With the new academic year starting, an interesting study shows that small group seminars are most effective in preventing students to drop out of university.

A runner myself, I liked this BBC coverage on running in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, where (perhaps this week) the oldest snow patch may disappear.

Following up on my blog for Peer Review Week 2017, researchers from Imperial College London, the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and the University of Michigan, have teamed up to come up with a tool that may safeguard peer review, while making it more effective.

Also, Nature now offers a masterclass on peer review.

Bjorn Robroek is the blog editor for Functional Ecologists.