November 5, 1999

The 'Open-Source Movement' Turns Its Eye to Science

By VINCENT KIERNAN

Revealing the code for software used in research will help verify data, advocates say

Scientists in academe, who already share research materials and papers freely with each other, should take a further step toward openness by releasing the full texts of computer programs that they use to reach conclusions in their work.

That's the position being advanced by a small but increasingly vocal group of scholars who maintain that the current state of affairs in science -- in which

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