From Web 2.0 to the Global Database

From Web 2.0 to the Global Database

I’m on my way home having just attended the 2009 Microsoft eScience Workshop at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where Tony Hey and his team at Microsoft Research also launched a book called The Fourth Paradigm. It’s a collection of essays that provide relatively accessible accounts of the impact and potential of digital science, and has been published in memory of Jim Gray, a pioneer in this area.  Read more

Andrew Savikas visits Nature

Last Thursday, Andrew Savikas, VP of Digital Initiatives at O’Reilly Media and ebook expert, paid us a visit. We had some very interesting conversations about the future direction of publishing, and Andrew delivered a great talk on the topic. He kindly provided a copy of his slides (16MB PDF). My (partial and impressionistic) notes are below.  Read more

ETech 2009

In these belt-tightening times I’m cutting back a lot on conferences. But not ETech — that’s the one event I have to attend each year if I’m to fully recharge my ideas battery. It’s also been a pleasure and privilege to once again act as a member of the program committee, helping to identify the right mix of speakers to enlighten and entertain.  Read more

Introducing Scitable

Introducing Scitable

Scitable is a new way to learn about and teach science, and also NPG’s most significant web launch for… erm… a long time. So I asked Vikram Savkar, director of Nature Education and principal force behind Scitable, to provide some info for Nascent readers. Here it is (click on the thumbnail images for full-size screenshots):  … Read more

Work for Nature, Go to SciFoo

A final reminder (from me, anyway) that entries for the Nature Network Blogging Challenge close on Monday, 5th January 2009. The winners get an all-expenses-paid trip to Science Foo Camp in summer 2009. For background reading, here’s a pair of Times Higher Ed articles: one to explain why you should go to SciFoo and another to size up the competition.  Read more