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Science and technology: an online push to get the politicians talking jupiterimages
Calling all presidential can didates to Science Debate 2008! A new online initia tive (www.sciencedebate 2008.com) is urging all those vying for the Oval Office to participate in a de bate on issues related to sci ence and technology policy. Shawn Otto, one of the website’s creators, says that a sci ence debate is important because these issues aren’t being highlighted as much as others. “We hope to elevate questions of science and technology policy in our national dialogue as we go through the electoral process,” he says. “We believe that these are things that should be discussed before the pres ident is elected, as well as after.” The website lays out 17 broad areas that its creators would like to see debated. The list includes current hot-button topics such as climate change and stem-cell research as well as bio ethics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and preserving scientific integrity in government. Otto says that the input of many scientists will be collected in an open process to ultimately formulate the exact questions. The website has been active only since December but al ready has thousands of supporters signed up. “I think that through the course of the last several years . . . there has been a growing anxiety on the part of scientists about the role of science in policy making,” says Otto. “I think the level of concern is extraordinarily high.” Now, scientists have a place where they can mobilize and make their voices heard. a —Jennifer Griffiths
Online educational resources for the chemistry community As recently announced in Journal of Chemical Education, the Chemical Education Digital Library (ChemEd DL; www. chemeddl.org) now provides free online access to a popular resource for elemental properties. Periodic Table Live! presents a wealth of information about the characteristics, discovery, name, preparation, natural sources, reactions, and uses of elements. It also includes a glossary of chemistry terms, images (focusing on the end uses of elements), videos of reactions, and interactive 3D crystal structures. The graphing function can plot any available property versus another one for selected elements while listing the data in a table. Users can add more information about the elements through a wiki. Intended as a resource for students and teachers, ChemEd DL also includes online networking communities, demonstrations, exercises, lessons, and textbooks. ChemEd DL is a project of the National Science Foundation’s National Science Digital Library, and its partners include Journal of Chemical Education, the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education, and the ChemCollective.
New law mandates open access for NIH-funded research The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
starting April 7, electronic versions of fi-
has become the first public funding agen-
nal, peer-reviewed manuscripts that orig-
Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland,
NIH joins public funding agencies in
cy in the U.S. to mandate that publica-
inated from NIH funds must be submitted
and the U.K. that have already mandated
tions resulting from its research grants
to PubMed Central when they are accept-
open-access archiving. In addition, pol-
be deposited in an open-access archive.
ed for publication. These articles will be
icies that strongly encourage open-ac-
The provision was included in the Con-
made public no later than 12 months after
cess archiving have been implemented in
solidated Appropriations Act of 2008,
the official publication date. In addition,
Australia, Austria, and Germany. Most re-
which was signed into law on December
as of May 25, authors must include the
cently, the European Research Council
26, 2007.
PubMed Central reference number when
mandated open-access archiving of pub-
One requirement of the new policy
citing their NIH-funded articles in NIH ap-
lications and data from projects it has
(see http://publicaccess.nih.gov) is that,
plications, proposals, or progress reports.
funded.
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