Author Archives: Stephen

Open Access – reasons to be cheerful: a reply to Agrawal

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Stephen

A opinion piece by Anurag Agrawal that was rather skeptical about some aspects of moves toward open access was published in the March issue of Trends in Plant Sciences. I felt several of the arguments advanced by Agrawal were rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Moon Boy

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Stephen

After splashdown at 4:51 pm on 24th July 1969 the Apollo 11 astronauts returning from the first moon landing  had to don full-body Biological Isolation Garments before they could leave the conical command module that was bobbing in the Pacific Ocean. … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, Technology | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The horror is in the detail

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Stephen

I recently came across a film on YouTube called ‘Unedited footage of the bombing of Nagasaki (silent)’. It is one of the dullest and most horrific things I have ever seen. The film shows US servicemen on Tinian island performing … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Impressions of Turner

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Stephen

I may not know much about art but I know what I like and I like the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner — all the more so now that I have seen the Turner and the Sea exhibition at the National Maritime … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Art | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Unfinished Business

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Stephen

I’ve reached that age where my eye is drawn to the obituary column every time I open the newspaper. It hasn’t been a conscious move but, having arrived at my fiftieth year, I am increasingly aware of the hopes of … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 30 Comments

The Schekman Manoeuvre

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Stephen

This is the original version (with the original title) of an article that has been published at The Conversation.  Having climbed all the way to the Nobel prize on a ladder made of Nature, Science and Cell papers, biologist Randy Schekman has … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why Elsevier is completely in the right… and totally wrong

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Stephen

The internet was all aflutter last week because Elsevier has sent thousands of take-down notices to Academia.edu, a social networking site where many researchers post and share their published papers. This marks a significant change of tack for Elsevier. Previously … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Things to know about policy, science and the public

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Stephen

There has been a flurry of articles of late listing important things that scientists, politicians and the public should know about each other. I am logging them here because I enjoyed each of the pieces and think it likely that … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The very interesting web of connections

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Stephen

The Royal Institution has made a rather lovely film about William and Lawrence Bragg, the father and son Nobel laureates who came up the method of structural analysis by X-ray crystallography around 100 years ago. The film is constructed around … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, Protein Crystallography | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The very interesting web of connections

Open Access Headaches

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Stephen

Tense, nervous headache? Feelings of confusion? Mood swings from warm optimism to a gnawing sense of futility? You’ve been reading about open access again, haven’t you? I know because I have and I recognise the symptoms.  Open access week came … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Impact factors are clouding our judgement

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Stephen

Nature has an interesting news feature this week on impact factors. Eugenie Samuel Reich’s article — part of a special supplement covering various aspects of the rather ill-defined notion of impact — explores whether publication in journals such as Nature or Science is … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 27 Comments

Parliamentary committee slams UK policy on open access

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Stephen

The UK House of Commons has its dander up. Having bloodied the prime minister over Syria in the past fortnight, the select committee of MPs that oversees the work of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has issued … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access | Tagged , , | 20 Comments