I recently became aware of ScienceWatch, a website that tracks "trends & performance in basic research" for Thomson Scientific. Among the trends tracked are which scientific journal publications become "hot papers," determined by the number of citations an article receives.

ScienceWatch has just published their analysis of the Hot Papers 2006-2007. In addition, they continue an on-going tracking of New Hot Papers. Much of Thomson Scientific's analysis is based on their essential science indicators.

This will prove a useful resource for those looking into possible areas of research. Presumably, the topics which are highly cited shortly after being written are areas that hold a great deal of interest within the scientific field, and therefore have a lot of room for more research ... and thus possibilities of being funded!