Randy Schekman: first, a breakthrough in cell research. Now for one in publishing | Science | The Guardian

" ... Schekman shared the 2013 prize with James Rothman of Yale University and Thomas Südhof of Stanford University for his role in working out how cells, the smallest units of life, transport and secrete proteins. Those proteins are much-needed molecules such as hormones, digestive enzymes and neurotransmitters. Schekman’s share of the prize was for discovering a set of genes required for transporting the proteins through and out of the cell in the small packages – called vesicles – in which they hitch a ride. Schekman didn’t bask in the glory. Instead, he decided to speak out about what he sees as the distorting effect elite journals have on the scientific enterprise. To coincide with the acceptance of his prize in Sweden he used Facebook and Twitter to start discussions about how the traditional publishing process needed to change. He wrote an opinion piece in the Guardian, declaring his lab would no longer send papers to the 'luxury' journals Nature, Cell and Science, and urging others to do the same. Pressure to publish in elite journals was encouraging researchers to cut corners and pursue trendy scientific fields over more important work, he said ..."