| Clams befouling Tahoe invade Adirondack lake in NY By MARY ESCH 2010-09-03T18:12:35ZBOLTON LANDING, N.Y. (AP) -- A thumbnail-sized clam blamed for clouding the azure bays of Lake Tahoe high in the Sierra Nevada has now turned up in a mountain-ringed Adirondack lake renowned for its limpid, spring-fed waters.... hosted.ap.org |
Nature joins the digital age of science publishing | GrrlScientist The world's top-ranked peer-reviewed science journal continues its evolution as a scientific and academic publisherImage courtesy of Nature Publishing GroupSome of you know that I write another blog, Maniraptora, at Nature Network. I've not updated it much recently because that site has been plagued with technical difficulties for quite some time, so I've been sitting back and watching the progress of the recent improvements occurring there. I am pleased to learn that the changes I've been observing are not limited to the blog platform alone; these changes are happening across the entire Nature Publishing Group (NPG) site. I realise that most people won't find this announcement to be particularly compelling, but let me explain why this should interest you. First, an announcement by editor-in-chief, Dr Philip Campbell, about these changes is being published on a blog – the first time ever that a major science research publisher has announced such profound and sweeping changes using a digital medium. This blog announcement is scheduled to go live on the normally quiescent NPG blog, Nautilus, at the same time this piece publishes here, so after you read this, be sure to pop over there to read and share your thoughts on what you see and on what Dr Campbell has to say. These changes are specifically intended to create a more digitally friendly experience for NPG's users. While it is true that most people who use NPG's site are either scientists, academics, students or journalists, a small but growing number of people from other walks of life also access their site. By making the site more user-friendly, NPG is indicating that public interface is important to it, that it is interested in sharing scientific research with a wider audience. This means you, the science-savvy reader, so do poke around the redesigned site and share your thoughts with NPG staff about the site's usability.In my opinion, the best thing about this redesign is that NPG is launching a new and highly readable digital edition of its flagship journal, Nature. It is providing a three-month trial subscription – free! – to everyone who registers, and it will periodically ask its subscribers for feedback and help in gauging public demand. The iPad users in the crowd will be interested to learn that NPG is also developing an iPad app, as well as adding more support for other mobile devices. Of course, being a blog writer at NPG, I and my colleagues have requested that reader commenting be made easier. That said, my sources at NPG recently assured me that plans are already under way to do this, so stay tuned for that improvement. I hope this reader commenting "fix" is also extended to providing readers with the ability to comment on published scientific papers. I have not been told anything specific regarding whether there are plans to implement this feature in the future, but I am certain it will happen because both the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Public Library of Science (PLoS) have done this for years. When reader commenting is implemented by NPG as a regular feature on its published research, it will be a breath of fresh air for facilitating communication between scientists, academics, students and the science-savvy public anywhere in the world. Despite my criticisms, this site redesign is not trivial: it required a large investment of time and resources and thus, it shows NPG's strong commitment to continuing its evolution as a modern scientific and academic publisher – a true social good. "The changes we are unveiling to Nature now are an important step in a much longer journey," managing director Steven Inchcoombe said in a press release. Considering that NPG hosts a number of science blogs on its extensive Nature Network, I am very hopeful that this redesign indicates even bigger changes are afoot; changes in the corporate culture at NPG indicating that it is becoming friendlier to the idea that science blog writers are legitimate science communicators who possess the skills and audience access that are essential for translating and publicising scientific research. "We will continue to evolve Nature to provide the information scientists need, when and how they need it."GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Video: How Mr Condom made Thailand a better place | GrrlScientist Thailand's "Mr Condom", Mechai Viravaidya, walks us through the country's bold plan to raise its standard of livingAt TEDxChange, Thailand's "Mr Condom", Mechai Viravaidya, walks us through the country's bold plan to raise its standard of living, starting in the 1970s. First step: population control. And that means a lot of frank, funny – and very effective – talk about condoms. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Denver Zoo hatches 4 Komodo dragons By 2010-10-15T02:56:52ZDENVER (AP) -- The Denver Zoo says it's become the only zoo in the world to hatch endangered Komodo dragons for a third time.... hosted.ap.org |
Study probes links between cannabis and schizophrenia The University of Wollongong is heading-up new research into the links between cannabis use and drug induced schizophrenia. abc.net.au |