PLOScast

Science is self-correcting in nature, but the mechanism for correcting the literature could be more transparent. In 2010, Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus recognized this transparency issue and launched the blog Retraction Watch to shed light on what happened with these retracted research articles. In this episode of PLOScast, Ivan and Elizabeth Seiver talk about Retraction Watch and how retractions can sometimes provide valuable insight into the scientific process.

Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are leading the way when it comes to challenging traditional approaches to scientific research and publishing, but achieving buy-in from senior investigators and peer scientists isn’t always easy. Jessica Polka would know, as an early career researcher (ECR) and the director of the ASAPbio initiative, her career is devoted to achieving and streamlining the use of preprints in biology. In episode 26 of PLOScast, I chat with Polka about preprints as a tool for science communication, as well as her career trajectory thus far and how she deals with feelings of imposter syndrome.

How do physicians access medical research at the point of care? Furthermore, how does the general public access and interpret this research, including the use of newspapers and Wikipedia? In this week’s PLOSCast, Elizabeth dives into these questions with Lauren Maggio, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Good research should be replicable, but there are various issues that can impact reproducibility in science. In this PLOSCast, Elizabeth discusses some of these issues with Michèle Nuijten, a PhD Student at Tilburg University. Her research focuses on meta-science, covering topics such as replication, publication bias, statistical errors, and questionable research practices. She talks about the importance of checking statistics in psychology research, the impact that statistics have on replication, and some tools, like statcheck, that can be used to help with this work. For more information and related links, please see the blog post: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2017/08/07/check-your-stats-an-interview-featuring-michele-nuijten/

How big is Big Data, and how does it apply to the realm of social sciences? In this latest PLOSCast episode, Elizabeth explores that question with Ian Mulvany, the Head of Product Innovation at SAGE Publications. They discuss his journey from astrophysics into scientific publishing, transitioning from editorial into product management. He describes his passion for investigating ways to use technology to improve the research process, and how Big Data can add new instruments to social sciences. Finally, they consider how change is made in scholarly publishing and what that could look like in the future. Access related links on our blog: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2017/07/07/big-data-in-the-social-sciences-an-interview-featuring-ian-mulvany/

In this PLOScast, Elizabeth interviews Bob Kasenchak, the Director of Product Development at Access Innovations, about how taxonomies help organize and find content, in scholarly publishing and beyond.

Sharing research can be challenging. In this episode Erin shares with Elizabeth her journey to Open Access, what the difference is between Open Access and Open Research and explains her Open Research Project.

Communication and critique are important for the public understanding of and progress in science. In this PLOSCast, Elizabeth speaks with Hilda Bastian, an Editor at PubMed Commons. She connects her current work at PubMed Commons and her previous experience as a consumer health advocate in Australia to the importance of communication and critique of science in the public sphere. As she says, “If we want to have scientific communities where [people] have an equal chance of being heard, we have to have a standard of communication that allows people to feel comfortable raising a question and not getting attacked for it.” In the interview, she offers some advice for reporters and advocates for communicating science to the general public and to other scientists. Read the full show notes and explore related links here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2017/03/28/science-communication-and-critique-an-interview-featuring-hilda-bastian/

How might access to these research articles impact the use of Wikipedia and how might Wikipedia in turn impact science? In this PLOScast, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Jake Orlowitz, the founder of Wikipedia Library, a program from the Wikimedia Foundation that helps editors access reliable sources to improve Wikipedia. Read the full show notes and explore related links here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2017/02/22/accessing-academic-sources-on-wikipedia-an-interview-featuring-jake-orlowitz/

In this episode Eamon Duede, the Executive Director of Knowledge Lab at the University of Chicago, speaks with Elizabeth about the latest modeling research using big data to understand behaviors and patterns surrounding manuscript review. This is the second part of a two-part series discussing how the use of large-scale computation helps researchers understand how humans create knowledge. In this episode they discuss: - The profile of a reviewer most likely to accept a review - Who is most likely to provide a quality review - What aspects of an article make it more likely to be accepted or rejected - Seven things you should pay attention to in order to improve your manuscript's acceptance rate - How bias impacts peer review

In this PLOScast, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Eamon Duede, Executive Director, Knowledge Lab about the science behind how new scientific discoveries come into existence. This is the first part of a two part series discussing the use of large-scale computation to help understand how knowledge comes into existence. For full show notes, see http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/12/27/the-science-of-science-part-1-an-interview-with-eamon-duede/

In this PLOScast, Elizabeth speaks with Abigail Cabunoc Mayes, Lead Developer, Open Source Engagement at the Mozilla Foundation on building open source communities. The episode covers: • Challenges facing the OSS community • Early Career Researchers, Contributor badges and Open Data • Best coding languages for scientists • How to communicate with developers • Tips for getting involved in Open Source Science

In this OA Week episode, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with James Fraser, Associate Professor at UCSF in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and a founding member of ASAPbio, about the scientist-driven mission to promote the use of preprints in the life sciences. The conversation covers the history of ASAPBio; the advantages of posting manuscripts to a preprint server; the impact preprints have on science journalism; and the relationship between Open Access and preprints.

In this episode, we talk about what altmetrics are; how they are used; and why journal impact factors aren't enough to measure scientific research. Elizabeth Seiver is joined by Stacy Konkiel, Outreach & Engagement Manager at Altmetric. Show notes: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/09/19/understanding-altmetrics-an-interview-with-stacy-konkiel/

. In this PLOScast, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Geoff Builder, Strategic Director at CrossRef, about link rot, unique digital identifiers and the infrastructure needed in order to support persistent links. This episode also covers: • The history of CrossRef • Why metadata is important for publishers • Organizational identifiers for institutions with ORCID and DataCite • Using DOIs for work other than journal articles such as books, software, figures and data • Benefits of DOIs for researchers

In this PLOScast, Elizabeth speaks with Sarah Wipperman, the Repository Services Manager & Analyst for Repository Services Manager & Analyst for ScholarlyCommons, about how libraries are supporting scholars and pushing for new tools to better communicate research.

The evolving scholarly publishing landscape has transformed the way scientific articles are created, distributed and shared; but how have these changes affected books? In this PLOScast, Elizabeth speaks with Amy Brand, the Director of MIT Press on the role of book publishing within scholarly publishing. Amy discusses vibrant book program at MIT Press and how the market for books is alive and well.

In this PLOScast, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Meredith Niles, an early career researcher and a member of the Board of Directors at PLOS, about all things Open, and how Open Access research played a role in her path to becoming an assistant professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont. If you're a researcher interested in how Open research can impact your career, this episode is for you. Together they cover: -How Meredith landed her current position at UVM -The benefits and risks of publishing open access research -How to create a data management plan -Things to check before making your data open -How to handle impostor syndrome -Advice for early career researchers interested in making their research open.

Learn about the history of scientific publishing. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at the history of the peer review and editorial process beginning 350 years ago with the world's oldest journal. For more info read: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/04/18/the-history-of-scientific-publishing-an-interview-with-aileen-fyfe/

Matt Shipman shares advice for scientists on how and when to use social media. Listen to the full interview here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/03/21/how-to-communicate-science-an-interview-with-matt-shipman/

In this PLOScast, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Matt Shipman, science writer and author of The Handbook for Science Public Information Officers, about his experience as a PIO for North Carolina State University and his advice for anyone interested in promoting scientific research. The interview covers the process of creating a press release, the impact of journal preprints on science journalism, social media tips for scientists and changing media landscape. For show notes click here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/03/21/how-to-communicate-science-an-interview-with-matt-shipman/

Receiving credit for your work as a researcher is important to your career. In this PLOScast, Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Alice Meadows, the Director of Communications at ORCID, about how we can better connect researchers to their research using unique digital identifiers. Read more here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/03/03/all-about-orcid-an-interview-with-alice-meadows/

Guest host Mark Johnson talks with Alex Wade, the Director of Scholarly Communication at Microsoft Research, about new tools for academics from Microsoft. Full podcast notes here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/02/16/microsoft-tools-for-academics-an-interview-with-alex-wade/

Learn all about the Open Access Spectrum Tool in this PLOScast. Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Greg Tananbaum, the owner of ScholarNext, on the Open Access policies, quantifying Open Access and other emerging trends related to scholarly communication. Full podcast notes here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/02/01/how-open-is-it-an-interview-with-greg-tananbaum/

Expanding the reach of Open Access. In this PLOScast, Elizabeth speaks with John Willinsky, the Executive Director of the Public Knowledge Project about how the public engages with OA science and how OA publishing can expand into new communities. Full podcast notes here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2016/01/19/expanding-the-reach-of-open-access-publishing-an-interview-with-john-willinsky/

Strategies and tools beyond Excel. Elizabeth Seiver speaks with Tracy Teal, the Executive Director of Data Carpentry, a nonprofit organization that teaches researchers the fundamental skills for working more effectively with data. Together they talk about data management skills that can change how researchers do science and offer tips on how to make handling data easier for all. Full podcast notes here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2015/12/14/episode-3-managing-scientific-data-feat-tracy-teal/

Universities are churning out newly minted PhDs much faster than they create faculty positions for them. So what sorts of jobs are available beyond the ivory tower? How can academic culture change to better support multiple career paths? Dr. Liz Silva, the Director of the MIND Program at UCSF, joins us to discuss the postdoc crisis facing academia today, and offers advice for how to get started on the post-academic job search. Full podcast notes here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2015/11/16/the-postdoc-crisis-an-interview-with-liz-silva/

Part 2 of the discussion with Cameron Neylon. Full episode notes here: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2015/10/19/introducing-ploscast-a-podcast-on-on-science-academia-and-the-future-of-scholarship/

In this segment, Elizabeth and Cameron discuss open peer review and transparency in different scientific communities. Full episode notes: http://blogs.plos.org/plospodcasts/2015/10/19/introducing-ploscast-a-podcast-on-on-science-academia-and-the-future-of-scholarship/

In this episode of the PLOS Biology podcast, Senior Editor Liza Gross interviews Georgina Mace, professor of conservation science and director of the Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology. This week, world leaders re-examine their commitment to “green” economic growth at Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de Janeiro. Although governments agreed to factor environmental and social impacts into development plans 20 years ago at the last Earth Summit, we've since ushered in the sixth great extinction, pushed the climate toward a tipping point, decimated wetlands, and even set a few rivers on fire. In the podcast, Professor Mace discusses the challenges ahead through the lens of three articles published this week in PLoS Biology that revisit an old debate on the limits to growth: Must we drastically reduce our exploitation of Earth's resources or can technological innovation allow continued development? In “The Macroecology of Sustainability” John Burger and colleagues argue that sustainability science fails to account for the ecological and physical constraints that govern life (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001345). In response, “The Shifting Boundaries of Sustainability Science: Are We Doomed Yet?” John Matthews and Frederick Boltz of Conservation International argue that human ingenuity will forestall disaster long enough to overcome resource limits and allow continued economic growth (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001344). In an accompanying editorial, Professor Mace argues that nothing in sustainability science makes sense except in light of ecology--and evolution, equitable development, natural resource management, and individual rights and responsibilities (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001343). "It's a complicated set of problems," she acknowledges. Gross and Professor Mace will discuss the sustainability crisis, the philosophical tension between ecological pessimism and technological optimism, the prospects for finding a path to true sustainability, and much more.

In this month's episode of the PLoS Biology Podcast, PLoS Biology Editor Megan Hall interviews Gerald Joyce, who is Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. In the latest issue of PLoS Biology, Dr. Joyce has published an article entitled “Bit by Bit: The Darwinian Basis of Life”, where he discusses our search for new forms of life, and how we would know whether a new life form is truly alien or not. (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001323) In this podcast, we'll discuss these topics with Dr. Joyce, and learn more about the probability of finding new life forms. We'll also discuss the definition of life at the molecular level, and whether the emerging field of synthetic biology can actually lead to new definitions of life.

In this months episode of the PLoS Biology Podcast, PLoS Biology Editor Ruchir Shah interviews Sylvia Cremer, who is an evolutionary biologist at the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria. Her research team has published a new paper in PLoS Biology called “Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus promotes Active Immunization in Ant Colonies”. (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300) Sylvia has been interested in how social behaviors of insects can actually help provide immunity against various diseases, in a process called social immunization. In this podcast, we'll hear about how they were able to study this process in ant colonies, and what evolutionary advantages this behavior might have. We'll also hear some interesting stories about “group-level immunity” in other insect colonies, like leaf-cutter ants and bumblebees.

In this edition of the PLoS Podcast, PLoS Biology Editor Ruchir Shah interviews Brian Pasley and Robert (Bob) Knight from UC Berkeley. Brian is a postdoc in Bob's lab, and Bob is the Director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Center at Berkeley. Along with their collaborators at UCSF, their research team has published a new article in PLoS Biology called “Reconstructing speech from human auditory cortex”. (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001251) Essentially, they were able to decode activity in the human auditory system in order to guess the words that people were actually listening to. This technique, called “stimulus reconstruction”, has received a lot of media attention, particularly due to sensational claims of mind-reading. But in reality, there are some important practical applications of this type of research for neural prosthetics. For patients that can't speak, for example, being able to reconstruct words that they imagine would allow them to communicate through a new interface. In this podcast, Brian and Bob discuss how they were able to reconstruct words using activity in a specific region of the human brain called the superior temporal gyrus, or STG. They then discuss the implications for neural prosthetics, and also the potential ethical implications for “mind-reading”.

Welcome to the PLoS Biology Podcast! For the first episode, PLoS Biology Editor Ruchir Shah interviews VS Ramachandran, who is the Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Ramachandran has written a number of books, including “Phantoms in the Brain” and “The Tell-Tale Brain”, about many of the neurological conditions his lab has been studying, which includes phantom limbs and synesthesia. Along with his graduate student David Brang, Dr. Ramachandran has written a new article for PLoS Biology called “Survival of the Synesthesia Gene: Why do people hear colors and taste words” (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001205). In this podcast, Dr. Ramachandran and David Brang discuss the neural basis of multiple types of synesthesia, some other (rather bizarre) neurological conditions, and they even have time to discuss continental drift and the history of science.