‘Omg, did PubMed go dark?’ Blackout stokes fears about database’s future

"The NIH told Nature in an e-mail that, on 1 March “some of NIH public-web services experienced service disruptions” but all services were restored on 2 March. “NIH is committed to resilient and open access to PubMed and other NIH web services,” the team wrote.

But Kuppalli says any disruption — even if temporary — raises concerns about how researchers access essential scientific information. “It also serves as a reminder of the need for contingency plans, such as alternative repositories or offline access to critical research, to ensure that health-care providers and researchers are not left without crucial information when they need it most,” she says."