Some searches will still be dead ends, but they will certainly be less time-consuming. Another advantage of the Internet is that laboratories can put their protocols on their Web page. Generous labs make their Web page an interactive forum for scientists to ask questions about their protocols. E-mail allows foreign scientists to minimize the difficulties posed by language and time zone barriers. Perhaps the greatest potential contribution the Internet makes to a solution is the online publication of supplemental materials and methods.
Many journals publish additional information online alongside the print version of a publication.
Though most online supplemental materials today are additional data, some are expanded methods and protocols. I believe scientists and editors alike need to redouble efforts to give the online materials and methods sections the space and attention they require. Such initiative could change the scientific process, enabling research to move forward in a faster, more equitable fashion. Heather Ettinger is a sixth-year graduate student at HMS in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program in biological chemistry.