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Forget open access journals. What if you could access laboratory experiments, online and free of charge, rather than waiting for research to make it to print? This is exactly what Standford professor Lambertus Hasselink accomplished by making digital versions of real-world science experiments available to anyone using the Internet. This has coined the term “iLab“, which describes any online laboratory that enables students and educators to use real instruments to carry out experiments anywhere at any time. Unlike conventional facilities, iLabs can be shared and accessed by individuals across the world who may not otherwise have the resources to operate costly lab equipment. 

(Professor Hasselink describing his iLab initiative at Standford University)

The concept of iLabs is in support of the open science movement, which seeks to integrate the online collaboration and social sharing of information to perpetuate scientific progress. Proponents of open science believe that the data of published research should be accessible to the public to promote the maximum dissemination of knowledge, and consequently, increase the efficiency of scientific development. 

A great example of the success of open science initiatives is the Polymath Project, initiated by Cambridge mathematician Joseph Jackson. After hitting a roadblock in solving complex mathematical problems, Jackson decided to open all his research on a blog, The Polymath Project. Within days readers with diverse backgrounds from around the world were contributing to his work, eventually leading to several published papers under the collective pseudonym DHJ Polymath.

(A physicist turned writer, Michael Nielsen discusses the Polymath Project and how open science is revolutionizing the way we make scientific discoveries.)

The Polymath project is an example of how collective research has the potential to solve some of the most perplexing scientific conumdrums and iLabs provide the medium to allow this type of collaboration to occur. While the open science movement has made great strides in increasing the popularity of open access journals, which provide scientific articles free of charge to the public, iLabs are the next stage of knowledge sharing.

This has several advantages: for one, open labs enable students and researchers to connect to the best laboratories across the globe with the simple click of the mouse. Therefore, scientists with limited resources or funding can access the technology of well-equiped labs at little to no cost. Additionally, rather than just reading about experiments, web-based labs enable scientists to participate and/or witness the steps leading up to new discoveries. This increased transparency will improve the reproducibility of original experiments and provide more insight into the methodologies behind research findings.

Doing real science is a tough feat, which takes considerable time, energy and money to conduct. One of the greatest benefits of iLabs is the ability to spread resources and manpower globally. However, how can a scientist in Japan  conduct an experiment taking place in Germany? The answer is simple: currently most research is controlled by computers to begin with, therefore digitalizing experiments is a common practice. However, most cross-cultural research is still limited to small communities of experts. Therefore, iLabs seek to expand accessibility to both amateur and professional scientists with the primary goal of increasing international collaboration projects to promote innovation and efficiency in research.

If you think about it, international collaboration has been the basis of many major scientific breakthroughs which have changed the way we view the world. For instance, global networks of scientists, with the use of online technology, have made discoveries such as the Human Genome Project, ozone layer depletion and the Large Hadron Collider (the world’s largest physics experiment) possible. Perhaps famous philosopher Aristotle was correct in saying that, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

By Jamie Fujioka