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"When we developed a genome editing toolbox based on Crispr-Cas9, we published it on ," says molecular neurobiologist Harold MacGillavry. In this open access preprint server, researchers place their publications with a scientific journal prior to publication and peer review. A kind of pre-reading.

"The toolbox allows you to fluorescently label endogenous proteins. This has already worked in dividing cells, but in neurons it didn't work well and there was a lot of demand for it. When we put the piece on BioRxiv, we immediately got a lot of reactions and also a lot of demand for the DNA constructs we had developed. Initially, we sent them from our lab to other labs around the world free of charge, but that was too much work. Then we offered these constructs to , a non-profit organisation that collects and sends constructs. They take our work off our hands, so we can still share the constructs," says MacGillavry.

By publishing it on BioRxiv, you can secure your work and show the world that you are working on it.

Although the BioRxiv studies have not yet undergone the quality control of peer review, MacGillavry believes it is a good place to share scientific insights. "I am a big supporter of BioRxiv. The process of publishing takes so long these days, sometimes as long as a year. By publishing it on BioRxiv, you can secure your work and show the world that you are working on it".

This publishing method also speeds up the research process. "Other research groups can get on with it sooner. With the Coronavirus outbreak, for example, many studies were shared on BioRxiv immediately," says MacGillavry. "It's also the place for us to follow the latest insights. Now when I see a publication in a scientific journal, I often think: I've read that already".

Accelerating science 

Not all researchers have started placing their insights on BioRxiv. Just before the MacGillavry lab was pre-published, another research group published a similar method in a scientific journal. And: they then started a company selling their constructs. "I find it quite shocking that someone should start a company in there. DNA constructs are such basic things that you can develop in any molecular biology lab, and it is very common to share them with other research groups. I see no reason why you should sell that commercially."

So, according to MacGillavry, sharing pre-publications on BioRxiv is a great way to share your work, speed up science and get up to date sooner. But opening up research results has also helped his own lab, MacGillavry says. "When people approach us for our constructs, you suddenly have personal contact with all kinds of labs all over the world and that can be fun. For example, we're now being invited to seminars and collaborations more often. And large labs around the world are now working with our constructs; that's very special and a great recognition of our work".

This case is part of a longread about open science.