EDITORIAL 10 November 2026 Metascience should be a source of evidence, not a means of control The field has captured the interest of politicians. There are positives — but governments must not misuse the data.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03620-z The European Research Council made headlines last month when the news broke that those applying for one of its core grants had only a 5% chance of success. Partly as a result of applicants using artificial intelligence, the ratio of submissions to grants at the European Union’s premier science funder is now so skewed as to be little more than a lottery. Some funders are already using lotteries to select grant recipients, viewing these as a fairer way to allocate funding.