mandate compensation in the form of monetary or in-kind payments: \u201cDirect Contribution\u201d and \u201cEcosystem Contribution.\u201d
\nRSL 1.0 is now the first application to be implemented as part of the CC Signals initiative. If the RSL standard succeeds in establishing itself, CC Signals will thus be brought from the conceptual level to the application level.
\nFabian Rack points out that CC Signals aims to establish \u201ca new give-and-take between content creators and AI providers,\u201d and that CC refers to this as \u201creciprocity.\u201d In the course of the preliminary negotiations between Creative Commons and the RSL Collective, this \u201creciprocity\u201d has been incorporated as a separate component for RSL\u2019s usage compensation: \u201cA monetary or in-kind donation made in good faith that supports the development or maintenance of the assets or the broader content ecosystem.\u201d Thus, the \u201cDirect Contribution\u201d and \u201cEcosystem Contribution\u201d from CC Signals are implemented in the RSL standard.
\nFrom CC\u2019s perspective, the compensation contribution could, for example, take the form of a donation to a nonprofit organization that manages the relevant dataset. The \u201cbroader ecosystem\u201d surrounding a dataset could also benefit financially. Other possible approaches include open licensing of an AI model trained on the data, or making an AI-\u201cmodified dataset\u201d available to the data steward of the original dataset. Creative Commons emphasizes that \u201centirely different models that we cannot yet imagine\u201d may also be added in the future.
\nThe RSL Standard 1.0 has only been active for a few weeks. A number of major companies in the internet industry are already publicly supporting RSL. These include infrastructure companies such as Akamai and Cloudflare, and social media services like Reddit and Stack Overflow. Support from the media industry ranges from A for Associated Press to Z for ZDNET.
\nThe rapidly growing support from content producers is not very surprising. After all, the new standard promises fair compensation for creative work. As is well known, the AI industry is expected to pay these royalties. However, the industry has so far remained tight-lipped about RSL. \u201cTime will tell\u201d is one comment on the matter.
\niRights.info provides information and explanations on the subject of \u201cCopyright and creativity in the digital world\u201d. All texts are published free of charge and openly licensed.
\nIf you like, you can support us via the donation platform Betterplace and receive a donation receip. Betterplace accepts PayPal, direct debit, credit card, paydirekt or bank transfer.
\nWe would be particularly pleased to receive a regular contribution, for example as a monthly standing order. The non-profit organization iRights e.V. would like to thank you for your support!
\n
DOI for this text: \u00b7 Automatic DOI assignment for blogs via The Rogue Scholar
\nThe post \u201cReally Simple Licensing\u201d \u2013 The Path to a Fair Digital Content Economy? appeared first on iRights.info.
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/efz93-ygm80","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://irights.info/?post_type=custom_artikel&p=32803","id":"fc63dcd9-456c-4a4a-8d86-44b4eaeb438f","image":null,"images":[],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775649770,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775649514,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"0yeez-krj85","status":"active","summary":"Creativity in the age of AI faces a major challenge: on the one hand, AI models are constantly hungry for new training data that is as creative as possible. On the other hand, the creators of this data\u2014or the holders of the rights to it\u2014are demanding fair compensation. A new initiative called \u201cReally Simple Licensing,\u201d or RSL for short, promises a straightforward solution.","tags":["Allgemein","Creative Commons + Lizenzen","English","Politik + Recht","Urheberrecht"],"title":"\u201cReally Simple Licensing\u201d \u2013 The Path to a Fair Digital Content Economy?","updated_at":1775649606,"url":"https://irights.info/artikel/really-simple-licensing-the-path-to-a-fair-digital-content-economy/32803","version":"v1"},{"abstract":null,"archive_url":null,"authors":[{"contributor_roles":[],"family":"Author","given":"Guest"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"mediaAndCommunications","community_id":"91453087-8910-45af-b4fe-f1c1b65342ec","created_at":1746010049.836079,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"academic publishing: unfiltered and uncensored.","doi_as_guid":false,"favicon":null,"feed_format":"application/rss+xml","feed_url":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/rss","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"Ghost","generator_raw":"Ghost 5.118","home_page_url":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/","id":"b68bd178-3230-4efd-ab67-84bbae17aa88","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":null,"prefix":"10.59350","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"modernpeer","status":"active","subfield":"3315","subfield_validated":null,"title":"the modern peer","updated_at":1775721917.145609,"use_api":null,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":null},"blog_name":"the modern peer","blog_slug":"modernpeer","content_html":"This is Part II of the series. To read Part I, click here.
For over a decade, organizations such as DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment) or, more recently, CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) have been promoting a change in the way scientists are evaluated. They propose to remove the focus from the most obvious indicators based on simple metrics such as publications and grants, and instead include a much wider view of the activities of researchers in the evaluation process. Initiatives such as the use of Narrative CVs, replacing the traditional category based, bullet point CVs, move in this direction and are becoming increasingly popular among (mainly) European funding agencies and research institutions. They do not guarantee a more complete analysis of the quality of a researcher, that\u2019s fair, but at least the relevant information is available, and one can evaluate motivations, interests or non-conventional career paths, information difficult to extract from bullet point CVs.
But even with these initiatives in mind, we need to admit that the problems of subjectivity and bias combined with the need to make decisions among candidates that are very similar in quality will persist as long as success rates remain low. Peer review is not an adequate tool for the fine tuning required in the \u201cgrey zone\u201d where decisions are made these days. And we will never have a better one, let\u2019s face it.
So, why not be honest about it? Why not admit that while we can be reasonably confident that the candidates at the very top of the ranking are clearly better than the candidates at the very bottom, we cannot possibly distinguish between the candidates within ten positions above or below the cut off?
One obvious consequence is the potential for simplification of the selection process. How do you choose among equally deserving candidates? Lottery. Or in more technical terms, focal randomization (focal, because it applies to a preselected group of candidates, those in the grey zone). This method of selection is not a modern invention. In fact, civic lottery or sortition was already applied in ancient Athens about 2500 years ago to choose the members of the Council of Five Hundred, among preselected individuals. Later, it was used, for instance, to select public officers in Italian republics such as Venice or Florence from the 12th century until the 1700s. And for the last decade or so, some brave funders have been experimenting with it, although to be fair no major international program has ventured into lotteries so far.
A second consequence of this is that we can stop telling candidates we know are good \u201cyou were rejected because there were better candidates\u201d, which we know is not really true (or at least, let\u2019s admit we don\u2019t really know). Instead, we can tell them, \u201cyour application was considered fundable but unfortunately we do not have the resources to fund all meritorious applications\u201d. In one case you are worse than others. On the other, you are as good as them. You could even be awarded a non-stipendiary fellowship and be considered a fellow for all intents and purposes except the money. This may have unintended positive consequences in the future: \u201cFor unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath\u201d, Matthew 25:29. This Bible verse, which in layman\u2019s terms means \u201cthose who already have, will have more, and from those who don\u2019t we will take the little they have away\u201d or even simpler \u201cthe rich will get richer and the poor, poorer\u201d, inspires what is usually known as the Matthew effect. Applied to scientific grants, the simple fact of having been awarded grants or fellowships in the past, increases the chances of getting new ones in the future. Being able to demonstrate that you have been competitive in the past, for instance being awarded a non-stipendiary fellowship of the kind described above, increases your chances to be competitive\u00a0 in the future.
Bottomline, lottery, randomization, sortition or whatever name we use (some people are offended by the use of the word \u201clottery\u201d in this context) is probably the fairest way to distribute a scarce resource among equally deserving individuals. And that is exactly the problem we have here.
And like many other problems in human history, the Greeks invented the solution 25 centuries ago.
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/4n167-5ge16","funding_references":null,"guid":"69ccce0eeffc0a0001c46f1f","id":"c8636339-414c-4083-a291-066d3ec52aa1","image":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/content/images/2026/04/jason-leung-dlUDRZli02I-unsplash.jpg","images":[{"alt":"Selecting the best..from the best - Part II","src":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/content/images/2026/04/jason-leung-dlUDRZli02I-unsplash.jpg"}],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775639382,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775638301,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"dn6cj-5zh59","status":"active","summary":"\u2712\ufe0f\n\n \n \n Editor's Note:\n \n \n\nToday's guest post was written by David del \u00c1lamo. David earned his PhD in Madrid studying fly wing genetics, then continued his developmental biology research as a postdoc in New York and Paris. After that, he stepped into the dark side of science becoming an editor for The EMBO Journal after a short tenure at EMBO reports.","tags":[],"title":"Selecting the best..from the best - Part II","updated_at":1775638301,"url":"https://www.themodernpeer.com/selecting-the-best-from-the-best-part-i-2/","version":"v1"},{"abstract":null,"archive_url":null,"authors":[{"contributor_roles":[],"name":"Silvia Czerwinski , David St\u00f6llger"}],"blog":{"archive_collection":null,"archive_host":null,"archive_prefix":null,"archive_timestamps":null,"authors":null,"canonical_url":null,"category":"engineeringAndTechnology","community_id":"db0d8909-9e37-46d0-b16c-0551f575e86b","created_at":1749798261.334959,"current_feed_url":null,"description":"Das Blog der TIB \u2013 Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften und Universit\u00e4tsbibliothek","doi_as_guid":true,"favicon":"https://blog.tib.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TIB_fav_icon_24x24.png","feed_format":"application/atom+xml","feed_url":"https://blog.tib.eu/feed/atom/","filter":null,"funding":null,"generator":"WordPress","generator_raw":"WordPress 6.8.1","home_page_url":"https://blog.tib.eu/","id":"135a354f-2969-4852-9a7c-b6cda0a692a4","indexed":true,"issn":null,"language":"en","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","mastodon":null,"prefix":"10.65527","registered_at":0,"relative_url":null,"ror":null,"secure":true,"slug":"tib","status":"active","subfield":"1802","subfield_validated":null,"title":"TIB-Blog","updated_at":1775721983.170481,"use_api":true,"use_mastodon":false,"user_id":null},"blog_name":"TIB-Blog","blog_slug":"tib","content_html":" read this article in English\nDie Blogreihe \u201eFrauen in der Wissenschaft\u201c stellt Frauen aus der TIB vor, die Einblicke in ihre Wege und ihre pers\u00f6nlichen Erfahrungen in der Wissenschaft geben. Dr. Esther Tobschall studierte Chemie an der Universit\u00e4t Hannover und forschte f\u00fcr ihre Dissertation zur NMR-, Impedanz- und Infrarot-Spektroskopie an nanokristallinem und glasigem Lithiummetaborat LiBO2 an einem festk\u00f6rperphysikalischen Thema. Heute ist sie Fachreferentin f\u00fcr Physik an der TIB und ist dort vor allem f\u00fcr die Informationsversorgung von Physiker:innen verantwortlich. Im Interview spricht sie \u00fcber die Ermutigung, Fragen zu stellen, das eigene Selbstverst\u00e4ndnis und die Freude an der Forschung.
\nWas fasziniert dich an der Arbeit in der Wissenschaft?
\nBesonders gereizt hat mich an der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit, dass ich mich in ein Thema mit all seinen Aspekten einarbeiten und dabei in die Tiefe gehen durfte. Als ich mich f\u00fcr meine Dissertation mit nanokristallinen Substanzen besch\u00e4ftigt habe, war die Forschung an Nanokristallen ein relativ neues Gebiet und wir konnten ausprobieren, mit welchen Messmethoden sich Wesen und Eigenschaften dieser Substanzen am besten erfassen und charakterisieren lassen.
\nDas Auswerten und Vergleichen der Messergebnisse unterschiedlicher Verfahren hat mir besonders viel Freude gemacht, weshalb mir meine Kolleg:innen dann auch ein Universalspektrometer f\u00fcr meinem Doktorhut gebastelt haben (in der Astronomie nennt man das heute Multi-Messenger-Beobachtung).
\nAuch mein Interesse an umfassender Literaturarbeit, den Recherchen und der Auswertung relevanter Paper sowie das Zusammenf\u00fchren der Erkenntnisse, habe ich dabei entdeckt. Deshalb habe ich mir schon fr\u00fch w\u00e4hrend meiner Promotionszeit den Weg ins Fachreferat an einer wissenschaftlichen Bibliothek als berufliche Perspektive vorgestellt.
\nWas h\u00e4ttest du als Frau in der Wissenschaft gerne fr\u00fcher gewusst?
\nIch h\u00e4tte mehr Ermutigung gebraucht: Die Ermutigung, dass ich Fragen nicht nur an mein zu untersuchendes Material oder Literatur stellen darf, sondern auch an erfahrene Forschende. Damals habe ich meine Zur\u00fcckhaltung eher als Pers\u00f6nlichkeitsmerkmal gesehen und sie nicht auf Rollenmodelle zur\u00fcckgef\u00fchrt. Heute w\u00fcrde ich doch sagen, dass sich das gr\u00f6\u00dfere Selbstbewusstsein meiner \u00fcberwiegend m\u00e4nnlichen Kollegen daraus gespeist hat, dass M\u00e4nner seit Generationen selbstverst\u00e4ndlich einen Platz im Wissenschaftsbetrieb hatten und Kommunikation in der Regel unter M\u00e4nnern stattfand, w\u00e4hrend wir wenigen jungen Frauen in der Physikalischen Chemie doch irgendwie noch Exotinnen waren. Ich muss betonen, dass es keine offene oder verdeckte Diskriminierung gab, der Faktor war schlichtweg die Selbstverst\u00e4ndlichkeit.
\nDieses Selbstverst\u00e4ndnis ist auch heute noch in den Regeln f\u00fcr die Schlagwortkatalogisierung (RSWK) verankert: Ich \u00e4rgere mich jedes Mal, wenn ich regelkonform das Schlagwort \u201ePhysiker\u201c f\u00fcr Werke \u00fcber Physiker und Physikerinnen vergeben muss. Das Schlagwort \u201ePhysikerin\u201c dagegen ist den Werken vorbehalten, die sich explizit mit Frauen in der Physik besch\u00e4ftigen \u2013 was ist eigentlich mit Werken, die sich ausschlie\u00dflich mit M\u00e4nnern in der Physik befassen? Immer dann, wenn es sich halbwegs vertreten l\u00e4sst, vergebe ich nat\u00fcrlich beide Begriffe!
\nWelchen Rat w\u00fcrdest du M\u00e4dchen und jungen Frauen geben, die eine wissenschaftliche Laufbahn anstreben?
\nEs ist euer selbstverst\u00e4ndliches Recht, Teil des Wissenschaftsbetriebes zu sein. Stellt das auch bei widrigen Bedingungen nie in Frage. Ich freue mich, dass es inzwischen in der Physik (auch mathematisch gesehen) unendlich mehr Professorinnen gibt, als zu meiner aktiven Zeit in der Forschung und diese mit ihrer Arbeit und ihrem Auftreten zum Vorbild werden. Ihr seid nur wirklich gut in dem, was euch Freude macht und wenn euch wissenschaftliches Arbeiten begeistert, werdet ihr \u2013 allen eventuellen Widrigkeiten zum Trotz \u2013 darin gut und erfolgreich sein. Folgt eurer Freude!
\n
Ein Wunsch f\u00fcr die Zukunft von Frauen und M\u00e4dchen in der Wissenschaft …
\nIch war die erste schwangere Forscherin an unserem Institut, habe meine Dissertation kurz vor der Geburt unserer Tochter eingereicht und die Pr\u00fcfung wenige Monate danach absolviert. Ich w\u00fcnsche mir also, dass f\u00fcr Wissenschaftlerinnen das Muttersein in Zukunft nicht mit so viel zus\u00e4tzlichen Anstrengungen und starkem Durchsetzungsverm\u00f6gen verbunden ist, wie es heute offenbar im Wissenschaftsbetrieb immer noch der Fall ist und damit zum Karrierekiller werden kann.
\nInteressant ist ja, dass forschende M\u00e4nner in h\u00f6heren Positionen h\u00e4ufig auch V\u00e4ter sind, w\u00e4hrend bei forschenden Frauen Mutterschaft meinen Beobachtungen nach doch noch seltener ist. Dass die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie noch viel zu h\u00e4ufig als Thema von Frauen gesehen wird und nicht als Thema von Eltern, ist zwar ein allgemeines gesellschaftliches Problem, aber gerade unsere \u00f6ffentlich gef\u00f6rderte Wissenschaftsstruktur hat das Potential, hier etwas vom Entweder-oder hin zum Sowohl-als-auch zu \u00e4ndern. Wie stellte ich in einem Bewerbungsgespr\u00e4ch fest, als ich nach meiner Tochter und meinen Verpflichtungen als Mutter gefragt wurde: \u201eDas Kind hat auch einen Vater!\u201c
\nFrauen in der Wissenschaft \u2013 eine Blogreihe
\nIn der Blogreihe \u201eFrauen in der Wissenschaft\u201c werden Frauen an der TIB vorgestellt, die Einblicke in ihre wissenschaftlichen Wege, Rollenbilder und ihre Erfahrungen aus dem Arbeitsalltag geben. Sie alle teilen ihre Perspektive und ihre W\u00fcnsche f\u00fcr die Zukunft der Wissenschaft und ermutigen andere Frauen, ihren Platz selbstbewusst einzunehmen.
\nIt is a bit tricky to balance writing new posts and updating old ones. As this library of societal collapse research grows, there is an ever larger backlog of posts that would like to see some updates. Even though the update posts usually have a readership equal or even slightly higher than the other ones here, I do think that having regular completely new posts is important to keep things interesting. So, I will continue to try to find a balance here, but if any of my readers have a strong preference here, I\u2019d be curious to hear it. Also, I recently was on a podcast, where I summarized many insights from this blog here. Check it out, if you would like to see a bit more conversational version of this living literature review. But now, the actual updates.
This post is meant to give an overview of what all kinds of academic and political institutions think constitutes a global risk. Basically, it is a collection of collections of catastrophes. To this collection I have added two new reports. The first one is by the UK Ministry of Defence, (2024).
Such kinds of catastrophes are also highly relevant to defense. Therefore, defense ministries also try to map out the different risks their countries might face in the future. An example of this would be a report by the UK Ministry of Defence (2024). They tried to map out what the strategic trends will be until 2055. A strategic trend is not the same thing as a catastrophe, but still the main drivers of trends they identify look eerily familiar to the kinds of events we have covered in this post so far. More specifically, they identify six main drivers of global change:
Global power competition
Demographic pressure
Climate change and pressure on the environment in general
Technological advances and connectivity
Economic transformation and energy transition
Inequality and pressure on governance
They assess that we are in for a wild ride, because many of these trends push the world in different directions. For example, economic transformation and technology will connect the world at an increasing rate, while global power competition will lead to fragmentation. Or similarly, that more and more people globally feel empowered to speak up and mobilize, while at the same time autocratic governments seem to be on the rise.
The risks and trends are also assessed on their impact and uncertainty. Here AI comes out on top for causing the most uncertainty, while global power competition is assigned the position of the most impactful one for the state of the world. As they assess global power competition as the most impactful one, much of the rest of the report is trying to map this out in more detail. They think that the United States will remain the most powerful nation, but will face increasing competition from China, Russia\u2019s future depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine, India will play a major role, but struggle with internal unrest and many of the middle power will band together, to have a chance in a world of weakening international agreements.
A second report I have added is by Graham et al. (2025), which translates the methodology of the Swiss national risk assessment to Australia:
What has been encouraging here is that good national risk assessments can work as an inspiration for other actors. For example, in a recent report by Graham et al. (2025), a group of researchers used the methodology of the Swiss national risk assessment and transferred it to Australia and showing that even under traditional risk assessment (accounting for both likelihood and magnitude of the consequences), the annual expected impacts of some global catastrophes are far higher than many of the more frequent threats (like floods or fires) and thus Australia should invest more to prevent damages from global catastrophes.
What are the economic consequences of global catastrophes? This is generally quite hard to assess, as we are often lacking the data to even calibrate our models on. However, there is still some historical data that can be used. One paper that has accumulated such a dataset is by Blouin et al. (2024):
A paper that looks more systematically into the impacts of industrial destruction is by Blouin et al. (2024) (Disclaimer: I am a co-author on this one). The general idea is that, while we cannot easily assess the damages a nuclear war might do to industrial output, we can look into history, to find case studies of how destruction of industry leads to declines in industrial outputs and extrapolate from this. These case studies reach from major hurricanes to the Second World War (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Relationship of incapacitated industrial infrastructure and subsequent decline in industrial output. Based on historical case studies and modelling studies.
In addition to establishing this relationship between industrial destruction and declines in output, the study also assesses how much of industrial capacity would be destroyed in US/Russia and India/Pakistan conflicts. This can be estimated from plausible target lists and the destruction caused by the nuclear weapons detonating above those targets. In the case of the US/Russia conflict the estimate is that this could destroy roughly 3 % of global industrial capacity, which would translate to a 24 % loss in global industrial output from the detonation damage alone. This strongly nonlinear relationship between destroyed capacity and declining output highlights the vulnerability of economies to large scale disruptions.
The ongoing polycrisis and systemic risk in general are hard to pin down. This is not also true in general, but even more so the case when it comes to policy making. Still, there are some attempts to think about how even such complex topics might be governed. One of those attempts is by Studzinski et al. (2025):
Coordinating around such complex problems is quite difficult. Where even to start? One thing that is clear, that global coordination is needed one way or the other. An attempt to get this started was the United Nations\u2019 Summit of the Future. The summit was meant to start the reform of the United Nations 75 years after their founding and resulted in the Pact for the Future, which spelled out 56 goals which should guide the way to tackle the existing global challenges. How well this worked out and what we might do better in the future is discussed in Studzinski et al. (2025). They start with the criticism that the Summit of the Future did have a too narrow view on individual hazards and not really the bigger picture that would be needed to address the challenges we face. But the world as it is, is faced by threats that are larger than the sum of their parts. They are interconnected and reinforce each other.
The inability of global governance to effectively address the current global problems is caused by a variety of factors. One of them is that the situation is just tricky in general, and so it is to be expected that it cannot be solved easily and quickly. But also many of the existing institutions for global governance have ambiguous aims and missions, are often working against each other or are trying to find the least disruptive policy, in an attempt to please everyone. All in a world where international agreements are taken less seriously and the funding for global governance is decreasing.
But this does not mean that such summits are a waste of time. Ultimately, events like this are one of the few avenues of global governance that currently exist. Future summits need to get rid of their single hazard focus and instead focus on the interconnected problems we actually face. In addition to that, regional organisations like the European Union or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization could step up their game and implement measures to tackle systemic risks in their own borders, to showcase how this might also work on a global level. None of this is easy and likely needs a paradigm shift on how systemic problems are viewed, but getting this right is essential for the coming decades.
One big factor that has come up in many of the papers I have been reading for this blog is inequality. It is just generally corrosive to societies if it gets too high. A recent paper by Alfani et al. (2025) does a comparative analysis of inequality in the Han, Roman and Aztec Empires:
Another large comparison of how inequality plays out in comparable polities is by Alfani et al. (2025). They created a dataset to compare inequality in the Han Empire and the Roman Empire. In addition, they compared both to a previous dataset from the Aztec Empire. Thankfully, for us the Roman and Han Empire were quite good at record keeping. While comparable on many axes, the Roman Empire tended to be less centralized and more self rule in the provinces.
Alfani and colleagues calculated the wealth of the different regions by the rate of their urbanization and population density, based on the assumption that more and larger cities and a higher population meant a province was richer. This showed that for the Han Empire the central province was quite rich, while the other provinces were much less so. In comparison, the Roman Empire had also a very rich central region, but also several other regions (e.g. in North Africa) which had considerable wealth. This is likely shaped by how both states used their military and bureaucracy. The military is usually deployed in frontier regions, meaning that wealth gets transferred there from the center, while the bureaucracy tends to accumulate in the central region, syphoning away wealth from other regions. The Han Empire had small military and large bureaucracy, while it was the other way around for the Romans.
In addition, to this inequality between regions, the paper also calculates the inequality in the population in general. They do so by tracking the size of the different groups of people in the empires (like peasants, aristocrats, merchants, etc.). This allows them to calculate a Gini index for the Han, Aztec and Roman Empire and compare it to the present day United States (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Comparison of income shares in the Roman, Han and Aztec Empire and the United States.
This highlights stark differences between the different empires, with the Aztec Empire being the most unequal one by far, followed by the Han and then the Roman Empire. The United States has not yet reached the levels of inequality of those past empires. However, what is notable, that relatively speaking the poorest 10 % in the United States are poorer than their counterparts in all the three other empires.
These differences in inequality are also mirrored in differences in stability. From those empires considered, the one with the highest inequality (the Aztecs) was the most unstable one, while the one with the lowest inequality (the Romans) was most stable. Obviously, these are only three data points and thus not super reliable, but it fits in with the general trend of the instability-inducing power of inequality.
This post is about the importance of trade for the modern world and what might happen if it gets disrupted. I added a short paragraph to discuss a paper that looks into the importance of ports:
In addition to these chokepoints in general, we can also see that ports in general differ a lot in their importance for global trade. A paper by Verschuur et al. (2022) analyzed the world\u2019s 1300 most important ports for global supply chains. Based on a large supply chain database, they tracked how many goods flow through all these ports. They find that in value terms, around 50 % of global trade flows through ports. Also, the ports differ wildly in their importance with some major ports like Antwerp, Los Angeles or Singapore having a highly important role in global trade flows (Figure 2). This means if any of those ports would be disrupted, it would likely have wide reaching ripple effects.
Figure 2: Globally important ports for imports and exports.
Thank you for your interest in this academic experiment. Here\u2019s a great song as an appreciation.
If this post (or others here) got you thinking, consider leaving a like. It helps more people stumble onto this blog.
As you made it this deep, I assume that you like the stuff that is written here. If you want to do me a little favor, I would really appreciate it if you could share your favorite post with someone who might enjoy it.
Go ahead, you can do it right now. Nothing more to read in this post anyway.
Much appreciated!
Thanks for reading! If you want to talk about this post or societal collapse in general, I\u2019d be happy to have a chat. Just send me an email to existential_crunch at posteo.de and we can schedule something.
Alfani, G., Bolla, M., & Scheidel, W. (2025). A comparison of income inequality in the Roman and Chinese Han empires. Nature Communications, 16(1), 3248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58581-0
Blouin, S., Jehn, F. U., & Denkenberger, D. (2024). Global industrial disruption following nuclear war. EarthArXiv. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31223/X58H9G
Graham, J., Boyd, M., Sadler, G., & Noetel, M. (2025). Mapping Australia\u2019s Risk Landscape: A Comparative Analysis of Global Catastrophic Risks and Traditional Hazards (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 5253625). Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5253625
Studzinski, N. G., Kent, R., & Korowicz, D. (2025). Towards the Governance of Global Systemic Risk: Reforming the Summit of the Future. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 31(2), 113\u2013136. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-03102002
UK Ministry of Defence. (2024). Global Strategic Trends: Out to 2055.
Verschuur, J., Koks, E. E., & Hall, J. W. (2022). Ports\u2019 criticality in international trade and global supply-chains. Nature Communications, 13(1), 4351. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32070-0
This article is cross-posted on rOpenSci and R-Consortium blogs.
\nFor more than two decades, the Bioconductor project has been a cornerstone of the R ecosystem, providing high-quality, peer-reviewed tools for bioinformatics and computational biology. Its curated repository model, rigorous review standards, and tightly coordinated release process have helped establish Bioconductor as one of the most trusted distribution channels in scientific computing.
\nHowever, the infrastructure that supports such a long-standing and large-scale project inevitably accumulates technical debt. Legacy build systems, bespoke tooling, and historically grown workflows add up to costly and unsustainable maintenance work. For this reason, Bioconductor is collaborating with R-universe to gradually modernize parts of its infrastructure, while accommodating the project\u2019s scale, governance, and established processes. In turn, Bioconductor is helping R-universe expand and refine its features as we learn to serve the complex needs of the Bioconductor community.
\nThis collaboration reflects a core principle of R-universe as an R Consortium Infrastructure Steering Committee (ISC) top-level project: supporting reviewed package repositories such as rOpenSci and Bioconductor, and providing modern, open, and reusable infrastructure that strengthens the broader R ecosystem.
\n\nBioconductor maintains two distinct repositories:
\nTo mirror this structure, we currently operate two dedicated R-universe instances:
\nThese universes integrate directly with Bioconductor\u2019s existing Git infrastructure and provide continuous builds for packages in both branches.
\nThrough the R-universe dashboard, package maintainers and users can:
\nThis provides a familiar yet modern interface for Bioconductor contributors, aligned with what users increasingly expect from contemporary R package infrastructure.
\nInformation about each package is available on https://bioc.r-universe.dev/{pkgname}. For example, https://bioc.r-universe.dev/DESeq2 provides details on the DESeq2 package as shown below:
If this is your first time visiting R-universe, we recommend clicking the \u201cWebsite Tour\u201d button which will walk you through the most important information in 1 or 2 minutes.
\nThe R-universe project maintains comprehensive technical documentation at https://docs.r-universe.dev. For Bioconductor specifically, we created a dedicated section summarizing the most relevant topics for developers to get started with R-universe: https://docs.r-universe.dev/bioconductor/
\nAs the collaboration evolves and new components get introduced, the documentation will continue to be expanded. The goal is to provide Bioconductor maintainers with a clear reference point for understanding how R-universe fits into their development workflow, while maintaining compatibility with the established practices that have made Bioconductor a successful project within the R community.
\nAdopting new infrastructure inevitably involves adjustments. For Bioconductor developers, integrating with a new build and distribution system will likely require some changes to workflows, and time to become familiar with new or different package checks, build diagnostics, and binary distribution.
\nHowever, by gradually moving toward common infrastructure, the Bioconductor project will benefit from improvements that are being continuously developed and maintained for the broader R ecosystem. A system based on modern continuous integration (CI) will provide developers with improved tooling, and will give the core team more time to focus on community coordination and quality control, rather than on maintaining costly infrastructure. At the same time, the shared platform provided by R-universe can help to increase the visibility and accessibility of Bioconductor software to the greater R community.
\nWe look forward to continuing this alliance and to working with the Bioconductor community to ensure that the next generation of infrastructure supports the project for many years to come.
\n\n\u00a9 2025 Bioconductor. Content is published under Creative Commons CC-BY-4.0 License for the text and BSD 3-Clause License for any code. | R-Bloggers\n
","doi":"https://doi.org/10.59350/m13nc-2cq81","funding_references":null,"guid":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-08-r-universe-collaboration/","id":"901132d5-1dc8-4126-863d-8a6b715cb448","image":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png","images":[{"alt":"screenshot of r-universe","src":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png"},{"alt":"screenshot of r-universe","src":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png"},{"src":"https://docs.r-universe.dev/img/bioc-pkg.png"}],"indexed":true,"indexed_at":1775639380,"language":"en","parent_doi":null,"published_at":1775606400,"reference":[],"registered_at":0,"relationships":[],"rid":"efrdv-zbx98","status":"active","summary":"\n This article is cross-posted on rOpenSci and R-Consortium blogs.\n\nFor more than two decades, the Bioconductor project has been a cornerstone of the R ecosystem, providing high-quality, peer-reviewed tools for bioinformatics and computational biology.","tags":["Bioconductor","R-universe","Infrastructure"],"title":"Collaborating between Bioconductor and R-universe on Development of Common Infrastructure","updated_at":1775606400,"url":"https://blog.bioconductor.org/posts/2026-04-08-r-universe-collaboration/","version":"v1"}],"out_of":49908,"page":1,"per_page":10,"total-results":49908}