From Science Information to
Science Informatics: Parallels
and Paradoxes in Chemistry
and Molecular Biology
Gary Wiggins
wiggins@indiana.edu
Convergence of Chemistry and
Biology
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Biochemistry/MolecularBiology
Chemistry vs. Biology
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Physical Science
Negative public
perception
Women a distinct
minority in the
profession
High-cost
information products
(not much free)
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Life Science
Positive public
perception
Lots of women in
the professions
Lots of free (or lowcost) information
sources
Physical Sciences
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Sciences that explore the nature and
properties of energy and nonliving
matter
Physical Sciences Disciplines
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Chemistry
Physics
Materials science
Climatology
Oceanography
Environmental
sciences
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Astronomy
Geology
Engineering
Mathematics
Computer Science
Chemistry
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science that deals with the properties,
composition, and structure of
substances (defined as elements and
compounds), the transformations that
they undergo, and the energy that is
released or absorbed during these
processes.
Public Perception of Chemistry
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Recognition of higher standard of living
through chemical advances
Career for people in white lab coats
who make smelly concoctions
Polluters of the environment
Who has seen a TV program about
chemistry in the last month?
Public Perception of Chemistry
…the North American and Western
European public by and large still do not
believe that the chemical industry is
anything but a necessary evil.
--Mark S. Reisch, C&EN, September 4, 2000
Life Sciences
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Study of living organisms from their
molecular and biochemical subsystems
to the ecosystems created by the
interactions of multiple species
Continuity and interdependence make it
difficult to define the boundaries of the
life sciences
http://www.lifesciences.umich.edu/overview/commission/scope.html
Life Sciences Disciplines
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Biology
Pharmacology
Anatomy
Physiology
Microbiology
Genetics
Molecular Biology
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Medicine
Dentistry
Nursing
Pharmacy
Epidemiology
Public Health
Molecular Biology
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Concerned with studying the chemical
structures and processes of biological
phenomena at the molecular level
Public Perception of Life
Sciences
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Strongly tied to efforts to protect the
environment, cure disease, etc.
Career for caring, dedicated individuals
Lots of engaging and entertaining
nature programs on TV
Public (Free) Databases in Life
Sciences
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GenBank and many other biomolecular
sequence and structure databases
PubMed (NCBI and NLM)
PubMed Central
NCBI’s Coffee Break
BioOne: A SPARC Initiative
BioMed Central
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Publishes journals in all areas of biology
and medicine
Free access to peer-reviewed research
articles
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through The British Library
through PubMed Central
Subscription-based access to reviews,
commentaries and other information
services
http://www.biomedcentral.com/
E-BioSci
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EMBO (European Molecular Biology
Organization) initiative
Services to access and retrieve digital
information in the life sciences
Nature Publishing Group will participate
http://www.e-biosci.org
E-BioSci Objectives
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Foster optimal pooling and use of
European biological archives and data
collections
Stimulate the development of common
protocols and methodologies
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Searching and retrieval in:
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bibiographic databases
sequence databases
E-BioSci Objectives
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Provide a framework for further research into
more effective strategies for linking of
bibliographic with molecular, genomic, and
(3D-)image databases
Act as host for the web-publication of digital
articles
Operate in harmony with other international
efforts, including PubMed and PubMed
Central in the USA
Physical Sciences Information
Infrastructure (PSII)
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Workshop: May 20-21, 2000
http://www.osti.gov/physicalsciences/
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Included 2 SLA representatives as
participants
Representatives from AAAS (publisher
of Science) and Nature Magazine
Lots of government & academic types
No one from the BIG DEAL publishers
PSII Workshop Conclusions
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Endorsement of a national
infrastructure
“When comparing The National Library of Medicine’s
amazing success as a benchmark, it is clear that
much can be done in the physical sciences to
positively impact research and practice in the physical
sciences.”
PSII Workshop
Recommendations
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Common knowledge base
Point of convergence for all information
Openly available source of information
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to serve all users
in an electronic environment
Public Library of Science
(PLoS)
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Non-profit organization of
scientists committed to making the
world's scientific and medical
literature freely accessible to
scientists and to the public around
the world, for the benefit of
scientific progress, education and
the public good.
http://www.publiclibraryofscience.org/
PLoS Objectives
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Free access to scientific journal articles
six months after publication
Centralized archives of life sciences
literature in a repository such as
PubMed Central
PLoS Successes
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Open letter signed by 28,166 scientists from
172 countries as of 10/8/01
HOWEVER, only 3,000 in the US as of late
August 2001
New journal production companies springing
up:
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Blue Sky: www.BlueSkyScholars.com
bepress: www.bepress.com
ejournalPress.com: www.ejpress.com
PLoS: Impact
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Few publishers have agreed to put their
journals on PubMed Central for free, BUT:
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Science now offers free access to research articles
one year out
Royal Society of Chemistry has free access two
years out
Highwire Press has ~ 325,000 free articles
NASA Astrophysics Data System has over 300,000
free articles
PLoS will launch their own publishing effort:
page charges @ $300/article
PubMed Central and
PubScience
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PubMed Central began in February 2000
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54 journals available as of 10/10/01, 43 of
which are BioMed Central journals
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
PubSCIENCE began in 1999, with a
focus on the physical sciences
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Over 40 participating publishers
http://pubsci.osti.gov/
PubSCIENCE: Who cares?
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…while keeping medical research out of
the hands of physicians and patients
might be considered a moral outrage,
the research needs of those involved
with physics and the natural sciences
are going to elicit a mere shrug from
the average person.
--Robin Peek, Information Today, September
2001, p. 42
PLoS Failures
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ARL Board of Directors refused to issue
a public statement of support last July
PLoS: ACS Reaction
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…no editor or author has indicated an
unwillingness to participate in the ACS
journal publishing program because of
PLOS.
--Robert D. Bovenschulte, Director, ACS
Publications Division
(C&EN, September 3, 2001, p. 44)
Statement of the ACS, July 31,
2001
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The American Chemical Society (ACS),
the world’s largest scientific society,
believes that government should
scrutinize its role as a provider of S&T
information in order to avoid harming
the scientific enterprise, jeopardizing
the stewardship of S&T information,
and competing unnecessarily with
businesses and nonprofit groups.
Future Directions
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More emphasis on standards for
information production and retrieval
systems: author empowerment
Research on user behavior and use of
computer systems
New paradigms for science publishing
Increased emphasis on informatics
IU School of Informatics
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http://informatics.indiana.edu
http://www.informatics.iupui.edu/
http://www.newmedia.iupui.edu/
Chemical Informatics
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Chemical informatics provides the
tools to acquire, organize, and
evaluate data, yielding new
insights for further chemical
research.
Major Areas of Interest in
Chemical Informatics
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Productivity applications
Informatics techniques
Simulation (Molecular Modeling)
Bioinformatics
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Bioinformatics is a pure and an
applied science dealing with the
collection, management, analysis
and dissemination of biological
data and knowledge, especially
with respect to genetics and
molecular biology.
Major Areas of Interest in
Bioinformatics
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Study of the genome code
Understanding role of the genome
in regulating biological functions
Intense concentration on proteins,
their structure and function
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Proteomics
School of Informatics
BS Degree: 122 hours
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Informatics core courses: 30 hours
Other informatics courses: 9 hours
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Some may be from a department/school
outside the School of Informatics
Cognate area courses: 15-18 hours
Representative Core Courses
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Information infrastructure
Information representation
Mathematical foundations
Social informatics
Organizational informatics
Master of Science in
Informatics Programs
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Human Computer Interaction
Health Informatics
Bioinformatics
Chemical Informatics
Graduate Courses
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Introduction to Informatics
Information Management
Chemical Information Technology
Molecular Modeling & Computational
Chemistry
Informatics:
Opening the Door to New Careers!
Who owns:
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www.chemistry.org?
Ans: American Chemical Society
www.biology.org?
Ans:Howard Hughes Medical Institute
OSTI Products
DOE Information Bridge (gray
literature)
http://www.osti.gov/bridge
PubSCIENCE (journal literature)
http://www.osti.gov/pubscience
GrayLit Network
http://www.osti.gov/graylit
EnergyFiles (virtual library
collections)
http://www.osti.gov/energyfiles
PrePRINT Network (preprint
literature)
http://www.osti.gov/preprint
Research and Development Project
Summaries
http://www.osti.gov/rnd
Federal R&D Project Summaries
http://www.osti.gov/fedrnd
DOE R&D Accomplishments
http://www.osti.gov/accomplish
ments
Bibliography
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Reisch, Mark S. “Responsible Care.” C&EN September 4, 2000, 78(36), 21-26.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/7836/7836bus1.html
Challenges and Opportunities in Understanding the Complexity of Living
Systems: Scope of the Life Sciences
http://www.lifesciences.umich.edu/overview/commission/scope.html
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Future e-access to the primary literature (Nature Forum)
http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/e-access/