Scientists, funders flock to ResearchGate

ResearchGate, a scientific networking website, says it continues to grow strongly. The organization now boasts connections to more than 100 million publications, 12 million researchers, and 1 million answers to research questions. Akin to a LinkedIn for scientists, ResearchGate claims 840,000 members who are primarily chemists, up from 270,000 in 2013. The Berlin-based company disclosed this week that in November 2015 it raised $53 million in a fourth round of funding from organizations including the Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs, and wealthy individuals such as Bill Gates. That follows a $35 million investment by Gates and others in 2013. The 2015 investment enabled ResearchGate to begin an initiative called Projects, through which scientists update peers and the wider world about their ongoing research. Since the inception of Projects, scientists have begun sharing data on more than half a million active studies, ResearchGate says. “Like other research results, scientific data will be