Today we launch Open Access Now, a newsletter informing researchers in the life sciences about a revolution taking place in the way research findings are published and distributed. Our aim is to inform and educate scientists concerning the many and complex issues surrounding the debate about Open Access.
The logo of Open Access Now is a caged bird, which bursts into color as it flies out through the cage door to freedom. This is a metaphor for the current state of the scientific research literature. Today, scientific information is imprisoned behind the many closed doors of the traditional journals that allow access only to those who have paid their subscription. Like the caged bird, it can be admired only from afar, but it cannot go anywhere, it cannot spread its wings and fly. We believe it is time to open the cage door.
When scientific results and data are released from the cage they will take on a new life and a beauty that we could never have dreamed of. When we can all find, read, and use any information we need, and communicate it to others without hindrance, the value of research findings will increase enormously. Imagine what would have happened if DNA sequences had been similarly imprisoned, rather then being available freely to all through GenBank. The same freedom must be granted to research findings if biomedical research is to function efficiently and flourish.
Many in the scientific community feel strongly that there is a need to change the way that scientific results are reported and disseminated. Many feel that the transition to Open Access is inevitable. Some passionate pioneers have begun to seek alternative ways to publish their research findings. The debate has been heated at times, and there has been much confusion, as well as many good ideas. We hope to clarify some of these issues and provide a forum for constructive debate about the best way to serve the scientific community - authors, publishers and readers.
The technology now exists to open the cage door. There are sustainable Open Access business models for publishers. What is needed is for the scientific community of authors to adopt Open Access as the default mode of publishing their research articles. The time has come to open the cage door and make the scientific research literature "Free at last!".
UK Supports Open Access
The UK leads the world in a revolution to provide Open Access to scientific research.
More than 80,000 biology and medical researchers working at UK universities can now share their research findings freely with fellow researchers, funding bodies, students, journalists, and the general public worldwide.
The landmark deal between The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), a joint committee of British Further and Higher Education funding bodies, and publisher BioMed Central, places the UK at the forefront of the drive to make scientific research freely available on the internet. From July 1, the $500 article processing charge that BioMed Central's 90-plus peer-reviewed Open Access journals levy on articles accepted after peer review, to cover the cost of making published articles freely accessible to all readers, will be prepaid for all UK academics. This ground-breaking deal represents a major shift in the way that research is undertaken and its outputs published and shared", says Dr Alicia Wise, Head of Development at JISC. "The implications for research and for our educational institutions beyond the health and medical field are immense."
By removing the financial hurdle to publishing in Open Access journals, the funding bodies are now moving to acknowledge that authors who publish in these journals provide a service to the community. The JISC deal means that 180 universities in the UK will now become BioMed Central members. With the recent NHS England membership agreement, the vast majority of biomedical research produced in the UK could now be published in Open Access journals. JISC's support is of huge significance" says Jan Velterop, BioMed Central's Publisher. "This represents our largest deal to date, and is a sure sign that the tide has turned to embrace Open Access." BioMed Central now has more member institutions in the UK than in any other country. The recent research assessment exercise has shown British academics to be amongst the most productive researchers internationally. Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, recently pointed out that UK scientists produce about 8% of the research articles that are published worldwide and receive 9% of the citations.
Warnings about methylmercury contaminated fish are not just for young children and expectant mothers, according to research published in Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source. Adults exposed to methylmercury from contaminated fish may be at risk of deficits in neurocognitive function including concentration, dexterity and verbal memory.
Ellen Silbergeld, of John Hopkins University, and her colleagues conducted the first major study on the effects of long-term exposure to small amounts of methylmercury in adults using sensitive neuropsychological tests. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 2003, 2:8.
Shedding light on the origin of life
Early evolution of life as we know it may have depended on DNA's ability to absorb UV light. The high level of UV radiation on the primordial Earth selected for RNA over other molecules as RNA was protected by the ability of its nitrogenous bases to absorb and disperse UV light, according to research published in BMC Evolutionary Biology.
The researchers used computer modelling technology to assess the ability of RNA to form from its constituent parts, sugar phosphates and nitrogenous bases, with and without high levels of UV light. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2003, 3:12.
Scientists predict swift end to vCJD epidemic
As few as 40 people over the next 80 years could die from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)as a consequence of eating BSE infected meat. Researchers from Imperial College, London published their new predictions in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Previous estimates of the size of the vCJD epidemic have been uncertain, with the estimated upper limit of cases in the UK as high as 50,000 only two years ago. These new predictions are more confident, with a comparable worst-case scenario of 540 UK cases between now and 2080. BMC Infectious Diseases 2003, 3:4.
"BioMedical Engineering OnLine publishes papers on all aspects of biomedical engineering. Many other journals in this field emphasize the traditional engineering disciplines. BioMedical Engineering OnLine will promote biomedical engineering in its own right as a recognized field of engineering as applied to biomedical applications."
Why did you decide to start this journal?
"The development of the Internet has brought about a whole new dimension in information dissemination. Print publications have only been available to members of specific societies or by subscription, both methods often outside the financial resources of many people. Now research conducted any where in the world can be rapidly and efficiently made accessible to biomedical engineers worldwide. BioMedical Engineering OnLine is the medium that allows for such communication. It is the hope and the goal of the Editorial Board that this publication will further the benefits of biomedical engineering to all of humanity."
What's your day job?
"For the past 25 years, I have been at Columbia University in New York, since 1998 as an Adjunct Associate Professor of BioMedical Engineering. I started out as an electrical engineer then switched to biomedical engineering before there were any biomedical engineers. My academic career started at New York University Medical Center, from which I moved to Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. I have carried out research on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and respiratory system. I have a BEE and MEE in electronic engineering and a PhD in Biomechanics."
BioMedical Engineering OnLine is published by BioMed Central
In "Who, What and Why" we profile BioMed Central.
Public Library of Science (PLoS) is another Open Access publisher.
PLoS came together as a lobbying body in October 2000, with an open letter calling on scientific publishers to make the research articles they publish freely available online. Despite garnering over 30,000 signatures, the letter did not convince many publishers to make any move.
In December 2002, PLoS announced that it had been awarded a $9 million grant from the Moore Foundation, to be used to start a new Open Access publishing venture. The first journal to be launched, PLoS Biology, began considering submissions in May 2003, and the first issue will appear in October this year. PLoS will initially charge authors a processing fee of $1,500 per accepted article.
PLoS has been led from the outset by Harold Varmus, now President of the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Patrick O. Brown of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University, and Michael Eisen of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley.
Vivian Siegel, former editor of Cell, is Executive Director of PLoS, and several other experienced editors have also joined the PLoS team. www.plos.org
Who, What and Why?
Each issue of Open Access Now will contain a short guide to the players, stakeholders and technical terms relevant to Open Access publishing."WHAT, WHO and WHY" will help readers to become informed about the world of Open Access.
WHAT is BioMed Central? BioMed Central is an independent publisher of biomedical and clinical journals and information services. It publishes more than 90 peer-reviewed Open Access journals.
Its first entirely Open Access journals were the BMC series, 57 titles that cover all of the major biomedical disciplines.
BioMed Central also has a growing list of specialist Open Access journals edited by academic scientists. These journals are editorially independent, but BioMed Central provides the publishing system and technical expertise.
Journal of Biology is BioMed Central's flagship title. Edited by Martin Raff, it publishes biological research articles of exceptional interest and importance, with associated commentary. Genome Biology, Arthritis Research & Therapy, Critical Care and Breast Cancer Research publish Open Access research articles together with subscription-access reviews and comment. BioMedCentral is also the publisher of Faculty of 1000, a literature awareness service.
WHO is behind BioMed Central? BioMed Central is part of the Current Science Group - a group of independent companies. Current Science Group Chairman Vitek Tracz has a long history in publishing, having started the Current Opinion journals, Current Biology and BioMedNet, for example. BioMed Central's senior management team also has substantial expertise. Publisher Jan Velterop and Editorial Director Peter Newmark have between them worked in senior roles for Academic Press, Nature and Current Biology. An Editorial Directorate of some of the world's most respected scientists and clinicians, including Steven Hyman, Sir Paul Nurse and Harold Varmus, oversee the editorial and scientific integrity of BioMed Central.
WHY does BioMed Central exist? BioMed Central was established as an online Open Access publisher in May 2000 in response to the opportunities offered by new technologies, and to a strong feeling among scientists that the way research results are published must change. It was felt that open access to research is central to rapid and efficient progress in science. Harold Varmus had proposed a central full-text repository that evolved into PubMed Central. Many other researchers joined his attempt to redefine the economics of publishing - leading to the formation of the Public Library of Science and inspiring BioMed Central.
