Science News Groups and List Servers

Standard 'science' news groups tend to be full of spam, and unintelligable arguments and are best avoided for most research questions. I have found a few groups/list servers who do have discussions relavent to my research and have provided some valuable information. Besides the direct topics which the disscusion groups provide are the spontaneous ideas which a person can take from the questions and answers. This is one of the most valuable assets of the groups.

Subscription to the services usually requires only a mailing to 'majordomo' or 'listserver' @foo.bar with the words subscribe in the subject line or body of the message. Similarily, unsubscribing to the groups/lists requires a second mailing with the words unsubscribe in the subject line or body of the depending upon the system used. Information will be provided once your subscription information has been received.

Physics News is my favorite list server. It provides a brief summary of the latest physics news from around the world, usually on a weekly basis.

SNEAP is an organization of people who are involved in accelerator physics or maintenence.

SPM is a discussion group specializing in Scanning Probe Microscopy issues. The service is provided by Digital Instruments, but there is no company involvement as to the content of the discussions.

Surface Science is a list server whose readership's main focus is XPS and AEGER spectroscopy. The knowlege of the group greatly exceeds these topics and has provided some valuable information.