Weekly digest: Future Science Group joins T&F, AI and open genomic data

Mark Elms

This week, we learn about Future Science Group joining T&F. We also read the opinions of some of the Scholarly Kitchen chefs on the US Executive Order on AI and about the largest data set of fully sequenced, human genomic information in the world being made available to researchers around the globe. We also read feedback from the Association of Research Libraries on a USDA plan for public access to research, a meeting report about an EMWA session on PLS and about a new open access agreement in India. Finally, we highlight the upcoming European Meeting of ISMPP and a webinar on open science in Africa.

To read:

Future Science Group joins T&F via Taylor & Francis | 4-minute read

Medicine, biotechnology and science publisher Future Science Group (FSG) has joined Taylor & Francis (T&F). This acquisition adds 32 peer-reviewed FSG journals to T&F’s portfolio, including 15 open access titles in fields such as neurology, oncology and pharmacokinetics. The move also means that FSG’s five digital hubs, which allow readers to discuss the latest research in collaborative settings, now fall under the T&F banner. These hubs are the Bioanalysis Zone, Biotechniques, Neuro Central, Oncology Central and RegMedNet.

Viewpoints on the US Executive Order on AI via The Scholarly Kitchen | 15-minute read

At the end of October, the US White House issued an Executive Order to “establish new standards for artificial intelligence (AI)” in a variety of environments, including scientific research and scholarly communication. Read what Scholarly Kitchen chefs Roy Kaufman (Managing Director of Business Development and Government Relations at the Copyright Clearance Center), Todd Carpenter (Executive Director at the National Information Standards Organization) and Ann Michael (Chief Transformation Officer at AIP Publishing) think about the presidential directive in this opinion piece.

The UK Biobank of human genomes goes live via Nature | 4-minute read

The largest collection of fully sequenced human genomes in the world is now available to approved researchers from around the globe. The UK Biobank contains 500 000 fully sequenced genomes and other biological data from British volunteers, which researchers hope will help uncover new links between genetic information and disease. To access the data, researchers must register with the UK Biobank, provide robust evidence that they are a researcher at an appropriate institution and submit a research proposal detailing how the data are to be used.

ARL responds to USDA plan to increase public access to research via Association of Research Libraries | 8-minute read

In June, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its Implementation Plan to Increase Public Access to USDA-Funded Research Results. Following this, the USDA held listening sessions with key stakeholders, including the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), to gather feedback on the plan. Building on its verbal feedback provided during the sessions, the ARL has now published written feedback on the plan, including questions about the plan’s implementation, equity, accessibility and public impact.

PLS at the 56th EMWA conference via The Publication Plan | 12-minute read

The Hybrid Conference Day of the 56th European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) conference took place on 10 November 2023, with sessions on writing plain language summaries (PLS) and the use of AI in medical writing. This meeting report by The Publication Plan summarizes the key takeaways from the PLS session, such as the importance of clear and accurate scientific writing to: (1) aid communication with patients and the public; (2) help fight fake news; and (3) help healthcare professionals gain insights into new fields. You can also read the meeting report on AI here.

A new read-and-publish agreement in India via STM Publishing News | 2-minute read

The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) in Udupi, India, has signed a read-and-publish agreement with IOP Publishing. As part of IOP Publishing’s mission to enable open access publishing for researchers from countries of lower- and lower–middle income, the agreement is unlimited and allows MAHE-affiliated researchers to publish all their research open access at no direct cost to them. It also allows them free access to all research published by IOP.

To engage with:

The 2024 European Meeting of ISMPP via International Society for Medical Publication Professionals

Returning to London on 23 and 24 January 2024, the European Meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) will centre on the theme of Innovation: The New Tradition. The sessions, posters, roundtables and more will focus on how to incorporate innovation while maintaining the current high standard of checks and balances. Registration closes on 9 January 2024.

The African Reproducibility Network via Zoom

Make sure to catch this AfricArXiv webinar featuring the African Reproducibility Network (AREN) and how it promotes open science in Africa. Moderated by Ebuka Ezeike (Consultant at Access 2 Perspectives), the webinar will feature speaker Emmanuel Boakye (Community Ambassador at eLife and Leader of the AREN team). The webinar takes place on 18 January 2024 and you can register here!

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