PubMed, the widely used database of scientific literature on health and life sciences, is piloting a new system that allows colleagues to comment on any article indexed by PubMed. The recently launched PubMed Commons is “a forum for open and constructive criticism and discussion of scientific issues.”
Until now, conventional letters to the editor provided the scientific community with a way to criticize, question or comment on a published article. PubMed Commons now provides an opportunity for post-publication peer review that has the potential to accelerate scientific debate: comments are unmoderated, immediately posted, and can be shared or cited. It also marks a significant change in editorial control as PubMed Commons allows readers of scientific literature (not journal editors) to drive the discussions.
The NCBI Insights Blog is reporting that the new system is having an influence as some authors are using PubMed Commons to post corrections, change their conclusions or update people on their work.
Participation during the pilot phase is currently limited but will likely expand in the future. For more information, go to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedcommons.