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The recent movement for more open access journals has produced many new journals that require the authors to pay a publication charge but make the published article freely available. Unfortunately, some of these new journals are just scams to collect publication charges. Here is a web page that keeps track of these "Questionable Open-Access Journals."
Nature will soon implement new policies to improve on reproducibility of publications. The highlights are the removal of word limits on methods sections, the use of hired statisticians to review papers at the discretion of editors and referees and a checklist to prompt authors to be thorough & complete when reporting on methods.
http://www.nature.com/news/announcement-reducing-our-irreproducibility-…
Psychological Science has published an article on the psychological profile of people who like to believe conspiracy theories. It discusses how such people will generally not be open to accept facts as these are considered to be just more elements of the conspiracies. I guess this is a good way to permanently disconnect yourself from reality and live with the comforting knowledge that the world is really not the way it seems and you know the truth. Oh, how blissful is the peaceful mind!
Henry Bourne (UCSF) wrote an interesting article in eLife about the current trajectory of US funding of basic medical research. He is trying to put a positive spin on our situation by thinking about possible changes to get out of the current crisis. Well worth reading.
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/sweet-sodas-soft-drinks-may-raise…
Highlights include:
The study did offer a bright side for those who can't do without the caffeinated jolt of their daily sodas. Adults who drank coffee had a 10 percent lower risk of depression compared to people who didn't drink any coffee, according to the study. That reinforces findings from a 2011 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, which said that women who drink fully caffeinated coffee have a lower risk of depression than non-coffee drinkers.
Please see video clip here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#50096340
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I have recently discovered the audio/video for a great set of lectures by Feynman in 1979, where he introduces the principles of photons, electrons and quantum electrondynamics to a general audience.
I have always been puzzled by how it is a mirror reflects in a certain direction specifically, how a grating "works", why light "travels in a straight line", why a pinhole diffracts light but a larger hole doesn't etc.
In late March, my PI suggested that I attend a course about Cryo-EM and offered a few suggestions. I talked with several lab mates who had attended such courses and ultimately chose the Brazil School, mostly due to the focus on single particle analysis, the small class size, and proposed highly interactive atmosphere.
Here 2 links to very interesting videos about femtosecond photography showing light in slow motion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoHeWgLvlXI&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snSIRJ2brEk&feature=related
Here is an interesting petition for free access to taxpayer-funded research articles. You don't have to be an US citizen to sign. It ends June 16.
