Scientists at Drexel University Post Malaria Research on Public Web Site
Drexel University scientists working to develop chemical compounds to fight malaria are posting their research on an open-source Web site in an approach they have termed "open notebook science," APM's "Marketplace Morning Report" reports. The Web site, which can be accessed at no charge, includes a disclaimer stating that any contributions are considered part of the public domain and cannot be patented. Lead researcher Jean-Claude Bradley, a chemistry professor at the university, said he chose to focus on malaria for the open-source project because he believes the disease has received little attention from pharmaceutical companies. "There's not a lot of money in malaria," Bradley said, adding, "The people who are sick don't tend to have a lot of money, so it's actually a really good application for this kind of work." By giving scientists access to the latest research, the site can help malaria researchers save time and avoid repeating failed experiments, he said. The open-source approach has some "drawbacks," including unresolved questions about whether research that has been posted online is eligible for publication in scientific journals, "Marketplace Morning Report" reports. Monica Bradford, an executive editor at the journal Science, said, "[O]ur policies are having to evolve, and we have to watch these different developments, but our conditions for submission say that you have to say you have not already published the material that you're submitting to us for review." Bob Cook-Deegan of the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy at Duke University said investors will be reluctant to contribute to open-source research. He said, "If what you're basically creating is information, and then you're sharing it for free with everybody in the world, you're never going [to] make them any money" (Babin, "Marketplace Morning Report," APM, 3/28).Audio and a transcript of the segment are available online. This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
