Alan Boyle at Cosmic Log reports on the latest example of a growing trend in open science or collaborative science. It may seem unbelievable, but he writes, “Video-game players have solved a molecular puzzle that stumped scientists for years, and those scientists say the accomplishment could point the way to crowdsourced cures for AIDS and other diseases.”

However, before Call of Duty fans use this as an excuse to log even more hours in front of the tv, the video game in question isn’t a shoot ‘em up, XBOX 360 kind of game, rather it is a game called Foldit in which players

manipulate virtual molecular structures that look like multicolored, curled-up Tinkertoy sets. The virtual molecules follow the same chemical rules that are obeyed by real molecules. When someone playing the game comes up with a more elegant structure that reflects a lower energy state for the molecule, his or her score goes up. If the structure requires more energy to maintain, or if it doesn’t reflect real-life chemistry, then the score is lower.

Researchers posted the monkey virus puzzle to Foldit as “kind of a last-ditch effort,” according to Firas Khatib, the lead author of a paper reporting these findings in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. Not only did Foldit gamers solve the puzzle, they did so in record time — 10 days.

This feat is the latest real-world example of the power of Open Science — a new form of collaborative science that draws on “scientists” both professional and citizen and harnesses the power of the internet to collaborate over great distances. Science has traditionally rewarded solo endeavors, but increasing numbers of researchers are turning to these novel research methods.

Boyle describes the Foldit success as “a giant leap for citizen science — a burgeoning field that enlists Internet users to look for alien planets, decipher ancient texts and do other scientific tasks that sheer computer power can’t accomplish as easily.” Think you have what it takes to play Foldit and perhaps contribute to the next big medical breakthrough? You can join in the fun here: http://fold.it/

So, why does this matter to Princeton University Press? In November, we will publish the timely book Reinventing Discovery by Michael Nielsen. In the book, Nielsen, a leading proponent of Open Science, describes how the internet and crowd-sourcing are contributing to collaborative science and plots the way forward. He even has a section of the book devoted to the development of Foldit and why it is so successful. He describes concrete methods to encourage collaboration even in fields that have traditionally eschewed these forms of collaboration. If you would like to sample this book, a free excerpt is now available on our web site here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9517.pdf (PDF)

As mentioned in our earlier post, Sally Otto (new MacArthur Fellowship recipient, yay!) is co-author with Troy Day of A Biologist’s Guide to Mathematical Modeling in Ecology and Evolution. This book is intended for undergraduate biology courses and starts at an elementary level of mathematical modeling, assuming that the reader has had high school mathematics and first-year calculus. It then gradually builds in depth and complexity, from classic models in ecology and evolution to more intricate class-structured and probabilistic models.

Sample chapters of this book are available on our web site:

Chapter 1, Mathematical Modeling in Biology (PDF)
Chapter 6, General Solutions and Transformations—One-Variable Models (PDF)
Chapter 13, Probabilistic Models (PDF)

Supplemental material for instructors is also available online at the authors’ web site: http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/biomath/.

Examination copies are available via the instructions here.

Congratulations to Sally Otto who was awarded a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship. She is the co-author of PUP’s 2007 book A Biologist’s Guide to Mathematical Modeling in Ecology and Evolution. You can read more about her award here, or watch this video interview the MacArthur Foundation taped:

The award notice singles out the textbook and Sally’s dedication to educating others:

In addition to participating actively in laboratory and field experiments to test and refine her models, Otto is a dedicated educator, having recently co-authored an acclaimed textbook on mathematical modeling that introduces other biologists to the power and rigor of quantitative analysis. Otto’s extensive track record of bringing fresh perspectives to thorny conceptual problems suggests that her fundamental contributions to ecology and evolution will continue unabated.

It’s been a bird book kind of day on the PUP blog, but here’s some more good news. The ABA has just launched a new site (Birders’ Exchange) to support bird conservation efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean. And, happily, they are featuring the Spanish language version of a PUP book in the lower left corner. You can download the book via their link.

It’s been a busy few weeks in the translation rights department here in the European office. We’re in the thick of preparation for Frankfurt Book Fair which will be held from October 12-16 in the eponymous city. As PUP’s new rights manager, this will be my first visit to FBF, but I’ll certainly be kept busy. I have a full schedule of appointments with our team of rights agents as well as publishers and editors from a truly international array of publishing houses: we have almost sixty meetings in total over the course of the fair. For those of you attending the fair, why not visit our stand in hall 8? I’ll be pitching some of the key titles from our forthcoming spring 2012 list (keep an eye on the website for our exciting new titles, which will be launched soon!) to international publishers considering the books for translation.

So, what else is new in the rights world?

The International Federation of Automatic Control just announced that the winner of the 2011 Harold Chestnut Control Engineering Textbook Prize is Feedback Systems: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers by Karl Johan Åström & Richard M. Murray.

According to the IFAC’s call for nominations, this prize “is awarded to the author(s) of a control engineering textbook that has most contributed to the education of control engineers.”

Books are evaluated on their originality and innovation, their presentation of clear application to real problems, and in how well they meet education objectives. The prize (consisting of a monetary award, a certificate, and bragging rights for the next year) was formally presented at the Closing Ceremony of the 18th IFAC World Congress that was held in Milano, Italy earlier this month.

Feedback Systems is intended as a complete, one-volume textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses. A solutions manual is available upon request by professors who are assigning the book for courses and the authors are maintaining a wiki of additional content. A complimentary chapter is available for preview here. Instructors who wish to sample the complete book for their courses should follow the instructions here.

In addition to this prestigious award, Feedback Systems has received outstanding reviews in mathematics and engineering journals:

“This book provides an introduction to the mathematics needed to model, analyze, and design feedback systems. . . . Feedback Systems develops transfer functions through the exponential response of a system, and is accessible across a range of disciplines that use feedback in physical, biological, information, and economic systems. . . . Exercises are provided at the end of every chapter, and an accompanying electronic solutions manual is available.”–Mechanical Engineering

“[T]his is a refreshing text which is delightful to read, and which even experts in the area may find a valuable resource for its diverse applications, and exercises, and its clear focus on fundamental concepts that does not get side-tracked by technical details.”–Matthias Kawski, Mathematical Reviews

“This book provides an interesting and original introduction to the design and analysis of feedback systems. It is addressed to engineers and scientists who are interested in feedback systems in physical, biological, information and social systems.”–Tadeusz Kaczorek, Zentralblatt MATH

We hope you will join us in extending congratulations to the authors!

Read John Riutta’s post here: http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2011/09/richard-crossley/

Kind words from Jim Williams, the Wing Nut at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, for The Atlas of Birds by Mike Unwin. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, maybe his review will get you running to the store.

There are a few sample pages on our site, like this:

Congratulations are owed to Elizabeth S. Anderson, author of The Imperative of Integration which has just won the 2011 Joseph B. Gittler Award from The American Philosophical Association.

This prize is awarded for “an outstanding scholarly contribution in the field of the philosophy of one or more of the social sciences.”

Congratulations to Prof. Anderson!

This week’s book giveaway is Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer’s Guide by Rick Cech & Guy Tudor. Here is an accessible, informative, and highly illustrated book that offers a fresh view of butterflies in the East Coast states, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Appalachians. In addition to providing a wealth of facts and photos, the book is the first to furnish detailed and up-to-date photo-illustrated information on the host plants favored by particular species. With 234 full-page species accounts and accompanying range maps, plus more than 950 large-size color photos, it is an essential reference work for field observers, gardeners, educators, and conservation managers—or anyone interested in appreciating the lepidopteran world close at hand.

The introductory chapters detail the subtle ecology of the East Coast region, establishing a consistent ecological framework that enriches the individual species accounts. There is also an overview of current scientific literature and observational findings to help readers better interpret complex butterfly behaviors in the field, including seasonal movements, host plant and diapause strategies, defensive chemistry, and more.

The book is written by Rick Cech, a seasoned field observer who has spent years studying and photographing East Coast butterflies. His substantial first-hand experience with both the common and rare species in the region adds much depth and new insight to the commentary.

- 234 full-page species accounts and accompanying range maps
- 950 large-size color photos
- 215 photos of individual host plants and habitats
- 735 high-quality photos of butterflies and caterpillars
- Introductory chapters detailing the subtle ecology of the East Coast region
- An overview of current scientific literature and observational findings
- Descriptions of diapause and host plant strategies and defensive chemistry
- User-friendly with clear, concise text

“This is the most authoritative, informative, and exciting book about the identification, ecology and behavior of butterflies available. It provides a novel and eye-opening view of butterflies, expanding the horizons of how we view them. Armed with this book, we can all attract butterflies to our gardens, parks, and natural habitats, and follow all stages of their development from the caterpillar to the adult.”—Joanna Burger, Rutgers University

The random draw for this book with be Friday 9/23 at 3 pm EST. Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook if you haven’t already to be entered to win!

FACT: “In the years before 1981 (the end of the Volcker recession) recessions in the United States were relatively frequent, about one every five years. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) committee defined nine recessions between 1945 and 1981, two of which (those of the early 1970s and the double-dip recession of 1980-1981) were both long and severe. By contrast, the period from 1981 to 2007 was one of long expansions and short recessions. In the entire period, there were only two recessions, in 1990-91 and 2001, and each lasted only eight months.”

Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk among Us
by John Quiggin

In the graveyard of economic ideology, dead ideas still stalk the land.

The recent financial crisis laid bare many of the assumptions behind market liberalism—the theory that market-based solutions are always best, regardless of the problem. For decades, their advocates dominated mainstream economics, and their influence created a system where an unthinking faith in markets led many to view speculative investments as fundamentally safe. The crisis seemed to have killed off these ideas, but they still live on in the minds of many—members of the public, commentators, politicians, economists, and even those charged with cleaning up the mess. In Zombie Economics, John Quiggin explains how these dead ideas still walk among us—and why we must find a way to kill them once and for all if we are to avoid an even bigger financial crisis in the future.

Zombie Economics takes the reader through the origins, consequences, and implosion of a system of ideas whose time has come and gone. These beliefs—that deregulation had conquered the financial cycle, that markets were always the best judge of value, that policies designed to benefit the rich made everyone better off—brought us to the brink of disaster once before, and their persistent hold on many threatens to do so again. Because these ideas will never die unless there is an alternative, Zombie Economics also looks ahead at what could replace market liberalism, arguing that a simple return to traditional Keynesian economics and the politics of the welfare state will not be enough—either to kill dead ideas, or prevent future crises.

“Entertaining and thought-provoking. . . . [W]orks as a good summary for non-specialists of how the economics debate has developed.”—Philip Coggan, Economist

“Quiggin is a writer of great verve who marshals some powerful evidence.”—Financial Times (FT Critics Pick 2010)

We invite you to read the Introduction here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9270.pdf

The Newark Star Ledger published a great feature on Howard Wainer and his book Uneducated Guesses yesterday (“Christie misses the mark on grading teachers, author says“). Robert Braun correctly notes that Wainer is concerned that tests are being improperly used to evaluate teachers. These “Value-Added Models” of evaluation fall into the broad category of misuses statistics, of which Braun notes:

Wainer’s book contains funny riffs on the misuse of statistics. A study, for example, on the most dangerous profession based on age at death. Want to guess? Student. Think about it — students who die do so at a young age so, obviously, they have the lowest life expectancy.

But that hardly makes studying a dangerous profession; it makes the clumsy use of statistics dangerous to believe.

Although New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently announced a new VAM program of teacher evaluation that will rely on 50% traditional evaluation methods and 50% testing scores, the Governor’s office declined to comment for Braun’s article. But Braun writes:

The state Department of Education issued a statement saying it was using student performance measures in 10 pilot districts “before rolling out statewide in 2012.’’

It said such measures would be used in only “50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation.” “We believe that teachers should never be evaluated on a single consideration such as test scores, much less a single test, but on multiple measures of student learning.”

Wainer is skeptical of the new initiative, saying that if you’ve already decided to roll-out a program, a year-long pilot program will be “worthless at testing the viability of the whole enterprise.’’

This article grabbed the attention of another Governor — well a former Governor that is. Gov. David Paterson will speak with Wainer on his afternoon drive show on WOR radio this coming Monday. Tune in during the 4:00 PM hour if you are in the listening area.