Accelerating scientific publication in biology

Scientific publications enable results and ideas to be transmitted throughout the scientific community. The number and type of journal publications also have become the primary criteria used in evaluating career advancement. Our analysis suggests that publication practices have changed considerably in the life sciences over the past 30 years. More experimental data are now required for publication, and the average time required for graduate students to publish their first paper has increased and is approaching the desirable duration of PhD training. Because publication is generally a requirement for career progression, schemes to reduce the time of graduate student and postdoctoral training may be difficult to implement without also considering new mechanisms for accelerating communication of their work. The increasing time to publication also delays potential catalytic effects that ensue when many scientists have access to new information. The time has come for life scientists, funding agencies, and publishers to discuss how to communicate new findings in a way that best serves the interests of the public and the scientific community.

[1]  M. Brown,et al.  Familial hypercholesterolemia: defective binding of lipoproteins to cultured fibroblasts associated with impaired regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity. , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[2]  M. Brown,et al.  Familial hypercholesterolemia: identification of a defect in the regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity associated with overproduction of cholesterol. , 1973, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[3]  Martin Raff,et al.  Painful Publishing , 2008, Science.

[4]  Michael P. Sheetz,et al.  Movement of organelles along filaments dissociated from the axoplasm of the squid giant axon , 1985, Cell.

[5]  Ronald J. Daniels,et al.  A generation at risk: Young investigators and the future of the biomedical workforce , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[6]  R. Rosenfeld.  Nature , 2009, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[7]  M Meselson,et al.  THE REPLICATION OF DNA IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. , 1958, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[8]  Michael P. Sheetz,et al.  Identification of a novel force-generating protein, kinesin, involved in microtubule-based motility , 1985, Cell.

[9]  A Ciechanover,et al.  Proposed role of ATP in protein breakdown: conjugation of protein with multiple chains of the polypeptide of ATP-dependent proteolysis. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  Jeremy M. Berg,et al.  Toward a sustainable biomedical research enterprise: Finding consensus and implementing recommendations , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[11]  Ronald D. Vale.  Accelerating Scientific Publication in Biology , 2015 .

[12]  M. Brown,et al.  Regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity in human fibroblasts by lipoproteins. , 1973, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[13]  Michael P. Sheetz,et al.  Single microtubules from squid axoplasm support bidirectional movement of organelles , 1985, Cell.

[14]  A Ciechanover,et al.  Resolution of the ATP-dependent proteolytic system from reticulocytes: a component that interacts with ATP. , 1979, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[15]  R. Franklin,et al.  Evidence for 2-Chain Helix in Crystalline Structure of Sodium Deoxyribonucleate , 1953, Nature.

[16]  Stefano Bertuzzi,et al.  No shortcuts for research assessment , 2013, Molecular biology of the cell.

[17]  F. Crick,et al.  Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid , 1953, Nature.

[18]  Joseph L. Goldstein,et al.  Familial hypercholesterolemia: Defective binding of lipoproteins to cultured fibroblasts associated with impaired regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase activity , 1974, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[19]  Harold Varmus,et al.  [E-Biomed: A Proposal for Electronic Publications in the Biomedical Sciences (Draft and Addendum)] , 1999 .

[20]  Michael P. Sheetz,et al.  Different axoplasmic proteins generate movement in opposite directions along microtubules in vitro , 1985, Cell.

[21]  F. Crick,et al.  Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid , 1974, Nature.

[22]  Michael P. Sheetz,et al.  Organelle, bead, and microtubule translocations promoted by soluble factors from the squid giant axon , 1985, Cell.

[23]  Philippe Desjardins-Proulx,et al.  The Case for Open Preprints in Biology , 2013, PLoS biology.

[24]  Jessica K. Polka,et al.  Making science a desirable career. , 2014, Science.

[25]  Solomon H. Snyder,et al.  Science interminable: Blame Ben? , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[26]  A Ciechanover,et al.  ATP-dependent conjugation of reticulocyte proteins with the polypeptide required for protein degradation. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[27]  H. R. Wilson,et al.  Molecular structure of deoxypentose nucleic acids. , 1953, Nature.

[28]  P. D’Odorico,et al.  The Limits of Water Pumps , 2008, Science.

[29]  F. Crick,et al.  Genetical Implications of the Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid , 1953, Nature.

[30]  R. Franklin,et al.  Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate , 1953, Nature.

[31]  H. R. Wilson,et al.  Helical Structure of Crystalline Deoxypentose Nucleic Acid , 1953, Nature.

[32]  Harold Varmus,et al.  Rescuing US biomedical research from its systemic flaws , 2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[33]  S. Blinkhorn.  The writing is on the wall , 1993, Nature.