Open Access – What’s a Learned Society To Do?
Learned societies are likely to be significantly affected by OA mandates, yet many remain silent, and may be ill-informed. What is their path forward?
Please Use Whole Names on Scholarly Articles
While elaborate systems might help us disambiguate authors of scholarly articles, is there a simpler approach?
Why Do We Allow Poor Science to Guide Policy?
Science policy is often guided by poorly-constructed and highly biased survey results. Shouldn’t we demand more?
The Inner Life of a Cell — An Amazing Animated Movie That Will Make You Appreciate Biology Much More
We take our bodies for granted, even when we ask more of them than usual. This video takes us behind the cellular scenes, revealing the microscopic workers making it all possible.
The McDonald's Beautification Project — Same Ingredients, Styled for Clarity
An interesting video showing one reason why it makes sense for food in an ad to look different from food you’re served.
Fast and Faster — F1 Cars Getting Faster, Blow Fast Regular Cars Away
Amateurs hope they can emulate the professionals they admire. In a set of videos of F1 racing courses, it’s clear that amateurs can’t compete with professional drivers.
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.
The Levitating Slinky — A Simple System, a Mind-blowing Result
Hi-speed cameras capture something you’ve probably done, but never really seen — the levitating Slinky.
Ready for Some Pizza — Visualizing Pizza Delivery in NYC and Beyond
Tracking pizza deliveries tells us a lot about one of our major cities, its inhabitants, socioeconomic aspects, 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.
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.
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 […]
The ALPSP Report on Six-Month Embargo Mandates — STM Journals Die Slowly, Social Science Journals Die Quickly
The ALPSP study of the possible effects of a six-month embargo for journal content shows that humanities and social science journals are more at-risk, but the entire industry could find the precipice if such mandates were to take shape.
The Post-Apocalyptic Publishing Platform
While just about everyone in publishing is absorbed with the technology platforms du jour, new platforms, including the personal area network, are emerging. A good strategy is to keep one’s eyes on the horizon before investing in the current tech fashion.
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 […]