According to the Journal of Biology…Yes!! In an editorial released on Tuesday, new Chief Editor Miranda Robertson introduces us to a new policy at her journal, one she believes will begin to remedy the frustrating problem of iterative re-review prior to publication. By eliminating this process, the thought is that the journal will more appropriately re-claim its proper role; namely, as an entity of cutting edge research dissemination rather than one that “polices” the quality and accuracy of the research.... Read more

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In an Editorial today, Cell announced that it is beginning to look towards the future of scientific publication in order to adapt to the new ways in which science is communicated, an adaptation to the changing times. This will most certainly involve an embracing of new web technologies. No more will the scientific publication be a “linear structure” but rather, will be “hierarchical”. In addition, Cell plans to target one particular issue for specific scrutinization and focus this year. Namely,... Read more

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I sat in the NPG New York office break room today to watch President Obama’s inauguration on a projection screen with about 40-50 of my colleagues. We all laughed when Mr. President muffed the oath not once, but twice while trying to follow the elusive words of Justice Roberts. This was but a minor speed bump before an illustrious speech outlining the responsibility for the future. It lies with us. Every one of us. But what does this really mean? ... Read more

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With all of the hoopla surrounding the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, as well as the 150th anniversary of the Origin of Species, I decided that I could get in on this action as well. A recent publication in PNAS conducts a genetic analysis of the pink iguana, or rosada, to this point only an anecdotal species (some park rangers in the Galápagos saw one in 1986). It turns out that this version of the land iguana only lives... Read more

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Apple continues its revolutionary ways by introducing the first laptop sans keyboard. We have had previous discussions on NN as to whether live-blogging experiments/lab notebooks were useful or practical. This technological tour de force, with its ease of data entry, could make the laptop as ubiquitous at the bench as the pipetteman. Arguably, the best thing I have seen this year. [Thanks to Mike Bechtel for the heads-up.] ... Read more

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