The scientific social network

A joint statement from 17 funding agencies urges biomedical researchers to openly share data obtained from population-based studies. Although this will foster more collaboration, new web technologies need to be harnessed, and the attribution of credit must change to facilitate this transition.

The widespread adoption of social networks, wikis and blogs has fostered an environment of sharing and collaboration. For scientists, this provides the opportunity to generate and curate content more seamlessly and dynamically than ever before. Web 2.0 applications targeted at researchers are gaining in popularity but need to be adopted more widely to stimulate a more collaborative and open research environment.[...]