BenchSci empowers scientists to accelerate their life-saving research with the world’s most comprehensive dataset of experiments, reagents, and model systems. Our machine learning models have extracted text and visual data from more than 12 million open- and closed-access publications, and that number is constantly growing. 

Now, we’re excited to announce that we’re expanding our platform’s capability to deliver unique, game-changing insights even further by incorporating a new data source: preprints.

To bring this new data to our platform, we’ve partnered with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which runs bioRxiv, the world’s largest preprint server for biomedical research. Preprints add data from more than 460,000 experiments and 100,000 figures, which we surface alongside data from other sources as scientists filter for their experimental context on BenchSci’s platform.

Access the most cutting-edge biomedical research

Disease moves faster than ever in today’s hyperconnected world of readily accessible international travel, and science needs to find new ways to keep up.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a perfect case study. The rapid global spread and continuing mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 has required science to adopt a more agile approach in order to minimize impact on the health and wellbeing of billions of people worldwide. One of the ways this was accomplished was by scientists actively sharing more preprints. In fact, more than 25% of peer reviewed COVID literature was shared first as a preprint during the first 10 months of the pandemic.

Peer review, while integral to ensuring that science is an accurate reflection of the truth, is a lengthy process. Preprints can be released much faster than peer-reviewed publications, connecting scientists with the most cutting-edge research and closing the gap between novel discoveries and formal publication.

“Preprints have facilitated a positive feedback loop—with a preprint, scientists can discover data sooner and recommend novel experiments or collaborators to support and elevate a research study.” -Pratiek Matkar, Data Partnership Manager at BenchSci

Gain unique insights into the latest trends and discoveries

Preprint data can help scientists stay up to date with the latest discoveries being made surrounding a target of interest, as well as which products have been used most recently in research related to their own. These insights could reveal appropriate reagents or model systems for their experimental context that may have otherwise remained hidden. Even undesired results can be valuable for informing other scientists which materials or methods have been tried unsuccessfully.

“Preprints can provide access to null or negative results that often remain unpublished, allowing other scientists to benefit from these data when designing their own experiments.” -Pratiek Matkar, Data Partnership Manager at BenchSci

Easily identify the source of any data

Because preprint articles have not gone through the rigorous peer-review process involved for publication, we’ve ensured that sources for all data discoverable via the BenchSci platform are clearly indicated. This way, scientists can choose to focus their investigation on peer-reviewed data, preprint data, or both.

“BenchSci makes it easy to access data from a variety of sources in one place while ensuring that all sources can be clearly delineated. Scientists also have the option to read the full text of a preprint article on bioRxiv’s website with just a click.” -Pratiek Matkar, Data Partnership Manager at BenchSci

We’re very proud of this data source addition to empower scientists with unique insights from research that otherwise might not be available for months or years, assuming it’s eventually published at all. We’d love to hear how you’re leveraging preprint data in your research. Let us know in the comments below, and subscribe to our blog for all the latest BenchSci news and updates.