Comments on: Please hand me your final product

By: Judy Hutchins

Judy Hutchins — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:07:29 +0000

I will write back after I read this post. It looks very interesting.

By: The Chemist (AKA ChiralDecay)

The Chemist (AKA ChiralDecay) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:11:37 +0000

I want to answer your question without actually answering it:

Science IS a distinctly human endeavor.

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:56:45 +0000

I’ve always been on the next step when I have published – implying that if I was to send out a plasmid/bacteria/sample I’m likely to be a step ahead of the competition.

I also doubt that anyone truely gets scooped. If they follow on from your work directly, they often form collaborations, rather than truely taking the stuff you have given them and running off in a new direction.

By: Enahs

Enahs — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:46:43 +0000

If you have something that is ready to publish, and yet you see the possibilities of other similiar publications with little modification and work, do them and start them before being published (if you are confident in getting published).

That is to say. I have this work that is going to be published. If it is obvious from it to change the protocol a little and apply and do it with other compounds and with 1 or 2 months of work get another paper, do it, start on it right after sending off for publication (as that takes months anyway).

If it is something that somebody still has to spend years of work into, get over it. You will be cited in their paper; what else do you want?

By: j

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:41:45 +0000

Interesting comment. I get so wrapped up in the politics of work that it never immediately occured to me to not publish.

I know of a prof who hasn’t published anything in the past 15 years, but has been awarded several WIPO patents in that time.

Acting as the devil’s advocate, isn’t the purpose of science to discover new ideas and share said ideas with the world? Or am I too naive about the issue?

By: The Chemist (AKA ChiralDecay)

The Chemist (AKA ChiralDecay) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:35:35 +0000

Well if you don’t want to get scooped, don’t publish! The inventor of sulfa drugs did exactly that, only after sulfa drugs entered the market did he publish his findings. I know it’s a different case and all, but that’s the only real foolproof method.

By: Mad Chemist Chick

Mad Chemist Chick — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:29:24 +0000

Thanks for posting this Mitch. I had been unaware of the controversy. The entire post makes for interesting reading.

By: j

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:48:36 +0000

Besides containing several inconsistencies in logic in the Lenski email, I think he was wrong in retaliating. The response is very shallow and rather ungentlemanly. The tone in his email sounds like he’s dealing with a telemarketer who called in the middle of dinner on a Friday afternoon and would not let go. What did Lenski do? Instead of hanging up the phone, he fell for it, got PO’d and sank to Schlafly’s level.

Is Schlafly threatening to disprove the veracity of Lenski’s work? Let him.

It doesn’t matter if your work is good or poor, you are going to get challenged. My PI and I wrote a paper 6 months ago that was crystal clear, lucid and logical. Two of our referees loved it. One of our referees basically challenged every argument we made. The life lesson is that you should do your best for the right reasons, not to please others; you cannot please everyone.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:46:09 +0000

The post itself is small, it’s the reference material that dragged out.