One-stop research ethics shop is open for business

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) has emerged as the latest catchphrase to burden US researchers who are already up to their ears in funding agency bureaucracy. Now a $1.5 million initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) is promising to help them out. The Ethics CORE web site has had a soft launch over the past year, quietly building up to 1638 registered users on a beta version of its web site, but sent out an official launch announcement late on 20 September. The site features curricula, courses, case studies, simulations and games for teaching scientific ethics and the responsible conduct of research.