Colin Adcock
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colinadcock.bsky.social
Colin Adcock
@colinadcock.bsky.social
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Publishing Manager for Open Science at the American Physical Society. UK based. Physics. Lover of science and technology, space, weather, space weather, gardens and cricket. He/Him.
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Reposted by Colin Adcock
hansonmark.bsky.social
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
colinadcock.bsky.social
Great research does not come free.
"Throughout history, laureates have given us the blue LEDs that light our phones, fiber optic cables that carry internet traffic, and neural networks that power artificial intelligence...
there's another unsung winner: federal funding."
www.aps.org/apsnews/2025...
The quiet winner of the Nobel Prizes in science
Great research does not come free.
www.aps.org
October 16, 2025 at 10:35 AM
colinadcock.bsky.social
Congratulations to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis for winning the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract... [Free access]
Measurements of Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling out of the Zero-Voltage State of a Current-Biased Josephson Junction
The escape rate of an underdamped ($Q\ensuremath{\approx}30$), current-biased Josephson junction from the zero-voltage state has been measured. The relevant parameters of the junction were determined ...
journals.aps.org
October 7, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
osfair.bsky.social
⏳ One week to go!

OSFair2025 starts on 15 Sept at @cern.bsky.social Science Gateway!

3 days of keynotes, debates, workshops & demos, all shaping the future of Open Science.

#OSFair2025 #OpenScience #Research #CERN #OpenAIRE @openaire.bsky.social
September 9, 2025 at 2:08 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
looking forward to Science and Technology Indicators conference in #Bristol this week! @stienid2025.bsky.social
September 1, 2025 at 10:55 AM
colinadcock.bsky.social
PRX Energy is piloting transparent peer review. This will help us develop our open peer-review processes for our journals. Find out more and take part. - journals.aps.org/prxenergy/20...
<i>PRX Energy</i> to pilot a transparent peer review process
“Open Reports” will allow details from the peer review process to be published alongside articles.
journals.aps.org
August 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
Nice article on the path to Open Science.

"If it is our aim as a discipline to create a lasting impact, we need to conduct research with reliable findings, which requires exposing ourselves to open science practices." #openscience

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A Tale of Open Science: Emergence of a New Normal - Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research
This paper explores the transformative journey of open science in reshaping research credibility and replicability. Using psychology’s “replication crisis” as a cautionary tale, we discuss the emergen...
link.springer.com
August 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
Many authors don't share data, even when encouraged or asked to. Data statement requirements are often misunderstood and revert to 'On reasonable request'. How can we improve this? Is the importance of Open Data getting to researchers and do they know how? Whose job is it to 'enforce'? #OpenScience
July 16, 2025 at 10:57 AM
colinadcock.bsky.social
NIH to cap APC fees. Where will they put the line? Feels likely to push more institutions/publishers into doing read and publish agreements across America, and cause issues for high quality / high threshold journals that have higher APCs. www.nih.gov/news-events/...
NIH to crack down on excessive publisher fees for publicly funded research
Effort is part of NIH’s ongoing commitment to scientific transparency and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
www.nih.gov
July 9, 2025 at 2:24 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
OSTP have published a new memo in response to the 'Gold Standard Science' order. www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...
OSTP Issues Agency Guidance for Gold Standard Science
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, as called for in President Trump’s recent Executive Order, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director
www.whitehouse.gov
June 24, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
osfair.bsky.social
📢 Good news! The sponsorship application deadline for #OSFair2025 has been extended to June 15!

Support #OpenScience and boost your visibility in the global research community.

🔗 www.opensciencefair.eu/2025/call-fo...

@openaire.bsky.social @cern.bsky.social
Open Science FAIR - Call for Sponsorship
open science, open access, open data, publishing models, cloud, infrastructure, conference
www.opensciencefair.eu
June 2, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
christinerogers.bsky.social
#OpenScience in Canada - practicing or just curious ?
Join us at #osCanada2025 —
Abstracts due *June 30* for the 1st Canadian Conference on Open Science and Open Scholarship — Oct 9-10 in Montreal oscanada.github.io
Cc @kbyers.bsky.social
1st Canadian Conference on Open Science and Open Scholarship
Montreal, October 9–10, 2025 "Mapping the Present, Charting our Future" (la version française suit) The 1st Canadian Conference on Open Science and Open Scholarship is a landmark national event dedica...
oscanada.github.io
June 3, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
lakens.bsky.social
www.openscience.nl/en/news/rese...
Research on open science: help build a solid evidence base | Open Science NL
Open Science NL invites interested researchers and professional support staff to submit applications for the new call Research on open science. This call focuses on research into open science practice...
www.openscience.nl
May 28, 2025 at 7:39 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
Researchers publishing in @apsphysics.bsky.social journals will now receive a DOI for their article immediately upon acceptance, allowing for improved discoverability and citation of their work.
May 14, 2025 at 1:08 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
Wonderful initiative to boost metadata uptake!
crossref.bsky.social Crossref @crossref.bsky.social · May 7
🎉🎉🎉 Congrats to the winners of the first #CrossrefMetadataAwards, launched for our 25th anniversary. Well done for metadata excellence & enrichment to members: Noyam; @gigascience.bsky.social; @elife.bsky.social; @asm.org; Universidad La Salle (Peru); and Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Crossref Metadata Awards rosette-style logo
May 8, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
bettycjung.bsky.social
Europe Unveils $565 Million Plan to Attract Scientists From U.S. as Trump Defunds Basic Research
"Europe will always choose science," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
gizmodo.com/europe-unvei... Their gain, U.S. loss.
Europe Unveils $565 Million Plan to Attract Scientists From U.S. as Trump Defunds Basic Research
"Europe will always choose science," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
gizmodo.com
May 7, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
apsphysics.bsky.social
The first SCOAP3 assessment of open science practices gave our journals high marks. A review of @PhysRevLetters, @PhysRevC, and @PhysRevD earned nearly double the total score of the next-highest publisher, showing our commitment to #OpenScience.

🔗 www.aps.org/about/news/2...

@cern.bsky.social
A burst of glowing golden particles radiates outward from a central point, symbolizing the Higgs boson and the energy of particle collisions in high-energy physics.
April 17, 2025 at 3:15 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
@apsphysics.bsky.social earns the top score in @cern.bsky.social / SCOAP3 Open Science metrics - measuring and promoting open science initiatives in physics. www.aps.org/about/news/2...
American Physical Society earns top score in SCOAP3 open science assessment
The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and global community dedicated to science and society.
www.aps.org
April 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
colinadcock.bsky.social
PIDs for all!
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/04/10/n...
No One Size Fits All: The Case for Taking a National Approach to PID Adoption  - The Scholarly Kitchen
Today, Alice Meadows shares some learnings from MoreBrains Cooperative's recent cost-benefit analysis of persistent identifiers, conducted on behalf of the Czech National Library of Technology (NTK).
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
April 10, 2025 at 11:47 AM
colinadcock.bsky.social
@cern.bsky.social have announced the SCOAP3 Open Science Elements results for 2025. Physical Review journals have scored very highly, showcasing @apsphysics.bsky.social ongoing commitment to Open Science initiatives in publishing. PIDs, Metadata, Data, Accessibility, more. scoap3.org/journals-202...
SCOAP3 Open Science Elements – SCOAP3
scoap3.org
April 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
wired.com
“Everybody in math and physics uses it.”

Nearly 35 years ago, Paul Ginsparg created arXiv, a digital repository for sharing research. It changed science for good.

Three decades in, Ginsparg reflects on its legacy—and its future.
Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science
Modern science wouldn’t exist without the online research repository known as arXiv. Three decades in, its creator still can’t let it go.
wrd.cm
March 31, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
arxiv.bsky.social
Perhaps most importantly, when you support arXiv, you support . . . your own work! 🧑🏻‍🔬

arXiv promotes scientific advancement by making it fast, easy, & free for you to share your research & discover new science every single day. 🤓📬🌞 #openscience

https://givingday.cornell.edu/campaigns/arxiv
This is a picture of a tweet where someone posted "No arXiv today? what is the point of waking up!?"
March 13, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
richardsever.bsky.social
Big news: we are setting up a new non-profit organization to run bioRxiv and medRxiv. It's called openRxiv [no it's not a new preprint server; it's dedicated organization to oversee the servers] openrxiv.org 1/n
Homepage - openRxiv
openRxiv is an independent non-profit, the new organizational home for bioRxiv and medRxiv, enabling researchers to instantly share groundbreaking findings with the global scientific community.
openrxiv.org
March 11, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Reposted by Colin Adcock
terjehaakstad.bsky.social
As part of the Munin Committee, I’m excited to share the 20th Munin Conference (Nov 18-20, 2025) in Tromsø! 🌍❄️ Submit papers on Open Science, Indigenous rights in research, transparency, and more!
📅 Deadline: June 8, 2025
#Munin2025 #OpenScience #ScholarlyPublishing #Research #CallForPapers #Tromsø
March 10, 2025 at 10:23 AM
colinadcock.bsky.social
A message from the American Physical Society. APS campaign to protect science and support physicists. www.aps.org/about/news/2...
Take action: APS campaign to protect science
The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and global community dedicated to science and society.
www.aps.org
March 4, 2025 at 11:10 AM