The editors of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) are unveiling this week a number of changes to the journal's publishing policies. The changes are seen to be in response to the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of biological research. According to the editors, the changes are expected to help the journal better meet the evolving needs of the scientific community.
In an editorial in this week's issue of the JBC the editors announced the journal's new mission statement and laid out changes to how manuscripts are judged by peer review. They also reported that the journal's submission fees have been eliminated to expedite the submission process and hold down costs to authors.
JBC was established in 1905. Its founders set out to publish ‘anything of a chemical nature’ in the whole field of biology, whether this touches the plant or animal kingdom. In the decades since, the journal has embraced papers that provide clear ‘mechanistic insight’ into any molecular process. It accepted papers which not only reported that a molecular process occurred but how or why it occurred.
Now, JBC editors are broadening their definition of ‘mechanism,’ in light of research being done in new, still-developing fields that, while molecular in the level of analysis, has not yet reached the stage at which it provides the level of detailed mechanistic information expected in more established research areas.
The journal's table of contents will reflect all areas of biology that can be studied at a molecular level. In addition, articles may appear under more than one category. This will reportedly make finding relevant articles easier for readers and will increase authors' visibility.
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