Nobel Prize winners lobby US Congress over access

Nobel Prize winners in medicine, physics and chemistry have given US Congress an open letter, urging that ‘For America to obtain an optimal return on our investment in science, publicly funded research must be shared as broadly as possible.’ They are asking US leaders to support the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009 (FRPAA).

‘As the pursuit of science is increasingly conducted in a digital world, we need policies that ensure that the opportunities the internet presents for new research tools and techniques to be employed can be fully exploited. The removal of access barriers and the enabling of expanded use of research findings has the potential to dramatically transform how we approach issues of vital importance to the public, such as biomedicine, climate change, and energy research. As scientists, and as taxpayers too, we support FRPAA and urge its passage,' write the 41 signatories of the letter.