HealthContentAdvisors

NextBio Launches Free Search Engine

• Posted May 19th 2008
• by Marji

NextBio last month announced that is has launched a free version of its life science search engine to the general public. Now researchers and clinicians can search more than 10,000 experiments, 16 million articles and billions of data points. In addition, users can add their own experimental data into the search engine to share it with other researchers, creating a collaborative environment.

Among the specific functions users will be able to conduct include finding topics of interest quickly by using a semantic auto-complete search feature and making correlations across six species, which will enable the exploration of animal models relative to human studies. Users can also search NextBio to validate or generate novel hypotheses before investing in new experiments and they can also gain a better understanding of their own study results by correlating them with existing experimental data. User profiles can also be created to promote easier collaboration among scientists.

This launch should serve a couple of purposes for NextBio. The free version will provide researchers with easy access to valuable content, and encourage a collaborative platform in the process. It will also likely draw more attention to NextBio overall and generate interest in NextBio’s paid subscription offering, which is a more robust product that combines content with functionality.

While it can sometimes be difficult for search engines, especially for niche ones like NextBio, to offer free access to their valuable content, they understand how such a model is really beneficial for a healthy dissemination of information. The sharing of such information needs to be encouraged so scientists will be inspired to conduct more valuable research.

In addition, such search engines recognize that most Web users seek free resources when conducting online research. If you don’t give them a free pass, they will look elsewhere. For NextBio and others, this “free” strategy ensures that their valuable content will get the exposure and support it deserves. And it can certainly serve as a valuable marketing tool to lead users to paid offerings that provide additional value, this is a benefit that NextBio will most likely receive.