How to surf today's information tsunami: on the craft of effective reading.

Abstract:

:In this editorial, we provide concise suggestions to help individuals decide what scientific papers to read and how to read them. We do so because--like others--we are frequently asked by people with interest in science as to how to effectively surf today's information tsunami. This is particularly important in, but not confined to, universities and other research institutions where reading scientific papers is a fundamental task that forms the basis for all other academic activities such as writing papers or grant applications, providing reviews for a journal, preparing for postdoctoral positions, qualifying for collaborations or making oral or poster presentations. Included in our Advices 1-8 are concise suggestions which range from the appropriate motivation for reading articles in books, journals or on the internet to the very craft of systematically reviewing and, indeed, constantly challenging what one reads. We close this editorial with reading Advice 9 "You should always identify the roots of thinking and research" and 10 "The Golden Rule: set aside reading time" which should be necessary conditions for everyone who works in science. Importantly, while maintaining focus on material immediately pertinent to one's primary research area, one should read about developments in other fields as well because this may be the key to original, and sometimes revolutionary, research.

journal_name

Med Hypotheses

journal_title

Medical hypotheses

authors

Erren TC,Cullen P,Erren M

doi

10.1016/j.mehy.2009.05.002

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2009-09-01 00:00:00

pages

278-9

issue

3

eissn

0306-9877

issn

1532-2777

pii

S0306-9877(09)00311-9

journal_volume

73

pub_type

社论
  • Shellfish consumption: a major risk factor for colorectal cancer.

    abstract::In the last decades, relevant efforts have been made to reduce the cancer incidence in the European Union. The prevention programmes against cancer have obtained satisfactory results except for colorectal cancer (CRC). Identification of risk factors is primordial to plan preventive strategies for CRC. We hypothesize t...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2007.03.041

    authors: Manerio E,Rodas VL,Costas E,Hernandez JM

    更新日期:2008-01-01 00:00:00

  • Cryptochrome1 maybe a candidate gene of schizophrenia.

    abstract::During the last 10 years, we have witnessed major progress in the genetic study of schizophrenia, but gene-mapping efforts have been hampered by the complex mode of inheritance and the likelihood of multiple genes of small effect. In view of the complexity, it may be instructive to understand the biological bases for ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2007.02.003

    authors: Peng ZW,Chen XG,Wei Z

    更新日期:2007-01-01 00:00:00

  • Suppressor adherent phagocytic cells in solid tumors: a postulated escape mechanism.

    abstract::A localized graft-versus-host reaction was used to assess the cellular immunity of mice supporting progressive growth of an allogeneic tumor. It was found that early in tumor development anti-tumor-cellular-mediated immunity was hyper-responsive, and that adherent phagocytic cells isolated from the neoplasm would inhi...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/0306-9877(79)90050-1

    authors: Parks RC

    更新日期:1979-09-01 00:00:00

  • The placebo effect on mood and behavior: the role of the endogenous opioid system.

    abstract::Evidence from clinical and experimental studies has shown that placebos influence mood and behavior, that endogenous opioids are involved in the placebo effect, and that the endogenous opioid system is related to psychological events. Recent studies have also demonstrated that the endogenous opioid system is closely c...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/s0306-9877(97)90105-5

    authors: Sher L

    更新日期:1997-04-01 00:00:00

  • Self-injury in autism as an alternate sign of catatonia: implications for electroconvulsive therapy.

    abstract::Multiple reports show the efficacious usage of ECT for catatonia in individuals with autism. There are also a few reports showing that ECT improves self-injury in people with and without autism. In this hypothesis, self-injury in autism and other developmental disorders may be an alternate sign of catatonia, and as su...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2010.02.001

    authors: Wachtel LE,Dhossche DM

    更新日期:2010-07-01 00:00:00

  • Electroacupuncture at acupoints could predict the outcome of anterior nucleus thalamus high-frequency electrical stimulation in medically refractory epilepsy.

    abstract::Preliminary reports have demonstrated that anterior nucleus thalamus high-frequency electrical stimulation (ANT-HFS) is an effective treatment for patients who suffer from medically refractory epilepsy. However, its extensive application has been hampered by the high cost and the unpredictable outcome before the opera...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2013.06.001

    authors: Yan N,Chen N,Lu J,Wang Y,Wang W

    更新日期:2013-09-01 00:00:00

  • Combination drug therapy for multimodal treatment of cancer by targeting mitochondrial transcriptional pathway: An in-silico approach.

    abstract::Cancer pathologies are deeply associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. TFAM, transcription factor A of mitochondria plays eminent role in transcription and replication of mtDNA to synthesize different mitochondrial proteins, has been reported to have elevated levels during malignancy and can be a compelling target o...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110075

    authors: Pandey AK,Verma S

    更新日期:2020-10-01 00:00:00

  • Detection and molecular analysis of circulating tumor cells for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

    abstract::Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have the potential to provide a surrogate for "real-time biopsy" of tumor biological activity. Enumeration and molecular characterization of CTCs in pancreatic cancer could play an important role in diagnosis, predicting the risk for tumor recurrence, and providing novel target therapy b...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2013.03.027

    authors: Ren C,Chen H,Han C,Jin G,Wang D,Wang D,Tang D

    更新日期:2013-06-01 00:00:00

  • Does the bronchial circulation contribute to congestion in heart failure?

    abstract::Pulmonary congestion is a hallmark feature of heart failure and is a major reason for hospital admissions in this patient population. Heart failure patients often demonstrate restrictive and obstructive pulmonary function abnormalities; however, the mechanisms of these changes remain controversial. It has been suggest...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2009.03.033

    authors: Ceridon M,Wanner A,Johnson BD

    更新日期:2009-09-01 00:00:00

  • Deleterious network hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease.

    abstract::Numerous studies indicate that aberrant amyloid precursor protein metabolism, elevated peroxidative damage, depressed energy metabolism and altered calcium homeostasis are four pivotal deleterious factors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Cumulative evidence further suggests that these four factors are intim...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/s0306-9877(96)90021-3

    authors: Ying W

    更新日期:1996-05-01 00:00:00

  • Are xenogeneic anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies the holy grail for celiac patients?

    abstract::Celiac disease is an immune mediated disorder, the only one with a well-established origin, resulting from a permanent gluten intolerance. Although a gluten-free diet is currently the "safe" and appropriate therapy for celiac disease, this is not always an easy and simple option as "harmful" gluten may contaminate foo...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2007.04.003

    authors: Ivanovski PI,Ivanovski IP,Sedlarevic R

    更新日期:2007-01-01 00:00:00

  • Can chronic increased intracranial pressure or exposure to repetitive intermittent intracranial pressure elevations raise your risk for Alzheimer's disease?

    abstract::Over a decade ago, I formulated the hypothesis that cumulative effects of exposure to high intracranial pressure (ICP) may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), though not necessarily in an exclusive way. In addition to individual ICP characteristics (high 'physiological' ICP) and diseases causing...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2004.01.013

    authors: Wostyn P

    更新日期:2004-01-01 00:00:00

  • Urinary tract anomalies and dysfunctional voiding: a spectrum dictated by the influence of amniotic pressure upon fetal urodynamics.

    abstract::The etiologic basis of urinary tract anomalies and dysfunctional voiding largely remain unknown. However, the travel of urine from renal pelvis into the amniotic cavity under the pressures exerted by amniotic fluid satisfactorily explains the etiologic basis. Amniotic pressure is affected by the changes in maternal in...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1054/mehy.1998.0819

    authors: Tanyel FC

    更新日期:2000-01-01 00:00:00

  • Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio: Can a non-specific marker of inflammation helps to confirm the inflammatory hypothesis of the serious mental diseases? A case-control study.

    abstract:BACKGROUND:The hypotheses of autoimmune, allergic or infectious etiology of severe mental illness have been reported in the scientific literature repeatedly. The main objective of this work is to study the relationship of inflammatory, autoimmunity or recent infection markers with the fact of suffering Severe Mental Di...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2019.109279

    authors: Olcina Rodríguez JF,Díaz Fernández J,Orta Mira N,López-Briz E,Gómez-Pajares F

    更新日期:2019-09-01 00:00:00

  • The tumoricidal effect of Trypanosoma cruzi: its intracellular cycle and the immune response of the host.

    abstract::Many experimental evidences indicate that infection with Trypanosoma cruzi delays or inhibits the growth of malignant tumors in different strains of mice and in rats. These facts were verified by different workers. Although earlier workers proposed that this effect would be due to a toxin of T. cruzi, most of the accu...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1054/mehy.1998.0808

    authors: Cabral HR

    更新日期:2000-01-01 00:00:00

  • Astrocytes and their potential role in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

    abstract::The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is the most common form of autoimmune encephalitis. Antibodies against the GluN1 subunit of the NMDAR showed in primary cultures of rat hippocampal neurons and in a mouse model pathogenic effects including cross-linking and internalization of the target receptors ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109612

    authors: Ismail FS,Faustmann PM

    更新日期:2020-06-01 00:00:00

  • Canal of Hering loss is an initiating step for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC): A hypothesis.

    abstract::The origin and initiating features of PBC remain obscure despite decades of study. However, recent papers have demonstrated loss of canals of Hering (CoH) to be the earliest histologic change in liver biopsy specimens from patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). We posit that CoH loss prior to significant inf...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109680

    authors: Theise ND,Crawford JM,Nakanuma Y,Quaglia A

    更新日期:2020-03-16 00:00:00

  • A new suggestion of the design of rational anticancer therapy: experimental studies in mice.

    abstract::In attempts to develop a rational anticancer strategy the same homologous tissue in 3 conditions were used side by side as targets: normal epidermis of the mouse back. Tween 60R-provoked benign epidermal hyperplasia, and carcinogen-provoked malignant condition. In contrast to the highest tolerated doses of the cytosta...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/0306-9877(82)90116-5

    authors: Setälä K

    更新日期:1982-03-01 00:00:00

  • Immunity to tetanus is protective against the development of multiple sclerosis.

    abstract::Following allegations that Hepatitis B vaccination causes or triggers multiple sclerosis (MS), several epidemiological studies have been conducted to evaluate the association between MS and vaccination. In one study conducted in the US, a significant protective effect on the development of MS was observed for tetanus ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2005.05.009

    authors: Verstraeten T,Davis R,DeStefano F

    更新日期:2005-01-01 00:00:00

  • A physical approach to coeliac disease.

    abstract::The morphological changes used to confirm a diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD) are precisely those predicted if the surface energy of the interface between duodenal epithelium and the luminal contents were raised to levels comparable to those demonstrated by the hydrophobic nature of the stomach wall. This hypothesis p...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/0306-9877(90)90126-y

    authors: Hills BA,Godwin IR

    更新日期:1990-07-01 00:00:00

  • L-arginine: a therapeutic option for AIDS/HIV infection?

    abstract::Numerous studies implicate cellular immunological effector systems in the partial containment of virus replication during the early stages of HIV infection. Immunostimulatory therapeutic regimes designed to enhance virus clearance are therefore theoretically attractive, but are accompanied by the risk of concomitant a...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/0306-9877(92)90101-h

    authors: Wrightham MN,Cann AJ,Sewell HF

    更新日期:1992-07-01 00:00:00

  • Host melatonin secretion is a timing signal for the release of W. bancrofti microfilaria into the circulation.

    abstract::Infection of the lymphatic system by Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaria is the most common cause of elephantiasis, a disease that affects over 100 million people. The nightly release of microfilaria into the circulation coincides with the feeding activity of its mosquito vector, a synchronization that is presumably an ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2009.02.034

    authors: Sack RL

    更新日期:2009-08-01 00:00:00

  • Correlation between spin lattice relaxation time and radiation sensitivity in human tissues.

    abstract::The water proton spin lattice relaxation time of normal and tumorous tissues of human and radiosensitivity yield a linear relationship. ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/0306-9877(95)90507-3

    authors: Akber SF

    更新日期:1995-06-01 00:00:00

  • Computer simulation of factors involved in the down-regulation of hormonal effects.

    abstract::Down-regulation of hormonal effects is in the presented simulation related to the number of functional receptors and quantity of available hormonal stimulation. The former is in the model substituted with the quantity of stimulation able to produce a full down-regulation (Hs100) of target cells. The halftime (t1/2) of...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/s0306-9877(96)90239-x

    authors: Kurbel S,Kurbel B,Dicić M,Ugraji V

    更新日期:1996-03-01 00:00:00

  • Facilitation of horizontal transfer of antimicrobial resistance by transformation of antibiotic-induced cell-wall-deficient bacteria.

    abstract::It is universally accepted that the use of antibiotics will lead to antimicrobial resistance. Traditionally, the explanation to this phenomenon was random mutation and horizontal gene transfer and amplification by selective pressure. Subsequently, a second mechanism of antibiotic-induced antimicrobial resistance acqui...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/s0306-9877(03)00205-6

    authors: Woo PC,To AP,Lau SK,Yuen KY

    更新日期:2003-10-01 00:00:00

  • A synthetic mitochondrial-based vector for therapeutic purposes.

    abstract::Delivery of large DNA constructs is necessary for combinatorial, anti-aging gene therapy. However, this is hindered by the lack of a non-inflammatory vector with sufficient packaging space and the ability to effectively spread through tissue. It is possible that a mitochondrion, altered to be able to secrete therapeut...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2018.05.014

    authors: Renteln M

    更新日期:2018-08-01 00:00:00

  • The inevitable rise of mediocrity in academic medicine.

    abstract::The present analysis addresses the question of how it has been possible for academic medicine to grow and lose its creative productivity at the same time. A mathematical model is developed to simulate the mechanisms that govern growth of medical systems over time. Time-dependent growth of system size increases the occ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2005.02.028

    authors: Sonnenberg A

    更新日期:2005-01-01 00:00:00

  • Treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head: combination of operation and multiple cellular mediators.

    abstract::The goal in the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head is to preserve, not replace, the femoral head. Although many methods have been proposed, none has proved completely satisfactory. Cellular mediators as a supplement to bone grafting and decompression is an attractive approach to this problem because it com...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.08.024

    authors: Yuan B,Liu Z

    更新日期:2007-01-01 00:00:00

  • Hypothesis of optineurin as a new common risk factor in normal-tension glaucoma and Alzheimer's disease.

    abstract::Growing evidences suggest a link between normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Both of them are progressive neurodegenerative disorders. Recently researches provide a clue that optineurin may be a new common underlying risk factor involved in NTG and AD. OPTINEURIN (OPTN) gene coding for "optineu...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2011.06.040

    authors: Liu YH,Tian T

    更新日期:2011-10-01 00:00:00

  • Does latitude as a zeitgeber affect the course of bipolar affective disorder?

    abstract:BACKGROUND:Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by recurrent episodes of mood dysregulations and depression is considered as the most frequent form of relapse. However, there is some evidence that in tropical countries, the course might be different with fewer depressive episodes. This study aims to examine the frequ...

    journal_title:Medical hypotheses

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2014.06.017

    authors: Narayanaswamy JC,Moily N,Kubendran S,Reddy YC,Jain S

    更新日期:2014-09-01 00:00:00