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Facebook for Scientists Could Speed Advances

As he worked on a medical imaging experiment a few years ago, Harvard researcher Ijad Madisch kept running into problems. It could have been the algorithms he was using or the way he set up the experiment but, whatever it was, something wasn’t quite right.

"These are the small things, which in science, you know, cost you a lot of time," says Madisch.

His advisor didn’t know why the experiment wasn’t working. Nobody in his lab worked on the same stuff and none of his researcher friends could help.

"I was so frustrated. I said there has to be something online where I go, where people can present themselves as a scientist, and where they put their information about their research and their publications and you can search for it."

That’s when Madisch got the idea for a social network for scientists. It would be like Facebook, but with a more serious mission. The web platform would be a place for researchers to connect with each other and share best practices and information about their work that doesn’t get published. Madisch saw his idea - which he namedResearchGate - as a tool to make scientists more productive.

"My goal: to win the Nobel Prize. And I really believe in that. If we think that ResearchGate will accelerate research in all the different fields, it will change the speed of science significantly in the future," says Madisch. "I definitely think that ResearchGate could win the Nobel Prize for that one day."

That big idea wowed investors. ResearchGate received funding from a former Facebook executive and the same venture capital firm that backed Twitter. So far, 900,000 people have signed up to be members.
ShiNung Ching
One of them is Caroline Moore-Kochlacs, who logs onto the website at her Boston University office. Her profile page shows her picture, her field - neuroscience - her doctoral advisor and publications. She can follow other researchers, or click onto group pages that discuss specific topics.

"Let’s see what’s going on in the computational neuroscience group today." Moore-Kochlacs uses Facebook too, but says people on that site feel like they have to be clever or stick to ordinary topics. "What’s the best camera to buy? I’m going on a vacation. They’re never anything to do with science."

ResearchGate also appeals to Moore-Kochlacs because she can ask obscure questions about algorithms or what reagent to use in a certain chemical reaction. She can also find out what labs are working on before they publish as well as catch up with recent publications.

"The scientific literature is so huge at this point, that it’s really impossible to get through everything in your topic area. People really rely on hearing it from other people," she says.

But not everyone sees the benefits of ResearchGate.

"I’m not really seeing the value in this," says Kim Bertrand, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Sometimes I get these e-mails that are like, 'Dear Sirs: I’m writing a dissertation on public health. Any suggestions? Please advise.' I don’t need that."

Bertand signed up for ResearchGate at the suggestion of a colleague but says she’s content so far with her own offline network of fellow researchers and advisors.

ResearchGate founder Madisch knows his site will only prove valuable if scientists use it to help each other. And, if it develops into the indispensable social network for scientists he hopes for, he’ll have made more of a contribution to science than he ever could as a lone researcher

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Woman ­­1______can hardly express,
My mixed emotion at my thoughtlessness, My mixed emotion at my thoughtlessness,
After all I'm forever in your debt, After 2___ I'm forever in your debt,
And woman I will try express, And 3_____I will try 4______,
My inner feelings and thankfullness, My inner 5_______ and thankfullness,
For showing me the meaning of succsess, For showing me the meaning of 6_________,
oooh well, well, oooh well, well,
oooh well, well, oooh well, well,

Woman I know you understand Woman I know you 7____________
The little child inside the man, The little 8_______inside the man,
Please remember my life is in your hands 9________  Pppppp 10______   remember my 11_____is in your hands,
And woman hold me close to your heart, And woman hold me close to your heart,
However, distant don't keep us apart, However, distant do not keep us apart,
After all it is written in the stars, After all it is written in the 12 ________,
oooh well, well, oooh well, well,
oooh well, well, oooh well, well,

Woman please let me explain, Woman please let me 13 _________,
I never mean(t) to cause you sorrow or pain, I 14______ mean (t) to cause you sorrow or pain,
So let me tell you again and again and again, So let me tell you again and again and again,
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I love you (yeah, yeah)... I love you (yeah, yeah) ...

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Today we answer a question from a listener in Colombia. John Anderson wants to know the costs of undergraduate and graduate study in the United States.

Well, the first thing to know is that prices are different from school to school. Private colleges and universities generally cost more than public ones.

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all students pay a school's "published price." Financial aid and scholarships may reduce the cost. Here are a few numbers for this school year from the College Board organization.

The average published price for undergraduate study at a four-year public college was about seven thousand dollars. That was for students from "in state." Students from other states as well as international students paid an average of more than eighteen thousand dollars.

This is the bad news -- international students often have to pay the highest prices.

And these averages were only for tuition and fees. Food, housing, books and supplies can add ten to twelve thousand dollars a year.

The College Board says the average tuition at a private college was about twenty-six thousand dollars.

Many students save money by starting their education at a two-year public college, also known as a community college. The average tuition this year was about two thousand five hundred dollars.

A few American colleges provide a free education, including the military and Merchant Marine academies. They accept some foreign students.

Berea College is a small Christian school in Berea, Kentucky, that pays all first-year costs for its foreign students. But they are expected to pay one thousand dollars a year after that. Summer jobs are provided to help meet this cost.

Costs for graduate study in the United States also differ from school to school, and even from program to program. Here too, public universities charge more for out-of-state tuition. For example, at the University of Kentucky, out-of-state graduate tuition averaged about eighteen thousand dollars this year. In-state was about nine thousand.

American students often have to take out loans to help pay for their education. President Obama recently signed into law a bill that changes the student loan system. We’ll have more on that next week.

And international students can learn much more about studying in the United States on our Web site. Look for the Foreign Student Series at voaspecialenglish.com.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

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