How to Stay Up-to-Date with Scientific Information with Rebecca Snow
Interns (CNS candidates) often ask, how do you stay up on scientific information? So I wanted to share my two favorite methods. It is important to stay up on key data and new research but we can’t stay up on EVERYTHING. It is impossible. There is too much data. The growth of academic and scientific publications has grown exponentially over the last 30 years.
One of the key ways to stay up on scientific info is to narrow your scope and niche. This is why we recommend niching at some point early in your career to cut back your areas of research.
Keeping up with new research can feel overwhelming, but there are tools that make it easier. Examine.com gives simple summaries of studies in certain domains, while PubMed helps you find detailed scientific research based on queries that you want to run weekly or monthly.
Both websites let you save searches and get alerts so that updates come to your inbox.
Using Examine.com for Research Summaries
Examine.com helps you understand health research by reviewing scientific studies and summarizing them in a clear and simple way.
Examine offers a free account and a paid subscription for more details. If you are part of the Nutrition & Herbal Collective’s Mentorship Program, you get free access to Examine+ as part of your program.
Go to Examine.com
Click “Research Feed”
On the right side, choose:
How often you want updates (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly)
The topics you care about (Brain Health, Autoimmune, Fitness, etc.)
Click Save Preferences
The screenshot of the Examine Research Feed settings shows that the Brain Health category is selected, with weekly email updates turned on.
Saving Research in PubMed
If you want to keep track of research topics, find saved searches quickly, and get updates on new studies, you can create a free account with NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). This allows you to save searches and set alerts in PubMed, a free website with thousands of medical and science studies.
Log into your NCBI account (or create one if you don’t have an account).
Search for a topic (e.g., menopause AND herbal remedies).
Click "Create Alert" (circled in the screenshot).
Name your search (e.g., Herbal Remedies for Menopause).
Click "Save" to store it in your Saved Searches list.
The screenshot of the PubMed search results page shows a search for "zinc AND common cold," with the "Create Alert" button highlighted. This lets users save searches and get email updates when new studies are published. The NCBI account login is in the top right corner, showing that saved searches are linked to a registered user account.
Saving searches in PubMed makes research easier because you don’t have to type the same search over and over again.
Setting Up Research Alerts in PubMed
Instead of searching PubMed every time, you can set up email alerts to get updates when new studies come out on your saved topics.
Save a search using the steps above.
Click "Send Me Updates" and choose how often you want emails:
Daily – Best for topics that change quickly.
Weekly – A good balance of updates without too many emails.
Monthly – Best for general research updates.
Click "Save" to start getting alerts.
The screenshot of the My NCBI dashboard shows the Saved Searches section. It lists research topics like menopause protein, menopause herbal, and intermittent fasting. It also shows the last time the search was updated and whether new studies were found.
Setting up alerts saves time because new research is sent straight to your inbox as soon as it is published.
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