New PLoS ONE articles evaluated at F1000 Biology

It appears that the year 2008 is closing on a good note - in the last 6 days three important articles from PLoS ONE were evaluated by the F1000 Biology faculty. These articles were graded as significantly novel reports (see below).

Rapid SNP discovery and genetic mapping using sequenced RAD markers. Baird NA, Etter PD, …, Cresko WA, Johnson EA PLoS ONE 2008 3(10):e3376

Evaluated by: Tony Long on December 23, 2008

F1000 Factor: 6.0 (Must Read)

If I were you: perceptual illusion of body swapping. Petkova VI, Ehrsson HH PLoS ONE 2008 3(12):e3832

Evaluated by: Aina Puce on December 19, 2008

F1000 Factor: 6.0 (Must Read)

The zinc transporter SLC39A13/ZIP13 is required for connective tissue development; its involvement in BMP/TGF-beta signaling pathways. Fukada T, Civic N, …, Superti-Furga A, Hirano T PLoS ONE 2008 3(11):e3642

Evaluated by Bruce Pitt on December 18, 2008

F1000 Factor: 9.0 (Exceptional)

All PLoS ONE content is freely available on the web and readers could themselves rate and evaluate the articles. However, those evaluated on F1000 are certainly the crème de la crème kind of material; at any given time about 4% of the PLoS ONE articles are evaluated at the F1000.

PLoS ONE second birthday blogging competition: winners in waiting

A blogging competition to mark second birthday of the revolutionary Open Access publishing project by name PLoS ONE, was organized on December 18. Bora Zivkovic has posted on his blog the final list of eligible posts that discuss some of the most interesting articles published in recent times in PLoS ONE. I have read all the posts and they are really very nice. I think the jury will have a tough time deciding the winner. Here are the winners in waiting:

Barn Owl of Guadalupe Storm-Petrel: DNA Repair During Spermatogenesis: Gimme a Break! about the article: Deletion of Genes Implicated in Protecting the Integrity of Male Germ Cells Has Differential Effects on the Incidence of DNA Breaks and Germ Cell Loss

Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science: Predatory slime mould freezes prey in large groups about the article: Exploitation of Other Social Amoebae by Dictyostelium caveatum

Scicurious of Neurotopia (version 2.0): Why Did the Dolphin Carry a Sponge? about the article: Why Do Dolphins Carry Sponges?

Scicurious of Neurotopia (version 2.0): Einstein was smart, but Could He Play the Violin? about the article: Practicing a Musical Instrument in Childhood is Associated with Enhanced Verbal Ability and Nonverbal Reasoning

Allyson of Systems Biology & Bioinformatics (Semantically Speaking) on One way for RDF to help a bioinformatician build a database: S3DB (also cross-posted on The mind wobbles: One way for RDF to help a bioinformatician build a database: S3DB) about the article: A Semantic Web Management Model for Integrative Biomedical Informatics

Simon Cockell of Fuzzier Logic: Contextual Specificity in Peptide-Mediated Protein Interactions about the article: Contextual Specificity in Peptide-Mediated Protein Interactions

Mike Haubrich of Tangled Up in Blue Guy : Small-Bodied Humans on Palau - A Disagreement about the articles: Small-Bodied Humans from Palau, Micronesia and Small Scattered Fragments Do Not a Dwarf Make: Biological and Archaeological Data Indicate that Prehistoric Inhabitants of Palau Were Normal Sized

Martin of The Lay Scientist : Catching Snowflakes: The Media and Public Perceptions of Disease about the article: Medicine in the Popular Press: The Influence of the Media on Perceptions of Disease

Nir London of Macromolecular Modeling Blog: Model for the Peptide-Free Conformation of Class II MHC Proteins about the article: Model for the Peptide-Free Conformation of Class II MHC Proteins

Greg Laden of Greg Laden's blog: How to make an elephant turn invisible about the articles: Risk and Ethical Concerns of Hunting Male Elephant: Behavioural and Physiological Assays of the Remaining Elephants, Roadless Wilderness Area Determines Forest Elephant Movements in the Congo Basin, Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Home Ranges in Sabi Sand Reserve and Kruger National Park: A Five-Year Satellite Tracking Study and Population and Individual Elephant Response to a Catastrophic Fire in Pilanesberg National Park.

The Neurocritic of The Neurocritic blog: Can You Reread My Mind? about the article: Using fMRI Brain Activation to Identify Cognitive States Associated with Perception of Tools and Dwellings

Moneduloides of Moneduloides blog: A trypanosome and a tsetse walk into a bar... about the article: Factors Affecting Trypanosome Maturation in Tsetse Flies

El-Ho of Pas d'il y'on que nous: The Etiology of Fear about the article: Coupled Contagion Dynamics of Fear and Disease: Mathematical and Computational Explorations

Ian of Further thoughts: Evolution and conservation in Mexican dry forests about the article: Sources and Sinks of Diversification and Conservation Priorities for the Mexican Tropical Dry Forest

Alun Salt of Archaeoastronomy: If you put a snail shell to your ear can you hear the sound of your thoughts? about the article: Climate Change, Genetics or Human Choice: Why Were the Shells of Mankind's Earliest Ornament Larger in the Pleistocene Than in the Holocene?

Michael Tobis of Only In It For The Gold: The Singularity about the article: Ecosystem Overfishing in the Ocean

PodBlack Cat of PodBlack blog: Pet Ownership - Maybe Not For Better Health, Perhaps Sense Of Humour? about the article: To Have or Not To Have a Pet for Better Health?

Juan Nunez-Iglesias of I Love Symposia!: Randomise your samples! about the article: Randomization in Laboratory Procedure Is Key to Obtaining Reproducible Microarray Results

Munger of Cognitive Daily is one of the judges: Make sure you get some sleep -- or at least some caffeine -- before that test about the article: Sleep Loss Produces False Memories

A PLoS ONE article that is hot favourite of F1000 Editors

Last month I evaluated on F1000 an article from PLoS ONE that addressed infection as a driving force for the extinction of rats native of Christmas Island. The importance of this timely study was also discussed on BLoG ONE. Apparently, it appears that the F1000 evaluation of this article has been taken on quite a good note. It just appeared in the latest issue of the F1000 update wherein the Editors of F1000 reinforce the opinion that the PLoS ONE paper indeed provides important evidence that infectious diseases are a potential cause of future extinctions of endangered mammalian species. The original article is freely available for anyone to read, rate and comment.

Good-bye CDFD

Finally, today I said good-bye to CDFD, the institute where I worked for more than 10 years. It has been a wonderful experience being there and having enjoyed each and every moment of a busy scientific career. The University of Hyderabad, my new employer, extended a warm welcome also to my advocacy of Science 2.0, PLoS ONE and Open Access in general. Change is for the betterment - lets see how true.