7 insanely useful academic apps you've not heard about!

In this video, the presenter introduces seven lesser-known academic applications that can greatly enhance the research process. Paper Digest uses AI to summarize lengthy papers, Rightful helps improve academic writing by learning from existing papers, and Penelope.ai assists with formatting manuscripts to meet journal requirements. Lit Maps offers a visual tool for keeping track of research literature, Biorender is a tool for creating professional images and figures for scientific papers, and Outlet.io facilitates the sharing of biological samples between researchers. Lastly, Grow Kudos is a platform for effectively communicating and sharing research with a wider audience. These tools are aimed at making research more efficient and accessible.

Takeaways

• 🔍 **Paper Digest**: A tool using AI to summarize academic articles quickly, useful for getting a snapshot of a paper's content based on its DOI or PDF.
• ✍️ **Rightful**: An application that assists academics in improving their writing by using machine learning algorithms trained on academic papers and journals.
• 📄 **Penelope.ai**: A service that checks articles for common mistakes and ensures they meet journal requirements, streamlining the submission process.
• 🌐 **Lit Maps**: A visual tool that uses interactive citation maps to help researchers keep track of the literature and understand connections between different works.
• 📈 **Biorender**: A platform for creating professional images and figures for scientific papers, particularly useful for those in the biology and natural sciences.
• 🧪 **Outlet.io**: A platform for sharing and requesting biological samples, facilitating collaboration and reducing the need for additional sampling from nature.
• 📢 **Grow Kudos**: A tool designed to help researchers share their work more effectively, emphasizing the importance of science communication and making research more accessible.
• 🔬 **Visual Aids for Research**: High-quality images and figures are crucial for standing out in scientific publications, and tools like Biorender can help achieve this.
• 📝 **Technical Writing Assistance**: Academic writing can be challenging, and apps like Rightful can help refine the language, grammar, and terminology to meet academic standards.
• 🔗 **Collaboration through Sample Sharing**: Outlet.io encourages collaboration by allowing scientists to share unused samples, which can be particularly beneficial for early-career researchers.
• ✅ **Manuscript Formatting**: Penelope.ai helps in formatting manuscripts correctly for journal submission, reducing the chances of rejection due to formatting errors.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of Paper Digest?

Paper Digest aims to summarize large academic articles easily using artificial intelligence, providing quick summaries to help researchers decide whether to read a paper in full or not.

How does the Paper Digest app work?

To use Paper Digest, you enter the DOI (Document Object Identifier) of the paper you want to summarize. If the paper is open access or you have the PDF document, the app uses machine learning and AI to provide a summary.

What does the app Rightful help with?

Rightful is designed to assist academics in improving their writing by using machine learning algorithms that have been trained on a large number of papers and journals, serving as a model for better academic writing.

How does Penelope.ai help with academic writing?

Penelope.ai checks articles for common mistakes and ensures they meet journal requirements. It helps format the text, including the layout of figures and references, according to the specific guidelines of the journal.

What is the primary function of Lit Maps?

Lit Maps provides visual tools to help researchers keep track of the research literature, including interactive citation maps and email updates for new links to the map.

How does Biorender assist researchers in creating figures for their papers?

Biorender is a tool that allows researchers, particularly in the biological and natural sciences, to create professional images and figures quickly and easily, similar to Canva but tailored for scientific use.

What is the main goal of Outlet.io?

Outlet.io aims to facilitate the sharing of biological samples among researchers worldwide. It allows researchers to upload samples they no longer need and facilitates collaboration by enabling others to request these samples.

What is the primary objective of Grow Kudos?

Grow Kudos is a platform that helps researchers share their research more effectively and efficiently. It allows them to create a web page summarizing their research story, which aids in disseminating the information more broadly.

Why is science communication important according to the speaker?

Science communication is important because it ensures that research is not wasted and has the best opportunity to be used by others for further research or by end users. It also helps in making research findings understandable and accessible to a wider audience.

What advice does the speaker give for improving academic writing?

The speaker recommends using apps like Rightful and Penelope.ai to improve academic writing. Rightful helps refine the writing style based on a large dataset of academic papers, while Penelope.ai assists in formatting the text according to journal requirements.

How can researchers keep up with the latest research in their field using the tools mentioned?

Researchers can use Lit Maps to visualize and keep track of the latest research and citations in their field. Additionally, they can set up email updates to receive notifications about new links and developments related to their research interests.

What are the benefits of using visual tools for research literature?

Visual tools like Lit Maps make it easier to understand the connections between different pieces of research, see who cites whom, and get an overview of the research landscape. This can save time and provide a more intuitive way to navigate the research literature.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Discovering New Academic Tools for Researchers

The speaker introduces the audience to new academic applications focused on aiding researchers and institutions. They mention discovering Paper Digest, an AI-driven tool that summarizes lengthy academic articles by utilizing the DOI or a PDF document. The speaker also discusses the challenges of academic writing and introduces Rightful, an app that uses machine learning to improve writing quality by learning from existing papers and journals. Additionally, they talk about Penelope.ai, a tool that checks for common mistakes and ensures manuscripts meet journal requirements by verifying formatting, references, and more. Lastly, they emphasize the importance of staying updated with research literature and briefly touch on the challenges involved.

05:00

🌐 Navigating Research Literature with Visual Tools

The speaker highlights Lit Maps, an application that uses visual tools to help researchers keep track of the literature and its connections. It provides interactive citation maps and email updates for new links. They also discuss the importance of high-quality images and figures in academic papers and recommend Biorender, a tool that allows users to create professional images quickly, which is particularly useful for those in the natural sciences. Outlet.io is introduced as a platform for sharing biological samples, facilitating collaboration and reducing the need for additional sampling from nature. The speaker encourages early career researchers to use such platforms to overcome collaboration barriers.

10:02

📈 Enhancing Science Communication with Kudos

The speaker discusses the importance of science communication and introduces Kudos, a platform that allows researchers to share their work more effectively. They emphasize that many scientists are not rewarded for their communication efforts and that tools like Kudos can help disseminate research more widely. The speaker also mentions their own startup, Verbalize.Science, which aims to ensure no science goes to waste by capturing the story around the research in a simplified, understandable manner. They encourage the audience to share lesser-known or new apps in the comments and to like the video if they found it helpful.

Keywords

Academic Apps

Academic apps refer to software applications designed to assist with scholarly activities, such as research, writing, and data analysis. In the video, the host discusses various academic apps that can help researchers and institutions streamline their work and improve productivity.

Paper Digest

Paper Digest is an academic application mentioned in the video that uses artificial intelligence to summarize lengthy research articles. It is particularly useful for quickly grasping the main points of a paper without reading it in full, as it can process the DOI or a PDF document to provide a concise summary.

DOI (Document Object Identifier)

A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to digital documents, such as journal articles, to provide a persistent link to their location on the internet. In the context of the video, the host explains that entering a paper's DOI into Paper Digest allows the AI to summarize the paper.

Rightful

Rightful is an app designed to enhance academic writing by using machine learning algorithms that have been trained on numerous papers and journals. It assists academics in improving their writing style and adhering to the specific language, grammar, and terminology of scholarly communication.

Penelope.ai

Penelope.ai is a tool that helps researchers format their manuscripts according to the specific requirements of various journals. It checks for common mistakes and provides instant feedback on how to correct them, ensuring that submissions meet the necessary standards and increasing the chances of acceptance.

Lit Maps

Lit Maps is an application that provides visual tools to navigate and understand research literature. It uses interactive citation maps and email updates to keep researchers informed about new links and developments in their field, making it easier to stay current with the literature.

Biorender

Biorender is a tool for creating professional-quality images and figures for scientific papers. It is particularly useful for those in the biological and natural sciences, offering an easy-to-use platform similar to Canva but tailored for scientific illustrations, enhancing the visual appeal of research publications.

Outlet.io

Outlet.io is a platform for the sharing of biological samples among researchers. It facilitates collaboration by allowing scientists to upload samples they no longer need and request samples from others, thus reducing the need for additional sampling from the natural world and promoting efficient use of existing resources.

Kudos

Kudos is a platform for scientists to share their research more effectively. It emphasizes the importance of science communication and allows researchers to create a web page summarizing their work, making it accessible and understandable to a broader audience, thus increasing the impact of their research.

Science Communication

Science communication refers to the exchange of scientific information between scientists and the public or other entities outside the scientific community. In the video, the host highlights the importance of science communication through platforms like Kudos, which help researchers share their findings in a simplified and engaging manner.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer systems. In the context of the video, AI is used in apps like Paper Digest to summarize academic papers and in Rightful to improve academic writing, demonstrating the growing role of AI in assisting scholarly work.

Highlights

Paper Digest uses artificial intelligence to summarize large academic articles quickly and easily.

Researchers can input the DOI of a paper for summarization, provided it is open access or they have the PDF document.

The app Rightful assists academics in improving their writing by using machine learning algorithms trained on academic papers and journals.

Penelope.ai helps format academic manuscripts to meet journal requirements, checking for common mistakes and providing corrections.

Lit Maps provides visual tools to keep track of research literature, including interactive citation maps and email updates for new links.

BioRender is a tool for creating professional images and figures for scientific papers, especially useful in the biology and natural sciences.

Outlet.io facilitates the sharing of biological samples among scientists worldwide, promoting collaboration and reducing the need for additional sampling from nature.

Kudos is a platform for scientists to share their research more effectively, emphasizing the importance of science communication.

The presenter started investigating these tools during their own startup journey in 2018.

Paper Digest is a young app with potential for growth in summarizing academic papers.

Rightful's machine learning algorithm serves as a model to help academics write the best papers.

Penelope.ai ensures manuscripts meet journal requirements by checking for various common mistakes and suggesting changes.

Lit Maps allows researchers to explore and keep updated on research literature through visual and interactive means.

BioRender simplifies the creation of high-quality biological images and figures, similar to Canva but for scientific illustrations.

Outlet.io aims to reduce waste in scientific research by enabling the sharing and reuse of biological samples.

Kudos helps researchers to disseminate their work more widely and make it accessible to a broader audience.

The presenter encourages viewers to share lesser-known academic apps in the comments for the benefit of the community.

The video aims to help researchers' work flow more effectively and ensure their research has a greater impact.