There's something about maps and graphs that makes the hearts of most scientists go pitta-pat.

As a frustrated planetary geologist, for instance, I can spend hours staring at NASA maps of Mars or graphics about the inner workings of gas giants before I realize that I actually have real work to do for my day job.

Fortunately, though, my editor usually starts grumbling at me, loudly, before I get too distracted.

His ability to pull me back from my own version of attention deficit disorder might change, though, because of a new map developed by Johan Bollen, a computer scientist in Los Alamos National Laboratory's research library, and his colleagues.

The undertaking has created what could be called the ultimate map of science.

It shows the digital-reading patters of scientists across university systems, national labs and other groups. And it tracks connections between fields such as biochemistry and social and personality physiology, brain studies and nursing, geology and tourism, among other things.

"It's a map of the network flow of people looking for information," Bollen said. "You can use it to see trends and areas that scientists think are most important."

The findings are also quite different than what you would see if you just looked at the more pedantic world of printed scientific journals and journal citations.

"Publishing can take years, so when you look at studies of journals, the ideas that scientists are exploring there are usually a few years old," Bollen said. "What we really don't know is what scientists are thinking right now, or where the next breakthroughs will be."

In the map, a buildup of scientific interest in an area produces a cluster of dots. And lines between those clusters show where various fields of science might start merging, or where new breakthroughs might take place, he said.

Some of the stranger links pop between areas of hard science such as biochemistry, microbiology and ecology and areas of softer social science such as Asian studies, philosophy, sociology and psychology.

"One of the most interesting connections we found is between biodiversity and ecology, and that shows a growing interest in those fields," Bollen said. "Looking at all the data I think we can say the map shows a scientific future in many areas that is very interdisciplinary."

Data from the map can also be used to determine the real-world importance — or usage — of scientific journals and articles.

And that came with some pretty big surprises, Bollen noted.

"One of the top-ranked journals, in terms of actual use in the real world, turned out to be the Journal of Advanced Nursing," Bollen said. "You wouldn't think that would be a very important journal linking major sciences, but in some of our data it outranks more prominent journals like Science, Nature or the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

The function of the map goes far beyond scientific naval-gazing, as well. It could be used by scientific groups to target grants and funding toward areas where the biggest breakthroughs might occur. And university managers could use it as a way to consider the importance of a professor's journal contributions that is more in line with their real-world impacts, Bollen said.

"The paper-based model of tracking the importance of journal articles based on how many times they're cited is outdated," Bollen said. "We've relied on those old models for so long, and I think it's damaging science. That method is distorted toward a few journals, rather than the broad impact the articles have on society."

The project was funded through a $880,000, 2-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Bollen and his colleagues are now looking for new grants so they can make their map stream information in real time, he said.

"Science is an incredibly important facet of our civilization," Bollen said. "We need more data about it so we can better understand how to foster it."

If you're scientific map nerd's interest has been piqued, the map is available online at www.lanl.gov/news/albums/science/PLOSMapOfScience.jpg.

Sue Vorenberg thought she heard her boss mutter something about deadlines recently, but she was too absorbed in the possible connection between environmental science and classical studies to pay attention. If she still has a job next week, you can reach her at svorenberg@sfnewmexican.com.