More on scientific self-censorship....The editors of 32 leading science journals have agreed to be vigilant for "dangerous" research articles that might give assistance to terrorists. The definition of dangerous research is itself a challenge for which the editors have agreed to take responsibility. But when editors judge that the risks outweigh the benefits, they will either not publish a paper or ask for its modification first. At the same time, they agreed that science should regulate itself, and not be regulated by government, and that they would not damage science itself by suppressing the kinds of details that enable other scientists to replicate results. Finally, the editors agreed that "It is also true that open publication brings benefits not only to public health but also in efforts to combat terrorism.” Among the journal editors participating in the agreement were those for the Journal of the American Medical Association, Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Science. The agreement was announced yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by the AAAS President, Ronald Atlas, and summarized in a press release. The full text of the agreement will be published next Tuesday (February 18) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and next Friday (February 21) in Science. The agreement is already getting extensive coverage in the press.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 2/16/2003 10:17:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
