Resource Highlight: PLoS One

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This week’s Resource Highlight is another open access resource: PLoS One.  Labeled with an acronym of its publisher, the Public Library of Science, PLoS One is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication. Not only can you access quality open source articles from around the globe, but you can retrieve them from anywhere with an internet connection.

PLoS One also strives to publish articles as quickly as possible, without delaying the process to gauge which pieces will gain the greatest readership; a huge plus of open access publications. Resting on the belief that the impact of research should be based on the individual article as opposed to the journal as a whole, PLoS One has implemented a process for assessing metrics on the article level. They record article’s usage statistics, blogosphere coverage, and citation metrics, for example. PLoS One invites users to visit their Blog for more detailed information about article-level metrics.

As always, an easy way to access the PLoS One database is by visiting the MSK Library web site and keying in “PloS One” into the EResources search box.

MSKCC in the News: March 24 – April 8

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  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Commack recently unveiled a new body imaging device, known as a PET/CT scanner.  Not too many other cancer treatment centers on Long Island carry this scanner.
  • Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have found that change in PSA levels over time (known as PSA velocity) is a poor predictor of prostate cancer and may lead to many unnecessary biopsies. Andrew Vickers, PhD, Associate Attending Research Methodologist in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Peter T. Scardino, MD, Chair of the Department of Surgery are quoted in this article.
  • New Research and Training Grants Awarded By American Cancer Society Emily Tonorezos, MD MPH at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center received a career development award that will give her the time and the tools to investigate diet and insulin resistance in survivors of childhood cancer. (Cancer Survivorship Grant)
  • MRI Found to Improve Breast Cancer Detection Rate. Janice S. Sung, MD, from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues evaluated the utility of MR imaging in detection of breast cancer in 91 women with a history of chest irradiation.

Cancer Research News: March 30 – April 8

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Selected articles on cancer research for this time period include:

  • Rates of death in the United States from all cancers for men and women continued to decline between 2003 and 2007, the most recent reporting period available, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.
  • From US Today, new research suggests examining cells from a woman’s breast milk may help evaluate future breast health. 
  • MIT cancer biologists have identified a genetic change that makes lung tumors more likely to spread to other parts of the body.
  • A team from the Washington University School of Medicine and the Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis, has sequenced whole genomes of tumors from 50 women with luminal (ER and/or PR positive) HER2 negative breast cancer. In discussing the study, Dr. Ellis commented that “while analyses of whole genome expression allow us to further categorize breast tumors into subtypes of clinical importance, we still do not have a good understanding of the cancer biology behind many of the identified gene sets.”