In a world where scientific discovery is driven by impact factor and funding, the idea of open data may seem idealistic. But the open data movement has been growing since the early 2000s, spurred by the rise of big data and computational capabilities. For the sake of reproducibility in science, we need to encourage data sharing after publication. Read more
In today’s web-connected world, we’ve come to expect instant gratification. When you select a video on Netflix, you don’t wait for the file to finish downloading. Thanks to ever-increasing bandwidth, video can stream to your computer, playing as it arrives. Thus was the concept of binge-watching born, and many a fan of “Stranger Things” went to bed exhausted, but mostly satisfied. (#justiceforbarb). As it turns out, data streaming is being used in the life sciences, too. Nature technology editor Jeffrey Perkel finds out more. … Read more
Translating the results of a research project into a 10-minute presentation or article can be a difficult task. It must be informative but also succinct and appealing. It has to tell an interesting story. It has to entertain. And you shouldn’t have too much text. Read more
When preparing a grant or publication, where can you turn for new ideas? You can bounce ideas off colleagues, search PubMed and Web of Science for related literature, and maybe take a trip down Google lane. But it’s difficult to get outside one’s particular area of expertise — to mine the opportunities at cross-disciplinary boundaries unless you know what you’re looking for. The developers of a new document search engine hope to make such cognitive leaps easier, finds Jeff Perkel. Read more
On the morning of October 26, 2016, a group of scientists convened in London to discuss the state of open data. The third Publishing Better Science through Better Data conference kicked off with morning tea, international introductions, and furious scribing from @roystoncartoons. The premise was simple: “Today is all about being open”, said conference chair Iain Hrynaszkiewicz. We settled in to learn the advantages of data sharing at both the individual level and for the scientific community at large. Read more
Speakers at the Publishing Better Science through Better Data (#scidata16) conference addressed these issues and more. Read more
Publishing Better Science through Beter Data writing competition Jonathan Page … Read more
The Publishing Better Science through Better Data conference, or #scidata16 for short, took place at the Wellcome Collection in London at the end of October. This one-day event organised by the journal Scientific Data, Springer Nature and the Wellcome Trust explored the challenges facing early-career researchers as we enter the era of open data. Read more
In July 2016 scientists found out how to map the brain into dozens of new areas using neuroimaging. We also discovered that thousands of such brain scanning studies may be flawed. To someone lacking insight into neuroscience, these two equally important studies can seem conflicting. Although “science communication” happens everywhere, science can still feel like a black box to the public, mysteriously churning out breakthroughs which are packaged and relayed by a barrage of tweets and headlines. Read more
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