New NIH policy requires open access for research articles

Congress recently passed a law that requires scientists who receive funding from the National Institutes of Health to make their publications based on that research freely available to the public. The legislation was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 and is a giant leap in enhancing scholarly communication. According to the NIH website, this government body invests over $28 billion a year in medical research. For more information on the new policy, see the NIH's website.