The publishing giant Elsevier charges for both reading access and open publication online. For Swedish HEIs, this results in escalating costs. Talks broke down in May, and libraries have been excluded from reading since 1st July.

They are called predatory journals and supporting them is an unacceptable action according to the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. How do Swedish higher education institutions and research funding bodies see the phenomenon, and what are they doing about it?

Fast publication, open access and considerable impact. So-called predatory journals use false promises of peer review and a serious approach to offer the publication of scientific articles in return for payment. Curie has looked more closely at the phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common.

She blogs about the struggles and opportunities for women in science. Yildiz Kelahmetoglu is a PhD candidate at Karolinska Institutet and studies damage response and regeneration in central nervous system after injuries and diseases. In her spare time she enjoys to read short stories, run and dance some Lindy hop.

As a scientist, feeling that you have much more to give, but being thwarted because of your age. As head of department, refusing someone a position, a room, a doctoral student. Curie has talked with two researchers and a pro-vice-chancellor about research after 67 and about the conflicts that easily arise.

The number of staff researchers over the age of 65 in Swedish higher education institutions has grown several times larger in just a decade. For universities, it is a delicate balancing act to both utilise the skills of retired researchers and to create the scope for renewal and new generations of researchers. A number of higher education institutions have established specific guidelines in this area.