New Video Techniques for Monitoring Health
A fascinating set of new video techniques being developed at MIT hint at how cameras might someday intervene in crib death, help diagnose heart disease, and more.
Informed Consent and Big Data — With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Consent and confidentiality concerns around “Big Data” in medicine should give enthusiasts for a data-rich scientific world pause. Things are more complex, and the answers so far are inadequate.
Money Talks — How Audience Priorities and Publishing Incentives Can Lead to Unusual OA Behaviors
Two separate but coincidental stances toward money and OA show that when it comes to getting things done, there’s nothing quite as useful as the right incentive — even when it turns OA principles on their head.
Bar Bets You Can't Lose — A Guide for Your Upcoming Meetings
A British explication of some nifty bar bets you can try on your friends.
Correction: NLM Does Not Charge for PubMed Data
Oops. Sorry.
The Hitler Meme Hits Peer Review and Having His NIH Grant Application Rejected
Two funny videos of processes in scientific life which many of us can use a good laugh about. Warning — Hitler, unsurprisingly, swears like a sailor when he’s frustrated. The peer review send-up: And, if you want more, there’s the […]
Second Course: Liveblogging the 2012 SSP Closing Session
3:30 p.m.: David C. notes that publishers are in an interesting quandary — they’re castigated for making a profit, yet they’re asked to make huge ongoing investments to make information more findable and usable. Publishers need to bring out the […]
The Big Deal, the Medium Deal, and the Tiny Deal
The Big Deal has emerged because it had to. Where do we go from here? The answer isn’t clear.
The Essence of Science — Feynman Gets It In 63 Seconds
Science begins from a simple premise, then gets really complicated. It’s good to return to the basics, courtesy of this brief primer from the legendary Richard Feynman.
Final Score in the Georgia State Game: Library 94, Publishers 5
The GSU case serves as a strong rebuke for publishers over fair use and copyright claims, while recognizing that some boundaries remain.
The Race to the Bottom — Data, Pertussis, Roads, Fires, and Scholarly Publishing
The culture of cheap has consequences, often expensive ones. Our culture of austerity economics has embraced it, to disastrous effect. Should scholarly publishing be on guard?
ClinicalTrials.gov — Too Many Studies Are Registered Late, Published Late, and Smaller Than Planned
Registering clinical trials after enrollment has commenced may lead to the perception that medical researchers are peeking.
Follow-up on BioMed Central's Sponsored Publication Fees — Granting Funders a View Into Editorial Reports
While BioMed Central’s responses are a mixed bag, a new finding surfaces. And this one might just beat all.
Where There's Smoke — Is Sponsorship of Open Access Author Fees a New Type of Conflict of Interest?
Is there a new form of conflict of interest in the world: BioMed Central’s corporate sponsorship of author fees?
Reproducibility — An Attempt to Test the Psychology Literature Underscores a Growing Fault Line
The growing perception that science is built on sand demands not only some new incentives, but also an understanding that science is not always easy — or possible — to replicate.