The transition to “open science” is part of a worldwide trend to make scientific research accessible to all: from academics for whom basic research, guided by curiosity, is the main focus of their work, to applied researchers in the industry and in nonacademic organizations, as well as the public at large. “Open science” encompasses all stages of scientific research, including the gathering, processing and analyzing of data all the way through publication. At the data gathering stage, there has been a transition to a methodology of data sharing enabled by the rapidly developing cloud technologies that permit researchers to share observations, measurements and findings.

This stems from an understanding that results that may have little or no use to one researcher can be priceless to another. At the data processing and analysis stage, access is made available to innovative research methods and tools to be shared across disciplines. At the publication stage, there is a transition to an open access approach that permits the distribution of research findings in a quick and equitable manner: the peer review process is done transparently, at times after publication, and the ability to access scientific publications is not blocked by expensive subscription fees. Expanding scientific collaboration in the above mentioned ways will no doubt greatly advance research and increase its overall achievements.