BMC Evolutionary Biology articles featured on SciVee and in Science magazine

The journal BMC Evolutionary Biology is rapidly establishing itself as one of the top journals in this highly dynamic field.

One recent article from the journal that has attracted wide attention is “Structural analysis of the evolution of steroid specificity in the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors”,   which has been presented as a PubCast on the SciVee website  by the paper’s lead author, Michael E Baker of the University of California at San Diego.
 
SciVee’s pubcasts offer a new way to present research findings in which an audio or video commentary on a paper is synchronized to the relevant sections of the text and figures of the published manuscript. The full text of the paper is also available as part of the pubcast, should the viewer wish to explore the research in more depth.
 
The pubcast format is a great way for authors to explain and draw attention to their research, bridging the gap between them and their readers. As all articles in the BMC-series are published under a Creative Commons licence, authors are free to redistribute their work in this way.

The findings of another recent paper in BMC Evolutionary Biology have been highlighted in the journal Science. In the paper, Vincent Corbel and his colleagues report the unexpected effects that multiple insecticide resistance mutations have on the survival of mosquitoes - with important implications for managing pesticide use and the control of mosquitoes.

Posted by Penny Webb at 17:18    Comments (0)

 

Genome Biology publishes a key resource for pea genetics

The field of pea genetics received a boost today with the publication of a resource of pea mutants in Genome Biology.

The pea, Pisum sativum, is one of the most famous tools used in genetics: school children today learn that the 19th century monk Gregor Mendel studied the pea - for example, whether the seeds are wrinkled or not - and showed that this and other traits are inherited in a predictable way.

Peas have kept many of their other genetic clues secret, however, as they are unsuited to the genetic modification techniques that are commonly used to work with plants. Scientists, led by Abdelhafid Bendahmane, at the French National Agricultural research Institute (INRA) used an early flowering pea cultivar, called Caméor, to study mutant plants at different developmental stages (from seedling through to fruit maturation). The team studied DNA samples from 4,704 plants and identified many essential genes. From this they created a database called UTILLdb, which describes each mutant plant at each developmental stage studied, and incorporates digital images of the plants. UTILLdb contains phenotypic as well as sequence information on mutant genes, and can be searched plant traits of interest.

This new tool has implications for both basic science and for crop improvement, and the authors hope that it will fulfill the expectation of crop breeders and scientists who use the pea.

The full article was published today in Genome Biology and has received considerable attention in the media. The London Times features both a news item on the science, and a lead editorial celebrating the preeminent role of the humble pea in the progress of scientific understanding.

Posted by Ruth Rowland at 15:27    Comments (0)

 

Signaling at spinal cord boundaries; a Journal of Biology minireview

The central and peripheral nervous systems of vertebrates are partitioned at specific points within the spinal cord, ensuring that the cell bodies of neurons from each system are not mixed, while still allowing axons to be connected. Previous studies have identified a transient population of cells responsible for this partitioning, termed boundary cap cells. The molecular mechanism of boundary cap formation and function is discussed in a recent minireview for Journal of Biology by Sophie Chauvet and Geneviève Rougon, highlighting two interesting studies published in Neural Development, which illustrate a role for semaphorin-plexin signaling in this process.

The role of semaphorin 6A (Sema6A) was determined by Bron et al. through the study of chick and mouse embryos deficient in either Semaphorin 6A or neuropilin-2. This study illustrates the importance of the interaction between these two molecules in preventing the exit of motor neuron cell bodies from the spinal cord, and identifies Plexin-A2 as a putative interacting partner in this signaling pathway. Using RNA interference, Bron et al. also demonstrate that MICAL3, expressed by motor neurons, is an essential downstream component of this signaling pathway in chick.

In a related study, Mauti et al. showed that depletion of Sema6A expression leads to the ectopic migration of motor neuron cell bodies, a phenotype mimicking the ablation of boundary cap cells. In contrast to the study by Bron et al., the authors identified Plexin-A1 or Plexin-A4, and not Plexin-A2, as candidate interacting molecules in this process. These important findings are discussed in the literature evaluation service, Faculty of 1000 (Biology).

In conjunction, these studies shed new light on the role of extracellular cues in establishing the positional identity of developing neuronal circuits. While the minireview in Journal of Biology highlights the important advance resulting from combining these findings, it also discusses the interesting discrepancies between the two studies.

Posted by Anna Webb at 11:45    Comments (0)

 

Neural Development joins the Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium

We are pleased to announce that Neural Development has joined the Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium (NPRC), enabling the more efficient handling of peer review between several neuroscience journals. 

The NPRC was instigated to reduce the time and effort involved in the peer review of original neuroscience research reports.  Under the new system, neuroscience journals with membership have agreed to accept manuscript reviews from other Consortium journals. By reducing the number of times that a manuscript is reviewed, the Consortium will increase the speed of publication of research results, and lessen the burden on both authors and reviewers alike.

To date, numerous neuroscience journals have joined the consortium, including Neuroscience, and Journal of Neuroscience, with many more, including BioMed Central’s Behavioral and Brain Functions, in the process of joining.  We hope that by joining the consortium, the already rapid peer review of Neural Development can be further streamlined, to the benefit of authors, reviewers, editors, and our readership.

Posted by Anna Webb at 12:43    Comments (0)

 

Government report highlights need for research into cleaner next-generation biofuels

The debate surrounding the use of biofuels continues today with the publication of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report, “Are biofuels sustainable?”.

In the report, committee members acknowledge the power of biofuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions from road transport, but warn that a more balanced policy is needed in order to minimise wider environmental damage.

The production of biofuels continues to be controversial.  There is concern that first generation biofuels, produced from conventional crops, may even have a detrimental overall effect on the environment.  However, the development of next generation biofuels holds great promise.  Research and technological advances are driving a move towards “cleaner” biofuels, and efforts are concentrated globally on realising the potential of this expanding field.  The ongoing research in this area has wide implications for the environment, and is a topic of huge significance globally.

BioMed Central will launch its new journal, Biotechnology for Biofuels, in the Spring of 2008, overseen by Editors-in-Chief Michael Himmel, Bärbel Hahn-Hägerdal, Chris Somerville, and Charles Wyman, and supported by an international Editorial Board.  Biotechnology for Biofuels will feature the latest cutting-edge research in the field, reviews and commentary articles from both Academia and Industry, and will run a blog, dedicated to all aspects of the biofuels world.

To keep abreast of the latest developments with Biotechnology for Biofuels, please register to receive regular updates.

Posted by Anna Webb at 13:26    Comments (0)

 

Biology Direct launches new Mathematical Biology section

We are delighted to announce the launch of the new Mathematical Biology section of Biology Direct, over seen by the Section Editor Andrei Yaklovev, and supported by an international Editorial Board.  Full details are available in our recent Editorial.

Biology Direct, founded by David J Lipman, Laura Landweber, and Eugene Koonin, operates a unique open peer review system, whereby reviewers’ comments and authors’ responses are published alongside the final article, making the process of peer review open, rather than anonymous. 

Biology Direct was launched in 2006 and has since published over 75 articles; nearly half of which have been accessed over 2,000 times, and seven articles have been highlighted on the literature evaluation service Faculty of 1000 Biology. 

Biology Direct is tracked by Thomson Scientific and is on course to receive its first impact factor in 2008.  As an open access publication, all articles are freely and immediately available online, maximising the visibility of the author's work, and copyright is retained by the author.

To keep abreast of latest developments with Biology Direct, please register to receive regular updates.

Posted by Anna Webb at 16:37    Comments (0)

 

Genome Biology Advisory Board member Edward Marcotte receives Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award.

One of the newest recruits to Genome Biology’s Advisory board, Edward Marcotte, has been awarded the 2008 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST). Edward Marcotte is the William and Gwyn Shive Endowed Professor and the Mr. and Mrs. Corbin J. Robertson Sr. Regents Fellow in Molecular Biology in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a member of the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology and is co-director of the Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology.

In addition to his role in mapping protein network interactions in different organisms, he created spotted cell microarrays for measuring protein expression and in keeping with his advocacy for open access, founded the first open-access database for mass spectrometry proteomics data. We are thrilled that his contribution to the field of systems and synthetic biology, the area in which he provides expert advice to Genome Biology and in which he has published in BioMed Central journals, has been justly recognised and rewarded. A full report detailing this award can be read on the news site of the University of Texas at Austin.

Many congratulations from everyone at BioMed Central.

Posted by Clare Garvey at 14:17    Comments (0)

 

Neural Development celebrates its 1st birthday

Neural Development, launched a year ago under the guidance of Editors-in-Chief Andrew Lumsden, Joshua Sanes, Bill Harris, and Rachel Wong, celebrates its 1st birthday with a special Editorial, highlighting the successes and future directions of the journal.

Since launch, Neural Development has become a must-read within the community, filling a vacant niche in journal coverage for developmental neurobiologists.  Articles published have been of a consistently high quality, cover the breadth of the field, and come from labs all over the world.  Several articles have been selected by the literature evaluation service Faculty of 1000, and many articles are “highly accessed”. 

Neural Development plans to build on the successes of the last year by introducing new features; of particular interest is the development of “head-to-head” reviews from key proponents of contemparily contentious issues.  To keep abreast of the latest developments with this exciting journal, please register to receive regular alerts.

Submit your next manuscript to Neural Development and take advantage of our special features such as unlimited colour figures, embedded movies, and personal cover pages. 

Happy Birthday Neural Development!

Posted by Anna Webb at 11:28    Comments (0)

 

Genome Biology welcomes new members to its Advisory Board

Along with the New Year come some changes to Genome Biology's international and well-renowned Advisory Board. A handful of founder members retired at the end of 2007; we are tremendously grateful for their help and support during the journal's early years and for their contribution to shaping Genome Biology into the high-impact and well-regarded journal that it is today.

As the journal evolves we are committed to further development, and we are therefore delighted to welcome aboard several new members (listed below) who will help us to meet new challenges and who bring new strength in their areas of expertise, including plant and systems biology, epigenetics, protein evolution and cancer profiling. With the advice and support of our new advisers, in addition to those already on the board, we hope to raise the journal’s profile further over the coming years and to continue to publish important articles that are of interest to the growing number of biologists whose research is informed by genomics and other large-scale analyses.

New advisory board members:

 

Richard Festenstein, Imperial College, UK

Yoshihide Hayashizaki, RIKEN, Genomic Sciences Center, Japan

Laurence D. Hurst, University of Bath, UK

Maarten Koornneef, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany

Edward Marcotte, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Charles M. Perou, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

Norbert Perrimon, Harvard Medical School, USA

Ben Scheres, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

 

Posted by Clare Garvey at 15:37    Comments (0)

 

Hidden species present conservation challenge; a new Journal of Biology minireview

DNA studies are revealing the true extent of hidden or ‘cryptic’ biodiversity. Cryptic species are difficult to distinguish morphologically but the importance of what is revealed by DNA data is discussed in a recent minireview for Journal of Biology by Luciano Beheregaray and Adalgisa Caccone. The minireview highlights two recent papers that challenge the commonly held view that cryptic species are rare and recent occurrences.

In an article published in BMC Biology, a team led by Robert Wayne reports the discovery of at least six cryptic species in the giraffe, with distinct evolutionary and genetic traits. This finding challenges the view that cryptic biodiversity is rare in large mammals that are expected to travel, mix and avoid reproductive isolation. A separate study, published in BMC Evolutionary Biology by Stephen Lougheed and colleagues describes previously unknown cryptic species in the upper Amazonian leaflitter frog (Eleutherodactylis ockendeni); extraordinarily this speciation event is predicted to have occured millions of years ago. The reports of ancient species in this frog imply that species richness in the tropics has been significantly underestimated using morphological characteristics alone.

These studies also demonstrate the importance of using historical and biogeographical information in conjuction with DNA analysis in order to estimate species biodiversity and avoid overestimating the true size of the potential breeding pool of a species. Accurate information on past and future biodiversity can be gained with important consequences for conservation management.

Posted by Matt Hodgkinson at 14:15    Comments (0)

 

Hot paper in BMC Bioinformatics

A 2006 article from BMC Bioinformatics has just been highlighted as a Hot Paper by Thomson Scientific's Essential Science Indicators.

Posted by Matt Hodgkinson at 19:52    Comments (0)

 

Karen Beemon wins the 2007 M.Jeang Retrovirology Prize

It was announced today that Dr Karen Beemon has been awarded the third annual M.Jeang Retrovirology Prize. Dr Beemon, Professor and Chair of the Biology Department, Johns Hopkins University, will receive a $3000 cheque and a crystal trophy, and is interviewed in an article published today in Retrovirology.

The M.Jeang Retrovirology Prize, awarded annually, recognises an outstanding mid-career retrovirologist aged 45 to 60. The prize, supported by the Ming K. Jeang Foundation, alternates between HIV and non-HIV research. The winner is selected by Retrovirology’s Editors, from nominations submitted by the journal’s Editorial Board. Retrovirology’s Editor-in-Chief, Kuan-Teh Jeang explained why they awarded Dr Beemon with the Retrovirology prize:
“Professor Beemon has made tremendous contributions to our understanding of how retroviruses transform cells.  She was instrumental in establishing that one of the important transformation mechanisms is the aberrant phosphorylation of cellular proteins on tyrosine residues.”

We wish Dr Beeman many congratulations!

Posted by Charlotte Hubbard at 15:30    Comments (0)

 

Parasites & Vectors; a new open access journal now accepting submissions

We are pleased to announce a new, broad-focus journal, Parasites & Vectors.  Overseen by Editor-in-Chief Chris Arme, Parasites & Vectors is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal dealing with the biology of parasites, parasitic diseases, intermediate hosts and vectors.  Manuscripts addressing broader issues, for example economics, social sciences and global climate change in relation to parasites, vectors and disease control, are also welcomed.

Parasites & Vectors expands upon the scope of two former BioMed Central publications, Kinetoplastid Biology and Disease and Filaria Journal, which will cease publication in December 2007, and are no longer accepting submissions.  Authors working in these areas are encouraged to submit their work to Parasites & Vectors. 

David Molyneux, Editor-in-Chief of Filaria Journal, and Kevin Tyler, co-Editor-in-Chief of Kinetoplastid Biology and Disease, have been appointed to the Advisory Board of Parasites & Vectors, and together with an international Editorial Board, are working closely with Chris Arme to ensure the success of this new journal.  Chris joins Parasites & Vectors  after serving for almost 20 years as an Editor of Parasitology.

Parasites & Vectors launches in January 2008, and will offer an invaluable resource to the community.  To keep abreast with the latest developments of this exciting new journal, please register to receive regular alerts.

Posted by Anna Webb at 13:16    Comments (0)

 

Biology Direct launches new Discovery Notes section

We are delighted to announce the launch of a new Discovery Notes section for Biology Direct, overseen by Section Editor L Aravind, and Editors-in-Chief David J Lipman, Laura Landweber, and Eugene Koonin.

Discovery Notes will be brief reports of specific discoveries made by computational analysis of nucleic acid and/or protein sequences, structures or other data, with novel observations and conclusions about the function, organization, or evolution of proteins, genes or genomes. These succinct articles will be an exciting addition to Biology Direct, as they will allow the rapid communication of key findings, and the novel connections and relationships which they identify will spur experimental investigations in new and unexpected directions.  Full details are available in an Editorial which launches the new section:

Opening Pandora's Box: making biological discoveries through computational data exploration
L Aravind
Biology Direct 2007, 2:29 (20 November 2007)

Biology Direct, which was launched in 2006, operates a unique open peer review system, whereby reviewers’ comments and authors’ responses are published alongside the final article, making the process of peer review open, rather than anonymous.  The journal has published more than 60 articles; nearly half of which have been accessed more than 2,000 times, and seven of which have been highlighted on the literature recommendation service Faculty of 1000 Biology. Biology Direct  is tracked by Thomson Scientific and is due to receive its first impact factor in 2008. As an open access publication, all articles are freely and immediately available online, maximising the visibility of the author's work, and copyright is retained by the author.

Posted by Anna Webb at 18:03    Comments (0)

 

Journal of Biology publishes minireview on landscape genetics in the ocean, highlighting a study of porpoise populations published in BMC Biology

Journal of Biology, the premier biology journal published by BioMed Central, has published the first minireview covering an article from the BMC series of journals.

 

In the review, entitled Landscape genetics goes to sea, Michael Hanson and Jakob Hemmer-Hansen discuss the constraints placed on the gene flow of marine populations by environmental and geographical barriers.  This review highlights a recent study by Fontaine et al, published in BMC Biology, describing how such constraints may have led to the genetic isolation of populations of harbour propoises in some locations.

 

 

The scope of minireview articles in Journal of Biology was recently expanded to include open access articles of particular interest published by BioMed Central, and this is the first such article to appear in the journal. 

Posted by Anna Webb at 17:18    Comments (0)