1 Percent versus the 99 Percent–A Case for Open Access | Guest Blog, Scientific American Blog Network

"The Capitol is four blocks away from my room in Hotel George while I continue to write my Masters’ thesis on different cell types within the visual thalamus. Unfortunately, I hit a roadblock. I need to write about specific connections between the two different types of light sensing cells, rods and cones, in the retina. I vaguely remember reading an article that dealt with the very topic about a year back. But not its title, authors or even the journal it was published in. After searching PubMed, the online database for medicine and life sciences, for 15 minutes or so, the right article is in front of me. The abstract is perfect. It talks about the electrical connections between rods and cones. I need to download the entire text of the article before actually citing it as a source. However, once again my writing comes to a screeching halt. As I try to download the article, the journal website asks me for subscription information. I don’t have any. It is the first time I have been asked for one. Usually, I work at my University where scientific articles are freely available...."