A laboratory pocket book with built-in digital capabilities gives researchers a seamless mix of conventional record-keeping with digital benefits. Think about a researcher utilizing a wise pen to jot down observations in a bodily pocket book. Concurrently, these handwritten notes are digitized and saved electronically, searchable and simply shared. This exemplifies the core idea: bridging the hole between bodily and digital documentation in scientific work.
Such built-in methods improve analysis reproducibility, facilitate collaboration, and supply safe knowledge backup. The historic reliance on solely paper-based notebooks offered challenges in knowledge retrieval, sharing, and preservation. Digitizing handwritten notes ensures their longevity and accessibility, defending helpful mental property. This evolution in laboratory practices displays the broader development of digital transformation throughout scientific disciplines, enhancing effectivity and fostering collaboration on a world scale.
This dialogue will additional look at particular options, numerous functions throughout scientific fields, and potential future developments of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks.
1. Digital Information Seize
Digital knowledge seize varieties the core performance of a digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book. This course of transforms handwritten notes, sketches, and diagrams right into a digital format. Specialised pens outfitted with sensors file the strokes on specifically designed paper. The pen’s place and strain sensitivity are tracked, making a digital reproduction of the written content material. This instant digitization eliminates guide knowledge entry, lowering transcription errors and saving helpful analysis time. Take into account a chemist recording a fancy response mechanism; the digital seize system preserves the nuances of handwritten structural formulation, guaranteeing correct illustration and eliminating ambiguity. This exact seize is important for reproducing experiments and deciphering outcomes.
Actual-time digitization facilitates instant knowledge sharing and evaluation. Researchers can immediately entry their notes from any location, fostering collaboration and accelerating mission timelines. Moreover, digital knowledge is searchable, enabling environment friendly retrieval of particular info from intensive information. For instance, a biologist learning a particular protein might rapidly find all associated experiments and observations by looking for the protein’s identify. This environment friendly knowledge administration streamlines analysis workflows and helps data-driven decision-making. Integrating digital seize with analytical software program permits direct knowledge import, eliminating guide switch and lowering the danger of errors.
The advantages of digital knowledge seize prolong past instant analysis actions. Digital information are simply backed up, guaranteeing knowledge preservation and minimizing the danger of knowledge loss on account of bodily injury or misplacement of notebooks. This safe archiving facilitates long-term knowledge administration and contributes to institutional data preservation. Moreover, digital knowledge seize performs an important position in sustaining analysis integrity. Immutable digital information present a transparent audit path, documenting each entry and modification. This complete record-keeping helps regulatory compliance and ensures transparency in scientific publications.
2. Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition constitutes a pivotal part of the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book. This expertise transforms handwritten notes into machine-readable textual content, enabling searchability and integration with different digital instruments. The efficacy of handwriting recognition straight impacts the usability and worth of the digital laboratory pocket book. Take into account a researcher jotting down observations on a newly synthesized compound. Correct handwriting recognition ensures that these notes are readily searchable, permitting for environment friendly retrieval throughout later evaluation. With out dependable transcription, helpful insights would possibly stay buried throughout the pocket book, hindering scientific progress.
Sensible functions of handwriting recognition throughout the digital laboratory pocket book prolong past easy textual content conversion. Superior algorithms can interpret chemical formulation and scientific notations, additional enhancing the searchability and analytical capabilities of the system. Think about a situation the place a researcher sketches a fancy molecular construction. Handwriting recognition, mixed with structural evaluation software program, can convert this sketch right into a digital illustration amenable to computational modeling and property prediction. This integration streamlines the analysis workflow, facilitating a seamless transition from preliminary statement to in-depth evaluation. Moreover, correct handwriting recognition contributes to the general integrity of the digital file, guaranteeing that transcribed knowledge precisely displays the researcher’s authentic intentions.
A number of components affect the effectiveness of handwriting recognition inside a digital laboratory pocket book atmosphere. Variability in handwriting types, the usage of specialised scientific symbols, and the standard of the digital pen’s enter all contribute to the complexity of the popularity course of. Ongoing developments in machine studying algorithms tackle these challenges, repeatedly bettering the accuracy and robustness of handwriting recognition. Profitable implementation of this expertise unlocks the complete potential of the digital laboratory pocket book, reworking it from a easy digital repository right into a dynamic analysis software that enhances scientific productiveness and accelerates discovery.
3. Searchable Information
Searchable information signify a elementary benefit of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks. The flexibility to quickly find particular info inside intensive analysis knowledge considerably impacts scientific productiveness. Conventional paper notebooks require guide page-turning and visible scanning, a time-consuming course of susceptible to oversight. Digital notebooks, nonetheless, leverage the ability of search algorithms to immediately retrieve particular knowledge factors, experimental parameters, or observations based mostly on key phrases or dates. Take into account a analysis crew investigating the efficacy of a brand new drug candidate. Utilizing a searchable digital pocket book, they’ll rapidly determine all experiments carried out with a particular dosage, facilitating evaluation and comparability of outcomes throughout completely different trials. This environment friendly knowledge retrieval accelerates the tempo of analysis and allows data-driven decision-making.
The searchability of digital information extends past easy key phrase matching. Superior search functionalities enable researchers to filter knowledge based mostly on numerous standards, corresponding to experimental circumstances, dates, or particular knowledge varieties. This granular management over knowledge retrieval allows advanced analyses and facilitates the identification of traits or patterns that may in any other case stay obscured inside a mass of knowledge. As an example, a supplies scientist investigating the properties of a novel alloy can make the most of superior search filters to isolate experiments carried out at particular temperatures and pressures, permitting for an in depth evaluation of the fabric’s conduct underneath completely different circumstances. This exact knowledge retrieval empowers researchers to achieve deeper insights and accelerates the invention course of.
The sensible significance of searchable information turns into notably evident in collaborative analysis environments. A number of researchers can concurrently entry and search shared knowledge, fostering seamless communication and accelerating mission timelines. Moreover, searchable information contribute to knowledge integrity and reproducibility. The flexibility to rapidly find and confirm particular knowledge factors ensures accuracy and facilitates the validation of experimental outcomes. This enhanced knowledge administration fosters belief in scientific findings and promotes rigorous analysis practices. The transition to digitally searchable information represents a major development in scientific record-keeping, empowering researchers with environment friendly entry to info and accelerating the tempo of discovery.
4. Cloud Storage/Backup
Cloud storage and backup are integral parts of the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book, providing important benefits over conventional paper-based methods. Safe and dependable knowledge storage is paramount in analysis, safeguarding helpful mental property and guaranteeing knowledge persistence. Cloud integration supplies a sturdy resolution, defending towards knowledge loss on account of bodily injury, theft, or {hardware} failure. This performance shifts the accountability of knowledge administration to specialised suppliers, releasing researchers to deal with scientific endeavors.
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Information Safety and Accessibility
Cloud platforms make use of strong safety measures, together with encryption and entry management, to guard delicate analysis knowledge. Approved personnel can entry knowledge remotely from any location with an web connection, fostering collaboration and facilitating knowledge sharing amongst geographically dispersed groups. This safe accessibility eliminates the constraints of bodily proximity and promotes environment friendly analysis practices.
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Model Management and Audit Trails
Cloud storage facilitates model management, permitting researchers to trace adjustments to experimental knowledge over time. Every modification is documented, making a complete audit path that enhances knowledge integrity and helps regulatory compliance. This meticulous record-keeping facilitates retracing experimental steps and ensures transparency in scientific reporting. Think about a situation the place a researcher revisits an experiment carried out months prior. Model management permits them to entry earlier iterations of the info, offering helpful context and facilitating a deeper understanding of the analysis course of.
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Catastrophe Restoration and Enterprise Continuity
Cloud backups present an important security web in case of unexpected occasions. Pure disasters, tools malfunctions, or cyberattacks can result in important knowledge loss, probably jeopardizing years of analysis. Cloud storage mitigates this threat by sustaining redundant copies of knowledge in geographically separate places. This redundancy ensures enterprise continuity and permits researchers to rapidly restore knowledge within the occasion of a disruption.
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Scalability and Value-Effectiveness
Cloud storage gives versatile scalability, adapting to the evolving knowledge storage wants of analysis initiatives. Researchers can simply improve or lower storage capability as required, avoiding the constraints of bodily storage options. This scalability, mixed with the elimination of on-site server upkeep prices, typically makes cloud storage an economical resolution for managing giant analysis datasets.
The combination of cloud storage and backup functionalities throughout the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book transforms knowledge administration in scientific analysis. By leveraging the safety, accessibility, and scalability of cloud platforms, researchers can deal with their core scientific pursuits, assured within the data that their helpful knowledge is protected and available. This shift in the direction of cloud-based knowledge administration represents a major development in scientific follow, enhancing analysis effectivity and selling collaboration on a world scale. Moreover, the great audit trails and model management mechanisms inherent in cloud storage contribute to the general integrity and reproducibility of scientific analysis, reinforcing belief in scientific findings and accelerating the tempo of discovery.
5. Collaboration Options
Collaboration options considerably improve the utility of the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book, reworking it from a person record-keeping software right into a dynamic platform for collaborative analysis. Shared entry to experimental knowledge, real-time co-annotation capabilities, and built-in communication instruments streamline workflows and speed up scientific progress. Take into account a multidisciplinary analysis crew investigating a fancy organic phenomenon. Collaboration options throughout the digital pocket book allow researchers from completely different departments, and even completely different establishments, to seamlessly share knowledge, annotations, and experimental protocols, fostering a synergistic analysis atmosphere. This facilitated communication reduces redundancy, accelerates knowledge evaluation, and promotes a extra holistic understanding of the analysis query.
Actual-time co-annotation capabilities allow a number of researchers to concurrently annotate and focus on experimental outcomes throughout the digital pocket book. This function fosters instant suggestions, promotes rigorous knowledge evaluation, and accelerates decision-making. Think about a situation the place a chemist synthesizes a novel compound, and a biologist concurrently evaluates its organic exercise. Co-annotation options allow them to share observations and interpretations in actual time, fostering instant cross-disciplinary insights and accelerating the drug discovery course of. Moreover, built-in communication instruments, corresponding to dialogue boards or direct messaging throughout the pocket book platform, improve communication and remove reliance on exterior electronic mail correspondence, streamlining communication and minimizing the danger of data silos.
The sensible significance of collaboration options extends past instant analysis actions. Shared digital notebooks facilitate knowledge transparency and contribute to the reproducibility of analysis findings. The flexibility to entry the whole experimental file, together with annotations and discussions, enhances the transparency of the analysis course of and facilitates unbiased validation of outcomes. This elevated transparency fosters belief in scientific findings and promotes rigorous analysis practices. The combination of strong collaboration options throughout the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book transforms scientific collaboration, accelerating discovery and selling a extra open and interconnected analysis panorama. Addressing potential challenges, corresponding to knowledge safety and entry management, is essential for maximizing the advantages of collaborative platforms whereas sustaining knowledge integrity and defending mental property.
6. Information Safety
Information safety is paramount within the context of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks. These notebooks include delicate mental property, experimental outcomes, and probably confidential info requiring strong safety. Compromised knowledge can result in important monetary losses, reputational injury, and delays in scientific progress. Implementing strong safety measures safeguards analysis integrity and maintains public belief in scientific findings. A pharmaceutical firm growing a brand new drug, for example, depends closely on the safety of its analysis knowledge to guard its funding and preserve a aggressive edge. Information breaches might expose proprietary info, jeopardizing years of analysis and growth efforts.
A number of key safety measures are important for safeguarding knowledge inside digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks. Entry management mechanisms, corresponding to person authentication and authorization, limit knowledge entry to approved personnel. Robust passwords, multi-factor authentication, and role-based entry controls restrict unauthorized entry and guarantee knowledge confidentiality. Encryption protocols shield knowledge each in transit and at relaxation, rendering it unintelligible to unauthorized people. Common safety audits and vulnerability assessments determine potential weaknesses and make sure the ongoing effectiveness of safety measures. Moreover, clear knowledge governance insurance policies set up procedures for knowledge dealing with, storage, and entry, selling accountable knowledge administration practices and minimizing the danger of unintended knowledge breaches. A analysis establishment, for instance, would possibly implement strict knowledge governance insurance policies requiring knowledge encryption, common password updates, and necessary safety consciousness coaching for all personnel.
Information safety in digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks should think about each inside and exterior threats. Inner threats might come up from unintended knowledge breaches, negligence, or malicious insiders. Exterior threats embody cyberattacks, malware, and phishing makes an attempt. A complete safety technique addresses each vectors, combining technical safeguards with strong insurance policies and procedures. Educating researchers about knowledge safety finest practices, corresponding to recognizing phishing emails and avoiding the usage of insecure networks, strengthens the human component of knowledge safety and reduces vulnerability to social engineering assaults. Sustaining up-to-date software program and safety patches mitigates vulnerabilities exploited by exterior threats. The sensible implementation of strong knowledge safety measures ensures the integrity and confidentiality of analysis knowledge, fostering belief in scientific findings and defending helpful mental property.
7. Audit Trails
Audit trails represent a essential part of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks, offering a chronological file of all knowledge entries, modifications, and entry occasions. This meticulous documentation enhances knowledge integrity, helps regulatory compliance, and fosters transparency in analysis practices. In contrast to conventional paper notebooks, which provide restricted traceability, digital audit trails seize detailed details about every motion carried out throughout the pocket book, together with the person, timestamp, and particular adjustments made. This granular degree of element permits researchers to reconstruct the whole historical past of an experiment, facilitating error detection, knowledge validation, and the identification of potential knowledge manipulation. For instance, in pharmaceutical analysis, audit trails are important for demonstrating compliance with regulatory necessities relating to knowledge integrity and traceability. The flexibility to reconstruct the whole experimental historical past ensures accountability and reinforces public belief in analysis findings.
The sensible implications of strong audit trails prolong past regulatory compliance. In collaborative analysis environments, audit trails facilitate clear knowledge administration and promote accountability amongst crew members. The flexibility to trace particular person contributions and modifications to shared knowledge enhances collaboration and minimizes the danger of unintentional errors or discrepancies. Moreover, audit trails play an important position in mental property safety. Detailed information of experimental procedures and knowledge modifications present proof of inventorship and contribute to a robust mental property place. This documentation could be invaluable in patent disputes or licensing negotiations, defending the industrial worth of analysis discoveries. Take into account a situation the place two analysis teams independently develop comparable applied sciences. Detailed audit trails can present essential proof of prior artwork and set up inventorship, resolving potential disputes and guaranteeing correct attribution of mental property rights.
Efficient implementation of audit trails requires cautious consideration of knowledge safety and entry management mechanisms. Entry to audit path knowledge needs to be restricted to approved personnel to take care of knowledge confidentiality and forestall unauthorized modifications. Encryption protocols shield audit path knowledge from unauthorized entry, guaranteeing the integrity and reliability of the file. Common evaluation and evaluation of audit trails by analysis supervisors or compliance officers can determine potential knowledge integrity points or deviations from established analysis protocols. This proactive strategy to knowledge monitoring enhances analysis high quality and minimizes the danger of scientific misconduct. The combination of complete and safe audit trails inside digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks represents a major development in analysis practices, selling transparency, accountability, and knowledge integrity within the pursuit of scientific data.
8. Integration with Different Instruments
Integration with different instruments elevates the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book from a standalone record-keeping system to a central hub inside a broader analysis ecosystem. Seamless knowledge switch between the pocket book and analytical software program, instrumentation, and knowledge visualization platforms streamlines workflows, reduces guide knowledge entry, and enhances knowledge evaluation capabilities. Take into account a chemist analyzing a fancy combination utilizing chromatography. Direct integration between the chromatography software program and the digital pocket book permits automated switch of analytical knowledge, eliminating guide transcription and minimizing the danger of errors. This streamlined knowledge movement accelerates evaluation and facilitates a extra complete understanding of experimental outcomes. Moreover, integration with statistical software program packages allows researchers to carry out advanced statistical analyses straight throughout the pocket book atmosphere, facilitating knowledge interpretation and speculation testing.
Sensible functions of software integration prolong past knowledge evaluation. Connecting the digital pocket book to laboratory instrumentation, corresponding to automated liquid dealing with methods or plate readers, allows direct knowledge seize and eliminates guide knowledge entry. This automated knowledge acquisition enhances experimental reproducibility and reduces the potential for human error. Integration with digital lab stock methods simplifies reagent monitoring and ensures correct documentation of experimental supplies. Linking the pocket book to mission administration instruments facilitates process project, progress monitoring, and communication amongst crew members, enhancing mission coordination and effectivity. Think about a analysis crew growing a brand new medical machine. Integration with computer-aided design (CAD) software program permits seamless switch of design specs and experimental knowledge, facilitating iterative design optimization and accelerating the event course of.
Profitable integration requires cautious consideration of knowledge codecs, compatibility points, and knowledge safety. Standardized knowledge codecs, corresponding to XML or JSON, facilitate interoperability between completely different instruments and platforms. Software programming interfaces (APIs) allow programmatic knowledge alternate and streamline the mixing course of. Sustaining strong knowledge safety protocols throughout all built-in platforms is important for safeguarding delicate analysis knowledge and guaranteeing compliance with regulatory necessities. The flexibility to combine the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book with a variety of analysis instruments transforms it into a robust platform for knowledge administration, evaluation, and collaboration. This interconnected ecosystem enhances analysis effectivity, accelerates discovery, and promotes a extra built-in and data-driven strategy to scientific inquiry. Addressing challenges associated to knowledge standardization and interoperability is essential for maximizing the advantages of software integration and realizing the complete potential of the digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book.
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
This part addresses frequent inquiries relating to digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks, offering concise and informative responses.
Query 1: What are the first benefits of utilizing a digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book over a conventional paper pocket book?
Digitally enhanced notebooks supply a number of key benefits, together with enhanced knowledge group, searchability, safety by means of backups, and facilitated collaboration amongst researchers. These options streamline workflows, enhance knowledge integrity, and contribute to extra strong analysis practices.
Query 2: How does handwriting recognition influence the usability of a digital pocket book?
Correct handwriting recognition is essential for changing handwritten notes into searchable textual content, enabling environment friendly knowledge retrieval and evaluation. The efficacy of this function straight impacts the general usability and worth of the digital pocket book.
Query 3: What safety measures are in place to guard delicate analysis knowledge saved inside digital notebooks?
Information safety is paramount. Digital notebooks make use of numerous safety measures, together with encryption, entry management mechanisms, and common safety audits to guard delicate analysis knowledge from unauthorized entry and preserve knowledge integrity. Particular safety protocols might differ relying on the platform and institutional necessities.
Query 4: How do digital notebooks tackle the necessity for regulatory compliance and knowledge integrity in regulated analysis environments?
Digital notebooks assist regulatory compliance by offering complete audit trails, model management, and safe knowledge storage. These options guarantee knowledge traceability, accountability, and adherence to regulatory pointers, essential for sustaining analysis integrity and public belief.
Query 5: What’s the position of cloud storage in digital pocket book platforms, and what are the related advantages and dangers?
Cloud storage supplies safe and accessible knowledge backup and facilitates collaboration amongst researchers. Whereas cloud storage gives quite a few advantages, together with scalability and catastrophe restoration, potential dangers associated to knowledge safety and vendor dependence needs to be rigorously thought-about and addressed.
Query 6: How does the mixing of digital notebooks with different analysis instruments and software program improve analysis workflows?
Integration with analytical software program, instrumentation, and knowledge visualization platforms streamlines knowledge switch and evaluation. This interconnectivity reduces guide knowledge entry, minimizes errors, and enhances the general effectivity and analytical capabilities of the analysis course of.
Understanding these key points facilitates knowledgeable decision-making relating to the adoption and implementation of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks in numerous analysis settings.
This concludes the continuously requested questions part. The following part will discover particular case research and sensible examples of digital pocket book implementation throughout numerous scientific disciplines.
Suggestions for Efficient Use of Digitally Enhanced Laboratory Notebooks
Maximizing the advantages of a digitally enhanced laboratory pocket book requires considerate implementation and adherence to finest practices. The next suggestions present sensible steerage for researchers looking for to optimize their use of those highly effective instruments.
Tip 1: Constant and Detailed Document-Retaining
Keep meticulous information of all experimental procedures, observations, and knowledge analyses. Detailed documentation enhances knowledge reproducibility and facilitates correct interpretation of outcomes. Documenting even seemingly minor particulars, corresponding to reagent batch numbers or environmental circumstances, could be essential for troubleshooting and validating experimental findings. Instance: Be aware the particular software program model used for knowledge evaluation.
Tip 2: Common Information Backup and Synchronization
Often again up knowledge to stop knowledge loss on account of {hardware} failure or unintended deletion. Cloud synchronization ensures knowledge accessibility throughout a number of units and facilitates seamless collaboration. Set up a constant backup schedule and confirm knowledge integrity frequently. Instance: Implement automated each day backups to a safe cloud storage service.
Tip 3: Standardized Information Entry and Formatting
Using standardized knowledge codecs and naming conventions enhances knowledge searchability and facilitates knowledge evaluation. Constant use of models, abbreviations, and knowledge constructions promotes readability and reduces ambiguity. Instance: Use a constant date format (YYYY-MM-DD) for all entries.
Tip 4: Leverage Tagging and Metadata for Enhanced Group
Make the most of tags and metadata to categorize and manage experimental knowledge. Tags facilitate environment friendly knowledge retrieval and allow researchers to rapidly find related info. Instance: Tag experiments with related key phrases, corresponding to “protein purification” or “drug efficacy”.
Tip 5: Safe Information Administration Practices
Implement robust password insurance policies, limit knowledge entry to approved personnel, and make use of encryption to guard delicate analysis knowledge. Adhering to institutional knowledge safety pointers and finest practices safeguards mental property and maintains knowledge confidentiality. Instance: Use multi-factor authentication for enhanced safety.
Tip 6: Common Software program Updates and Upkeep
Maintain software program up to date to make sure optimum efficiency and safety. Often test for software program updates and set up them promptly to profit from bug fixes and safety enhancements. Outdated software program could be susceptible to safety exploits and should not operate accurately with newer {hardware} or software program. Instance: Subscribe to software program replace notifications and schedule common upkeep checks.
Tip 7: Coaching and Ability Growth
Spend money on coaching to maximise the efficient use of digitally enhanced pocket book options. Coaching periods or on-line tutorials can present researchers with the data and expertise essential to leverage the complete potential of the platform. Competency in using superior options, corresponding to knowledge evaluation instruments or integration with different software program, enhances analysis productiveness and effectivity. Instance: Take part in workshops or on-line programs targeted on digital pocket book functionalities.
Adherence to those suggestions empowers researchers to completely make the most of the capabilities of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks, enhancing analysis productiveness, knowledge integrity, and collaboration. These practices promote rigorous and reproducible analysis, finally contributing to the development of scientific data.
The next conclusion synthesizes the important thing benefits and future implications of digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks.
Conclusion
Digitally enhanced laboratory notebooks supply a major development in scientific record-keeping. Transitioning from conventional paper notebooks to those built-in methods enhances knowledge administration, facilitates collaboration, and strengthens analysis integrity. Key advantages embody improved knowledge group and searchability, safe knowledge backup and accessibility, and streamlined integration with different analysis instruments. These functionalities optimize analysis workflows, speed up knowledge evaluation, and contribute to extra strong and reproducible scientific practices. Addressing potential challenges, corresponding to knowledge safety, standardization, and person coaching, is essential for maximizing the advantages of those highly effective instruments.
The continued evolution of digitally enhanced notebooks guarantees to additional revolutionize analysis methodologies. Continued growth of superior options, corresponding to enhanced knowledge analytics, synthetic intelligence integration, and improved interoperability with numerous analysis platforms, will additional empower researchers and speed up the tempo of scientific discovery. Embracing these developments requires a dedication to ongoing coaching, adaptation to evolving applied sciences, and a deal with maximizing the transformative potential of those instruments for the good thing about scientific progress.
