Scientists open to discussion on open source biology

Biology has long been based on a model in which scientists think up a dynamite experiment, gather data, keep it all close to the vest, and publish the (hoped-for) blockbuster results in a top peer-reviewed journal. Like many other biologists, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Phil Sharp made his name following this time-honored method.

Now along comes Stephen Friend, former senior vice president of cancer research at Merck & Co., saying the model is out of date, that the only way biology can advance and help us develop better drugs is to break with tradition.

Biologists have to embrace an open source, collaborative movement, Friend says, in which academics and industrial scientists share vast troves of data in real time on DNA, RNA, proteins, and clinical observations. Done right, he says, it will help scientists weed out the duds early in drug development and help predict which patients will respond to certain treatments.