The expansion of open access is not only being advanced by authors and readers, major research funding agencies are also playing a large role in the growth of open access publications. Recently, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute made a major announcement that will influence where scientists submit their research for publication and how academic journals handle accepted manuscripts.
It has been observed by many people that hot water appears to freeze faster than cold water. Many videos of citizen scientists testing this hypothesis can be found on YouTube, especially in areas experiencing colder than usual temperatures.
An important feature of published academic literature is that it is considered to represent a permanent record of advances in a particular field. Historically, the paper copies of bound journals stored in libraries around the world ensured that knowledge would be safe from localized disasters such as fires or floods. However, the spread of online journals has raised the issue of what happens to published research when an online journal goes offline.
While 2020 will be a year that is studied in detail by future historians with an interest in pandemics and political unrest, biologists will also look back at 2020 to study the long-term effects of the widespread damage that was caused by one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.
