How can we learn from the exciting times of post-World War II, when American experimental biology was revolutionized and propelled to the forefront of world science, and now, of biotechnology? Part of the answer could be in establishing an electronic journal of the type proposed by former National Institutes of Health director Harold Varmus, one that is not edited or refereed. The unique feature of this journal would be that it is particularly aimed at having retired scientists as authors.
Before I suggest some specifics regarding such an electronic journal, consider those post-WW II days. Researchers in the biological sciences now had easy access to such wartime products as radioisotopes and antibiotics. The science faculties of American universities and research institutes were revitalized by the influx of our returning scientists and by scientists who had escaped from Nazi Germany. Our graduate schools flourished with the backlog of students now able ...
