Apparently, there are still some Twitter holdouts in the science world. Ben Paylor writes on the Signals Blog:
A recent piece in Regenerative Medicine by Lee Buckler argues that social media is still generally perceived as a tool of frivolity within the scientific community. The stance that Twitter is a time-consuming distraction, best suited for personal engagements rather than professional use is a position that is both dated and uncompetitive. Buckler goes on to build a persuasive case for the importance of increased use of social media within the stem cell sector, and he joins the ranks of several others calling for increased social media use from professors and trainees.
He makes a smart case for getting an account and using the social media site as a news source:
Following general stem cell news aggregators or prestigious journals allows one the ability to customize news streams from expert sources which possess unparalleled speed and scope. Thus, at this very basic level Twitter can reduce the time it takes to keep tabs on numerous different outlets.
Paylor created these three lists of general news sources and individuals tweeting about stem cells.
General news aggregators
@StemCellWatch
@MyStemCellNews
@StemCellTracker
Regional stem cell agencies
@StemCellNetwork
@CCRM_ca
@EuroStemCell
@CIRMnews
@NYSCF
@CellStemCell
@NatureMedicine
Individuals
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Paul Knoepfler (@pknoepfler)
Christopher Scott (@TheStemCell)
Alexey Bersenev (@celltherapyblog)
Jim Till (@jimtill)
Robert Lanza (@robertlanza)
Tim Caulfield (@CaulfieldTim)
Chris Mason (@Prof_ChrisMason)
Leigh Turner (@leighgturner)
Jon Rowley (@JonRowley)
Lee Buckler (@celltherapy)
Doug Sipp (@dougsipp)
Ubaka Ogbogu (@ubakaogbogu)
Benoit Bruneau (@benoitbruneau)
Michael Kallos (@kallosm)
Francis Lynn (@nictitate)
Paylor is a PhD candidate in the Experimental Medicine program at the University of British Columbia. He has a bachelor’s of Medical Science and Masters of Philosophy in Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine. You should follow him too.
