Nature Chemical Biology on scientists without borders
Scientists Without Borders is a new web portal that helps connect scientists and coordinate scientific efforts to address the challenges of the developing world. Joanne Kotz in the August issue of Nature Chemical Biology (4, 447; 2008) describes how the New York Academy of Sciences and 24 partners have worked to coordinate scientific efforts in the developing world and to provide resources where and when they are most needed.
How do you connect the world's scientists? Evelyn Strauss, now executive director of the project, spent many months developing the plan. She discovered that organizations are continually 'reinventing the wheel', trying to repeat earlier initiatives and running into the same stumbling blocks. In other cases, Strauss heard, "three organizations could be in the same place at the same time trying to do the same thing." The enormity of the communication gap, Strauss says, is obvious to everyone who works in the developing world.
Strauss and her colleagues have created an online resource that will serve as a virtual network to connect scientists. Profiles can be created for individuals, projects and organizations that describe, for example, what they do or want to do, the resources they need, the resources they can offer and what regions of the world they work in. People can also include details about their scientific expertise and their willingness to travel. For projects, a lasting record will be created through descriptions of what has been accomplished, what the next steps are and what the challenges to these next steps are likely to be. At the time of the website launch in May this year, there were already almost 400 individuals, 140 organizations and 80 projects with profiles. Despite the many potential challenges (Nature 453, 564; 2008), there is hope that this portal will succeed.
