Comment Re:Did SHE do it? (Score 1) 255
At least in universities, yes.
I've read a lot on the internet (especially when a science kook is claiming some big discovery) about people being afraid to share ideas or work with others because 'they'll steal it!'
But the reality is that professors almost always give primary credit to their assistants and students - even undergrads - (in the form of listing them first in the authors list of a paper submission). Now, of course there are the odd exceptions to this - unscrupulous researchers who take primary credit for everything they touch. But they are very much the exception, not the rule. And you can avoid these type of people simply by first previewing their own publication history. Typically one gets primary or secondary author status early in their careers and slide down the authors list as time goes on.
There is often good reason for this. A tenured professor may have half a dozen or more grad students at any one time. Plus a post-doc or two, and maybe a couple of undergrads serious about doing research too. The professor can't possibly be heavily involved in all of the projects under their supervision. Instead they are there to provide initial ideas, high level guidance (their experience can be especially valuable - they know the field better than you do and so can point you at previous research, other people that can help, important variables to consider, etc.), and name recognition which helps students' work to stand out more. Professors also provide access to resources and shield assistants and students from university bureaucracy (getting ethics clearances and such). Plus professors are drafted into that very bureaucracy to help run their department or school government or whatever. And constantly chasing grant money. Oh, and some of them also teach.
Since they're so busy students often *are* the primary workforce on their own research projects.
In this case I wouldn't be surprised if the core of the idea ('hey, maybe we could use a nano-particle to