The IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the relaunch of ScienceWatch.com, an open, web-based resource dedicated to scientific metrics and research performance analysis. Since 1989, ScienceWatch has provided the scientific community and media professionals with data and commentary on the people, places and topics in the forefront of science. With its new design, this valuable resource will now also provide its users with a customized experience.
The newly re-launched website has incorporated an innovative tagging system to differentiate content and optimize search results. ScienceWatch leverages data from Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge and is home to some of Thomson Reuters most popular open-access resources, including its Global Research Reports, Citation Laureates (predicted Nobel Prize winners), and Sci-Bytes, a close look at trending research topics and rising scientific professionals. Other features include exclusive data and commentary by some of the top experts in their fields on the topics driving emerging scientific trends and research fronts.

“For the past 23 years, ScienceWatch has been dedicated to demonstrating the power of bibliometrics by using its feature stories to provide a unique view of the research landscape,” says Keith MacGregor, managing director at Thomson Reuters. “We are pleased with the additional capabilities ScienceWatch offers viewers and its focus on the important role of research evaluation and assessment. This new environment will further support users in strategic decision making.”

ScienceWatch also serves as a valuable data resource for media professionals, helping journalists explore and quantify key trends in scientific research, funding, and policy, as well as patent and drug pipeline information. Another new edition will be quarterly e-mail alerts to keep media professionals informed of the latest trends in scientific research.

Here are two recently released ScienceWatch features on newly emerging fields:

Galileon Cosmology Expands as Emerging Trend

“New Field of Galileon Cosmology Shows Acceleration,” by Dr. Simon Mitton, who is based at the University of Cambridge and serves as vice president of the Royal Astronomical Society, explores the fascinating, growing study of Galileon cosmology, which seeks to understand the biggest mystery in modern cosmology—why the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating. Much like its focus, the field itself is expanding at an accelerating rate. After an analysis in Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge, Mitton found that no papers on Gailieon cosmology existed before the first five appeared in 2009. In just two years, this field emerged as a rising trend, with 92 total papers by 2011 that gained an impressive 925 citations.

Programmed Cell Death Keeps a Pulse

“Programmed Cell Death is Alive and Well,” by Dr. Jeremy Cherfas, senior science writer at Bioversity International in Rome, tracks the timeline of the study of apoptosis (programmed cell death).

While apoptosis enjoyed a firm spot among the ranks of the most highly cited biology topics throughout the 90s, it has apparently reached the threshold known to scholars as “obliteration”—a state of universal acceptance in which the foundational literature is no longer explicitly cited. Nevertheless, after analysis in Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge, Cherfas has found that while apoptosis may be waning as a principal topic of investigation, it still maintains a strong scientific heartbeat as it continues to figure robustly in large and increasing numbers of reports each year.

Visit ScienceWatch.com to learn more about how to utilize this resource.

In June 2011, three leading research funders came together in a unique collaboration to inspire change in science communication. The first product of this partnership is eLife – an open-access journal for the most influential research in life science and biomedicine. After much anticipation surrounding the announcement of the project, recruitment of the academic editorial team, the call for papers, and the publication of first articles, the eLife journal website is introduced today.

The eLife journal (http://elife.elifesciences.org) invites visitors to explore important new research and associated data, read comments and commentary by experts and colleagues, and get a sense of the quality of work that eLife is publishing.

Nineteen research papers have now been selected for publication by eLife’s academic editors. “eLife editors have successfully established a high bar for the journal,” said Randy Schekman, Editor-in-chief. “We will continue to publish only those papers deemed highly influential or important. Authors who give us a try will be rewarded with a quick initial decision and – for those selected for full peer review – a constructive and decisive review process. Feedback has been very positive, with board members, referees, and authors all embracing our approach.”

The new site also offers a chance to explore how eLife is taking advantage of digital media. Presentation of content is clean and distraction-free, allowing authors to present the results of their research in full, and inviting readers to delve deeply into the work by exploring figures and their supplements, watching videos, reading editor decision letters and author responses, downloading data sets, viewing article-level metrics, and more. All of this is a starting point, as eLife will continue to solicit feedback from the community in making the presentation as accessible and usable as possible.

“Now is a great time for scientists to come and take a look at eLife, see what they think of the science, and what they think of the way the science is being presented,” added Schekman. “We invite our colleagues to consider eLife as a venue for the publication of their most important work. Although our selection process is stringent, we can promise a speedy review for all and a quite unique experience for the authors of papers we accept for publication.”

The eLife journal is now online at http://elife.elifesciences.org.

For more information about the eLife initiative, and commentary on the site launch, visit http://www.elifesciences.org.

Cengage Learning, a leading educational content, software and services company, today announced the appointment of Kevin Stone as Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. He will be based in Boston, MA, and will serve on the company’s executive team, reporting to Michael Hansen, Chief Executive Officer. Stone will be responsible for all aspects of Sales and Marketing across the company, which will be integrated into one team under his new leadership role.

“Kevin is a proven leader in the education business with an outstanding track record of delivering results and building world-class teams,” said Michael Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, Cengage Learning. “Since the beginning of his career, he has demonstrated an intense focus on the customer and a desire for innovation and strategic insight into the overall business. A passionate believer in the power of a unified go-to-market strategy, Kevin believes that every sales and marketing professional has the power to be their own CEO capable of driving transformation within the organization.”

“We are excited to welcome Kevin to Cengage Learning and believe that his values and work ethic align perfectly with our corporate mission and culture,” continued Hansen. “I have gotten to know Kevin as a straightforward and decisive executive, who is passionate about our customers and the people he works with. I am delighted to have an individual with Kevin’s stature as a key member of my Executive Team.”

Stone joins Cengage Learning from Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, where he served as Chief Sales Officer of the Higher Education unit since 2011. At Pearson, Stone played a strategic role in leading a sales team that consistently outperformed the industry over the last decade. In his 20+ years at Pearson, Stone gained invaluable experience in many aspects of publishing, education technology and higher education. During that time, he held positions in editorial, marketing, technology and sales, helping him to gain insight into the many working parts that join together to create a world class sales and marketing team. He holds an MBA from Boston University and a B.S. in Marketing from Oswego State University of New York.