Currently, scientists need to pay to publish research and readers need to pay to access most research articles. This outdated approach to sharing science slows advancement by locking research behind paywalls, and prevents the public from being able to read the research that their tax dollars funded.  In this round table, Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan, eLife Editor-in-Chief Michael Eisen, and WashU neuroscientist Bryan Copits discuss the current state of open access science, efforts to make science more accessible, and what the future of scientific publishing could look like.

This conversation is an abridged version of the YouTube live stream that took place on Monday, February 27th. You can find the full live stream here. Additionally, I recorded a one-on-one follow-up conversation on this subject with Bryan Copits; I will upload that conversation next week.

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Image credit: NASA