Open access could cut cost of publishing by 30%.(Scientific publishing)

Open access (OA) could drastically reduce the cost of publishing, according to a recent report. But many scientists in the mainstream said that this would come at a cost of reduced quality and could see many of the smaller, less sexier journals and some learned societies perish.

As the UK House of Commons Select Committee prepares to publish its deliberations on scientific publishing, the Wellcome Trust, London, has published a report showing that the OA model could wipe as much as 30% off publishing costs. 'Our report shows this [open access] is a win-win situation: high quality peer-reviewed research available to everyone free of charge within a sustainable on-line …