Interested to see responses either here or on the blog.

@leslievosshall:disqus , in the open software world the is called a .

The idea:
Completely restructure biological research by eliminating traditional journal publications, enabling rapid, open and online dissemination of peer-reviewed results on one platform, empowering all scientists to work together on global projects.

The current system:
– Scientists required to produce their own ‘complete’ scientific story for publication preferably in a high impact journal before they can get tenure/grants.
Some of the problems:
– There is an every-man-for-himself culture, with many labs competing and keeping results secret, wasting time and resources.
– Science is never complete, but manuscripts in journals are static and mostly independent, and even when conclusions are later disqualified (sometimes by unpublished work) as knowledge inevitably moves on, they remain in the literature.
– The real value of a manuscript is difficult to judge at the time of publication.
– There is enormous pressure to publish in the top journals, which can be counterproductive.
– Papers often go to multiple journals before they are published, causing delays (sometimes years) and leading to repetitive lengthy peer review.
– Journals are competing for the top stories/authors, and have interests that don’t always align with publishing the most solid scientific discoveries.
– A lot of manuscripts are not accessible without journal subscriptions.

The current system actually harms science. We need a new one.

How about this?:
– We build a web-based infrastructure with open access to publish all results (big and small), incorporating a simple, open peer review system, and ways to link related results.
– The new ‘scientific literature’ is dynamic, and grows with time as results can be connected and interpreted to make novel discoveries.
– We incorporate mechanisms to acknowledge individual scientists, also over time, that can be easily mined by governing bodies.
– We develop ways to communicate results to the wider research community and the public.

What we gain:
– Accelerated scientific discoveries as ‘publication’ occurs in real time, bypassing journal-related delays, and making it less likely for two labs to be working for years on the same problem. Instead we have more minds (essentially anyone who is interested) working together on the same existing problems.
– Avoid lengthy review processes that can steer research into artificial journal-style packaging.
– We record all the data (after it is deemed solid by peer review), even that which doesn’t fit in the current system (i.e., an incomplete story or negative data) or whose value may be realized later. This can lead to a new field of science whereby scientists mine the published data to make new discoveries.
– Fidelity of research is easier to ensure as everything is linked on one platform. And sharing work sooner means it can be corroborated or disqualified sooner, avoiding costly diversions. And you still get acknowledged for repeating results, which is critical but mostly absent from the current system as novelty is a key factor for publication.
– We keep the young, smart PIs because they can still get tenure when they are just unable to turn a high-risk promising project into a full scientific story within 5 years.

How do we succeed?:
– We get the top scientists/technologists on side.
– We build a kick-ass platform – this should be possible – we are a community of the brightest minds, and we generate some of the most valuable data.
– We get major funding bodies on side to require publication on the platform. Particularly biomedical funders want good results published fast.
– We charge (preferably a minimum amount) for publication, as do all open access journals. The sheer quantity should hopefully boost revenue (like PLoS ONE). Hosting all the scientific data that is produced should somehow open up revenue options, right?

The new system mimics a cell’s signalling network: it is dynamic and massively interconnected, containing feedback loops for adjustments as technology and knowledge evolves. This also makes it a more natural process, which is what scientific discovery is.