SciVee, a video-sharing site for scientists is set to be officially launched on 1 September. Already online, it allows scientists to upload their technical papers and a podcast videos in which authors explain their papers' results.
Jointly operated by three US partners - the Public Library of Science (PLoS), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) - "SciVee is about the free and widespread dissemination and comprehension of science," explains the portal. 'Created by scientist for scientists', it also aims to facilitate the creation of science communities around specific issues, articles and keywords and promises more exposure for scientists' publications.
The portal is not targeted at the general non-scientist audience and attracting non-specialist viewers will depend on scientists' ability to present their work in an understandable way.
With rapid advances in scientific research, the European Commission has set bridging science and society as one of its priorities. Communicating science - bridging scientists, policymakers and citizens - to foster public engagement and build trust in scientific progress, was recently qualified by the executive's own research advisory board as 'crucial' for transforming more research into innovation (see EurActiv 3/7/2007).
The Commission also adopted a Communication in February 2007, proposing a series of EU-level measures to support new ways of promoting better access to information online and to preserve research results in digital format for future generations.
