Electronic Publishing Extends Reach Of Scientists And Of The Scientist

In his essay on page 10 of this issue, Nobel laureate Joshua Lederberg describes the many potential benefits to the science community of electronic publishing. I certainly concur in advocating its use, as witness my recent decision to mount The Scientist on NSFnet and the Internet.

Originally planned primarily to facilitate access to large mainframe computer programs and data files, NSFnet has evolved into a major communications network and a splendid means of disseminating the valuable information our publication presents.

Last year I attended a conference on networking at which I had the pleasure of meeting Vinton Cerf, vice president of the Corporation for National Research Institutes and one of the gurus of networking. Cerf, in turn, introduced me to Corrine Carroll of the NSF Network Service Center in Washington, D.C., who eventually obtained all the necessary clearances for making The Scientist available on NSFnet.

It has been suggested that...