The Internet Generation -- science in the global online community | Tomorrow Today

Sebastian Riese is a biochemist and currently working on his PhD at Berlin's Charité university clinic. Whenever he has questions about his work, he can go online to"Researchgate"a huge online forum for scientists.The network has over a million members worldwide - scientists can exchange tips, specialist literature is available for free and there's a huge jobs section.
Gone are the days when scientists sat in their ivory towers and pondered the world. Science in the 21st century is increasingly taking place in global chatrooms. And that's having an impact, says Jürgen Renn from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. The Internet is changing scientists'communication behavior and leading to interdisciplinary research groups. Information is freely available to all and is being discussed openly. But Jürgen Renn wants to take things a step further and is calling for all scientific publications to be placed online.

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[charlessmyth]

Jürgen Renn is incorrect in his assertion that scientists were secretive about their research and discoveries, since this is entirely antithetical to being a scientist who depends on skepticism and peer review to underpin the science: Alan H. Cromer, Unknown Science. For those who do proceed on the basis of secrecy, the probability of catastrophe is very high. Such science is the stuff of Hollywood legend, and, one would hope, is not the stuff of the Max Planck Institute or EU science.