[nitzy]

I think the more ridiculous part is that the authors of the article give away the article to the medical journals while receiving no payment. Regardless if the research is funded by taxpayers or private industry, the authors make no money on the scientific literature describing the research. They do it for the professional recognition and the advancement of knowledge regarding the subject. The publishing journals then claim ownership and charge you $20 to read an article about research that you funded and the researcher who did the work has given away.

[PapaBear3625]

I think the more ridiculous part is that the authors of the article give away the article to the medical journals while receiving no payment.

In academia, research does not count towards professional reputation unless it is published in a "peer reviewed" journal. The Internet is undermining the business model of the "peer reviewed" journals. They can copyright their edited and formatted copy of the scientist's research report, but the original report is the property of the United States which financed the research.

[scrabblehack]

I’m not sure about the medical journals but some of the others actually have page charges (the author’s employer pays for the article to be published).

I’m not prepared to say the journals do nothing. They do coordinate the peer review, as is pointed out in the Aoki letter.