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Last night I had the pleasure and privilege to be at the London Zoo for BioMed Central’s Fifth Annual Research Awards, hobnobbing with Strix uralensis and watching wallabies.

We learned, among other things, that owls actually have really tiny heads, next to no brain (being among the least intelligent of all birds) but have serrated feathers that slice through the air so they can fly effectively silently, and have lopsided ears which allow them to pinpoint a mouse from just two squeaks.

Back to the awards–there were six: two for research papers (one in biology, one in medicine); one for a case report; one for Editor of the Year; and one each for Open Access advocacy and Open Data. As you might expect from the world’s premiere post-publication peer review service [Us–Ed.] both research papers were selected and evaluated by Faculty of 1000. Because BioMed Central is the leading Open Access publisher, it’s only right that I provide you with free evaluations of these two papers:

The first metazoa living in permanently anoxic conditions

and

Intensive care diaries reduce new onset post traumatic stress disorder following critical illness: a randomised, controlled trial.

Enjoy!

[Update: there are photos of the event on Facebook.]