Policies put into place by major funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and to a lesser extent by scientific journals, appear to be meeting the goal of increasing the sharing of scientific resources among life science investigators, according to a study led by a researcher in Drexel University’s School of Public Health. As reported in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, 65 percent of surveyed investigators at major U.S. research institutions believed that NIH policies instituted in recent years had markedly improved the sharing of scientific data. But the survey also identified some unexpected problems, including the number of researchers who share materials or resources without completing legal agreements required by their institutions. “There have been a lot of changes in data-sharing policies over the past 10 to 12 years, and new tools for data-sharing have become available,” said lead author Dr. Genevieve Pham-Kanter, assistant professor at Drexel University School of Public Health. Coverage of the study has appeared in Reuters, The Scientist and WHYY in Philadelphia.