News Digest – RDM in Natural Science: Week 34, 2025
Welcome to the latest News Digest! Each week, I explore the latest developments in research data management, focusing specifically on natural sciences, and provide a concise overview.
Before we dive in today’s News Digest, a small announcement. This will be the last News Digest before the summer break. But no worries, the News Digest will be back in mid-October with some new features.
Let’s dive right in!
Using the OpenCloning tool in eLabFTW
With the latest update of eLabFTW, the open-source DNA cloning tool OpenCloning was integrated and on YouTube you now can find how to use the integration. The short introduction is not an introduction to the tool in general, but how to use it n eLabFTW. So if you or your researchers are planning to work with OpenCloning, definitely check it out.
A must-watch for everyone working in RDM
In March 2025, Till Biskup gave a talk at the NFDI4Chem Stammtisch with the title: Research Data Management: Cargo Cult or indispensable prerequisite for scholarship? And I flag this for everyone working in RDM, the talk is not specific to chemistry and definitely a thought-provoking presentation. Take the 28 min, watch the recording, and then let me know in the comments what you think. Do you agree with the ideas presented?
And since many people working in RDM are at CoRDI this week, I would also recommend to check out the poster by Till Biskup Is Research Data Management Ruining Science? I am definitely looking forward to it.
Link to the poster on Zenodo with DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16905322
Discussing the future of DALIA and InChI
NFDI4Chem hast published two reports on meetings discussing the future of two projects. The first one is DALIA (Data Literacy Alliance), a project with the goal of providing high-quality open education resources. The other project has the goal of improving InChI ( the IUPAC International Chemical Identifier), to make it more broadly applicable.
Last time you checked OneStop4All? It should be today
You have never checked out the OneStop4All by NFDI4Earth? Then now is the perfect time to check it out, since NFDI4Earth has provided an updated overview of the portal on Zenodo. These centralized entry points are great resources and easy links to recommend to your researchers. Many of the initiative seem to work on improving these entry points, as we as on the past with PSDI as well as MaRDI.
NFDI4Earth OneStop4All – Release 2 (NFDI4Earth MS4.3.8) [Report]
Link to report on Zenodo with DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16881837
Integration of a data centre
One of the goals of the NFDI was too connected and integrate existing infrastructures and tools into a bigger infrastructure. This was done more or less successfully in the past, but PUNCH4NFDI now shows how the integration of a data centre in the overall infrastructure of PUNCH4NFDI can work. Great example and I think worth adding to your collection.
Integration of a data centre for high-energy astroparticle physics in PUNCH4NFDI infrastructure [Presentation]
Link to presentation with DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16911555
Outro
That was it for today. As mentioned in the introduction, this was the last News Digest before the summer break. So I will be back in mid-October with some changes to improve reusability and overall usefulness of the News Digest. See you back in October.
Benjamin
re: Till Biskup’s talk
The Infofile idea seems very similar to Airflow DAGs or GitHub Actions declarative YAMLs.
Which is great! When unrelated fields converge towards a similar solution, it’s probably a good one.
Thanks for the reply and the pointer, I will check them out.