Medical Researchers Seek Public’s Help

by Bradley J. Fikes

11:44 A.M.JAN. 31, 2015

Four scientists at The Scripps Research Institute are asking for the public’s help to find cures for rare diseases. They’re not looking for money, but something even more precious to scientists backlogged with work — your time.

Researchers led by Andrew Su are asking for volunteers to serve as “citizen scientists” to spot useful information in the ever-growing mountain of biomedical research. It’s simply not possible for scientists to keep up.

“There are about a million biomedical articles published each year, one every 30 seconds,” Su said. “It is nearly impossible for any individual to read all the literature in their particular field, much less have some feelers out into other areas.”

Moreover, even with tools like computer searches, digging out the pertinent information is hard.

Read full article in San Diego Union Tribune.