You may remember when I mentioned the announcement of the new open-source online journal JoVE, a peer-reviewed journal of scientific methods in which submissions are provided in video form. Pimm, Eva, Jonah and Nick have also commented on it and Pimm prvides a look at the rate at which the news about the journal spread over the internet.
I have been thinking about this a little and I am wondering if we can predict what kinds of techniques are most likely to be found there - and what kinds will not.
I am assuming that showing how one uses a standard kit with no alterations of the protocol will not be included even if submitted. On the other hand, I know I'd be very nervous about showing videos of myself doing invasive surgeries on vertebrates - the kinds of techniques that are the most difficult to convey in words, but have a potential of triggering Alf/PeTa attacks on the site. Also, very complex, multi-step procedures, e.g., how to make a transgenic chicken, will probably have to wait a while before they show up on JoVE.
Simple behavioral tests, invertebrate surgery and staining techniques are, in my opinion, going to dominate the journal in the future. Ecological field techniques may show up as well.
What do you think?
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Question is whether it will be a (alterated, perfected) protocol site or there will be real experiments, results published on it, or something in between. In the case of immunocytochemistry there must be frequent cuts specially where the protocol is overnight. :)
Following the comment ?complex experiments will have to wait?. No, they will not.
Watch the nuclear transfer experiment:
http://www.myjove.com/Details.htm?ID=116&VID=66
Or
Neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells:
http://www.myjove.com/Details.htm?ID=118&VID=68
These are complex, multi-stage experiments from leading labs at Harvard and Harvard Medical School.
Moshe Pritsker
Editor, JoVE
www.myjove.com
Thank you. Needless to say, I am happy to be shown to be wrong on this.