Data sharing and web 2.0

A news item in today's Nature 446, 10-11 (1 March 2007) discusses how social networking software (often referred to as Web 2.0 technology) is allowing scientists to share data. Quoting David Lipman, director of the US NCBI, the article says it is ironic that scientists have been slow to adopt social software, given how useful it could be for them. "Scientists are more interested in their careers and grants than using tools that promote better communication and data sharing", Lipman says.