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COVER The ability to publish papers and underlying data in full on the Internet is changing how scientists communicate. However, trust in the integrity of submissions and in peer reviewers is being tested by a recent disruptive change: open access. In a special section,
Science probes the dramatic shifts in the landscape of scientific communication. See page
56. Image: David Plunkert
Science
- Volume 342|
- Issue 6154|
- 4 Oct 2013
COVER The ability to publish papers and underlying data in full on the Internet is changing how scientists communicate. However, trust in the integrity of submissions and in peer reviewers is being tested by a recent disruptive change: open access. In a special section,
Science probes the dramatic shifts in the landscape of scientific communication. See page
56. Image: David Plunkert
Special issue
Communication in Science
Introduction to Special Issue
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
Listen to a special show dedicated to science communication in which we explore pressures
and predators.
Products & Materials
A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory
materials of potential interest to researchers.
News of the Week
In science news around the world, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is cutting its staff
by 11%, Mexico is experiencing a cholera outbreak, flu virologist Ron Fouchier loses
a court case protesting the Dutch government's order to apply for an export permit
...
The Catlin Seaview Survey launches its Global Reef Record, with panoramic, high-resolution
images of the world's coral reefs, as well as other data such as water temperatures
and turbidity.
Astronaut Cady Coleman, who advised Sandra Bullock on her role as an astronaut in
the new film Gravity, sits down for a Three Q's with Science.
News
The accelerating pace of scientific publishing and the rise of open access, as depicted
by xkcd.com cartoonist Randall Munroe.
A spoof paper concocted by Science reveals little or no scrutiny at many open-access journals.
A spoof paper concocted by Science reveals little or no scrutiny at many open-access journals.
Vitek Tracz was ahead of the pack on open access. Now he wants to rewrite the rules
of peer review.
Gaining ground in the ongoing struggle to coax researchers to share negative results.
Debate is simmering over how and when to publish sensitive data.
Classified journals aim to solve a thorny problem: how to rigorously peer review and
share sensitive government-funded findings that officials don't want sent to regular
journals.
Researchers say that gene patents impede data sharing and innovation; patent lawyers
say there's no evidence for this.
Annual meetings are moneymakers for most scientific societies, and scientists continue
to flock to them. But as the world changes, how long can the status quo hold?
This summer, NASA's Lunar Science Forum became the largest scientific gathering to
embrace the new world of cyber meetings. The experience drew mixed reviews.
"Predatory" conferences—meetings, sometimes sparsely attended, that seem to come into
being primarily to make money—have become a cottage industry in scientific communication.
Bonnie Bassler and Larry Smarr have a gift for enthralling audiences. They share advice
on how to make powerful public presentations.
Bonnie Bassler and Larry Smarr have a gift for enthralling audiences. They share advice
on how to make powerful public presentations.
Findings
News & Analysis
A U.S. government shutdown is wreaking havoc with research funding agencies and disrupting
federal science projects, but a few "essential" scientists are still on the job.
The latest international climate assessment may appear to rubberstamp the same old
guess of how bad global warming will get, but the science is now actually much advanced.
Last week's climate assessment report substantially strengthened an already highly
confident scientific consensus and took a moderate line on some contentious points.
It's not clear how much impact a massive new report on climate change will have on
policymakers, but it is clear that the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has left a deep mark on global science.
A study establishes a specific brain region, the right lateral prefrontal cortex (rLPFC),
as a crucial nerve center for fairness.
Building family trees is getting a lot easier with new methods that pull out hundreds
of genetic markers to compare.
NIH builds ClinGen—a clinical reference site for all human gene variants.
News Focus
The world is close to wiping out the poliovirus, but Nigeria threatens to undo it
all. Muhammad Ali Pate is on a mission to change that.
Letters
Books et al.
Through a collection of 50 questions and associated stories, Eigen offers a wide-ranging
consideration of "the physical nature of information and its role in life processes."
Rejecting claims that we must choose between traditional fuels and clean energy, Levi
argues both must be sought in new ways.
A listing of books received at Science during the week ending 27 September 2013.
Policy Forum
Policy focused on fire suppression only delays the inevitable.
Perspectives
Can predicting an article's success change science? [Also see Report by Wang et al.]
Small RNA from a fungal pathogen is transferred to cells of a plant host where it
silences the mRNA for defense proteins. [Also see Report by Weiberg et al.]
Molecular beams and ultracold atom-trapping methods resolve the different reaction
rates of the cis and trans conformers of a flexible organic molecule. [Also see Report by Chang et al.]
The coupling of social and biological contagion in human populations can have positive
or negative outcomes. [Also see Perspective by Kahan]
Modern dialog formats in science communication are reminiscent of a culture of public
discourse and involvement in past centuries.
A potassium channel helps to fine-tune the photosynthetic machinery of plants to changes
in environmental conditions. [Also see Report by Carraretto et al.]
A neuropeptide that signals in the brain's master circadian clock may be the key to
overcoming the symptoms of malaise associated with jet lag. [Also see Research Article by Yamaguchi et al.]
Neglecting the science of science communication puts the value of decision-relevant
science at risk. [Also see Perspective by Bauch and Galvani]
Reports
Stacked graphene and graphene oxide membranes prepared with gas flow channels exhibit
tunable gas separation performance.
Ultrathin graphene oxide membranes show enhanced separation selectivity for hydrogen
gas.
A molecular beam technique measures the different reactivities of a compound’s distinct
rotational conformations. [Also see Perspective by Heaven]
Earth’s Archean atmosphere contained roughly as much nitrogen between 3.0 and 3.5
billion years ago as it does today.
Interactions between recent gene duplicates may create functional interference, selecting
for regulatory complexity.
Sponges take up dissolved organic matter and convert it into consumable cellular material.
In a mouse model, heart disease can be delayed by a therapy that prevents expression
of the disease-causing mutation.
The electrochemical gradient used to make adenosine triphosphate in photosynthesis
is modulated by potassium counterflow. [Also see Perspective by Rochaix]
A pathogenic fungus delivers small RNA molecules to disable gene regulatory systems
in the target plant. [Also see Perspective by Baulcombe]
The location of three bound sodium ions and the mechanism of sodium release in a key
plasma membrane ion pump are revealed.
Early citation history can be used to model the total number of citations a paper
will receive and to compare journals. [Also see Perspective by Evans]
Research Articles
Regions under strong selection in the human genome identify noncoding regulatory elements
with possible roles in disease.
In mice, the pace of recovery from jet lag is partly determined by vasopressin signaling
in a certain region of the brain. [Also see Perspective by Hastings]
