Laboratory exercises are intended to illustrate concepts and add an active learning component to courses. Since the 1980s, there has been a decline in animal laboratories offered in conjunction with medical physiology courses. The most important single reason for this is cost, but other contributing factors include the development of computer simulations, changes in medical education, and pressure from antivivisectionists. Unfortunately, the elimination of animal laboratories has occurred with relatively little consideration of the educational impact of this change. Although computer simulations are considered effective in helping students acquire basic physiological concepts, there is evidence some students acquire a more thorough understanding of the material through the more advanced and challenging experience of an animal laboratory. The fact that such laboratories offer distinct educational advantages should be taken into account when courses are designed.
Recent legislative activity in the US House of Representatives and the UK House of Commons has added fuel to a debate over electronic access to the Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) literature that was initiated in 1999 with the introduction of E-Biomed. Ongoing efforts to change the landscape of STM publishing involve moving it away from a subscription basis to an author-pays model. This article chronicles the swift evolution of electronic access to the scientific literature and asks whether the scholarly community will really be better off with government-mandated open access (OA) publishing.
The Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego, CA, included events to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the American Physiological Society (APS) and reflect on the recent accomplishments of the society. Most of the APS activities in the past quarter century were guided by a series of strategic plans. Membership in the APS increased by 76% since 1987, and there are now 8,342 regular members of the society, including an expansion of international members to 26% of APS's membership. The numbers of elected officers and committee members have expanded to accommodate this larger membership. APS Publications changed dramatically during this time, having adopted online submission and review of manuscripts as well as a streamlined review and publications process that have significantly shortened the period from submission to acceptance to publication. Compared with 1987, the number of manuscripts submitted has increased by 80% and the number of printed pages increased by 52%. In addition to the refinement of the Experimental Biology meeting (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology meeting before 1993) format, APS launched a specialty conference program in the 1990s. The educational offerings of APS also dramatically expanded in the past 25 yr, often supported by external grants and contracts. APS education programs now support physiology education and science awareness at K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels as well as continuing education of its members. The founding of APS was tied to the need for effective advocacy, and APS continues to meet those goals through its Science Policy Committee and Animal Care and Experimentation Committees. At its 125th birthday, APS continues to serve the discipline and the needs of its membership.
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