If [lab work] could be shared, [Jean-Claude Bradley, chemistry professor at Drexel University] says researchers wouldn't have to repeat failed experiments, and could save time. So he decided to try something new. He and his students at Drexel University now post all of their lab experiments on a wiki, or website, for anyone to see.
And they're not just working in the hypothetical — they're searching for chemical compounds that could fight malaria.
Bradley says he purposely chose a disease was largely being ignored by pharmaceutical companies....
The concept of sharing scientific research is so new, Bradley's coined a phrase for it: open notebook science.
But openness comes with a price: Bradley's online lab page has a disclaimer: any contributions made on the site are given over to the public domain. No lucrative patent deals, no blockbuster drugs....
Posted by
Peter Suber at 3/30/2007 06:52:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
