One way to try to get a handle on what's happening in a scientific field is to study citations in research papers. n a visualization of a complex network with many links, however, it can be very difficult to recognize significant patterns amid the clutter
Subscription models make publishers insist on controlling access to research they didn't perform, write up, or fund. They act like a midwives who insist on keeping (or hiding, or performing surgery on) other folks' babies.
"Academic literature should be freely available: developing countries need access; part time ... thinkers ... journalists and the public can benefit; ... you’ve already paid for much of this stuff with your taxes ... important new ideas from humanity"
Scientists isolated morphine from opium, leading to the belief (in the West at least) that a single, non-living compound in a plant was responsible for its healing properties. This helped create the biomedical model of pharmacotherapy, where plants are se