BioMed Central Blog

Chinese Medicine invites submissions for two thematic series

Chinese Medicine is currently inviting research submissions to two forthcoming thematic article series:

• Ginseng and Notoginseng edited by Ricky NS Wong (Hong Kong Baptist University) and Karl WK Tsim (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
• The Semantic Web for Chinese Medicine edited by Kei Cheung (Yale University) and Huajun Chen (Zhejiang University)

Authors are invited to submit their latest research on either topic by the end of January 2010. 

Chinese Medicine, the official journal of the International Society for Chinese Medicine, aims to publish research across the whole field of chinese medicine .

Posted by Charlotte Hubbard at 18:16    Comments (0)

Journal of Medical Case Reports and Cases Journal return to BioMed Central

BioMed Central is once again publishing the Journal of Medical Case Reports (JMCR) and Cases Journal. Since their inception both these journals, which currently provide over 2000 freely accessible case reports, have received widespread recognition and high quality submissions from across the medical community.  Through their innovative approach, both these journals make each individual patient's case a valuable addition to medical literature.

Journal of Medical Case Reports, edited by Professor Michael Kidd, has published many landmark clinical cases across all areas of medicine including cancer, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases and musculoskeletal disorders. These cases can often serve as early warning signals for the adverse effects of new medications, or the presentations of new and emerging diseases.

Cases Journal, which is edited by former BMJ Editor (and regular Guardian columnist) Richard Smith, will look to complete the scientific record for future generations by publishing any report that is understandable, ethical, authentic, and includes all information essential to its interpretation.

Over the past few years, authors have submitted case reports to these journals from countries as far afield as Nepal and Iran. This once again signifies the inherent value that case reports have to improving clinical practice globally and also the increasing power of the Internet to allow for the widespread sharing of knowledge and thus the advancement of the understanding and treatment of diseases.

Both journals are open for submission to medical professionals on case reports of medicine, and will undergo rapid peer review. To find out more on how to submit a case report, please take a look at our instructions for authors and our peer review policies. We also encourage patients to contribute to the case report by adding a ‘Patient’s perspective’.

Miriam Kingsley
In-house Editor - Journal of Medical Case Reports/Cases Journal

Posted by Iain Hrynaszkiewicz at 17:17    Comments (0)

Three more BioMed Central journals indexed by Thomson Reuters

BMC Medical Ethics, Journal of Inflammation and Pediatric Rheumatology have all recently been accepted for indexing by Thomson Reuters and are on course to receive their first Impact Factors.

BMC Medical Ethics will receive its first impact factor in June 2012, and currently has an unofficial Impact Factor of 1.68. It is the 35th journal within the BMC-series to be accepted for tracking by Thomson Reuters.

Journal of Inflammation is due to receive its first Impact Factor in June 2011 and currently has an unofficial impact factor of 1.75.  The journal launched with BioMed Central in 2004 and recently affiliated with the British Inflammation Research Association (BIRAS).

Pediatric Rheumatology will receive its first Impact Factor in June 2012.  The journal transferred to BioMed Central in 2007, in its 5^th year of publication.

Full details on indexing of all BioMed Central journals is available from our website.

Posted by Matthew Cockerill at 16:48    Comments (0)

Ockham’s broom and the disclosure of dirty secrets – New in Journal of Biology

No, not Ockham’s razor and the parsimony principle. Ockham’s broom, newer by some centuries, is an implement conceived by Sydney Brenner whereby inconvenient facts are swept under the carpet, and now adopted by Journal of Biology as the umbrella title for a new series in which the inconvenient facts hitherto resolutely ignored by some subsection of biologists are confronted.

A notable example of the past operation of Ockham’s broom is in what Charlie Janeway memorably called the immunologist’s dirty little secret: briefly, you can get lymphocytes to produce antibodies against pretty well any defined chemical, but only if you inject something messier, usually at that time dried mycobacterium, along with them. Immunologists, focusing on the lymphocytes that produce the antibodies, disregarded the implications of the mycobacterial adjuvant until Janeway brilliantly exposed the now accepted reality that lymphocytes generally don’t respond to anything unless they are activated by more evolutionarily ancient phagocytic cells geared to the recognition of conserved features of pathogens.

Another example is the focus in the 1970s on viral causes of human cancer, inspired by insights from animal tumor viruses but that did not account for the vast preponderance of tumors of epithelia which viruses do not selectively infect.

The Ockham’s broom series will be eclectic and occasional, because interesting and appropriate topics crop up across all of biology but not every day: the first, by Bruce Mayer and colleagues, is on signaling complexes which they argue we must stop seeing as defined assemblages of interacting proteins in favour of the dynamic reality. A signaling complex is not a ribosome.

Posted by Miranda Robertson at 15:35    Comments (1)

BioMed Central opens new Stem Cell Gateway

BioMed Central has recently launched the Stem Cell Gateway, providing easy access to all the latest stem cell related research published across BioMed Central's journals. The Gateway complements our new journal  Stem Cell Research & Therapy - the major forum for translational research into stem cell therapies - which is now accepting submissions.

The Stem Cell Gateway includes research highlights, as well as profiles of authors in the field and an interactive map, AuthorMapper, which enables you to explore based on author locations and to discover wider relationships and find experts in your field.

Soon to be launched in early 2010, Stem Cell Research & Therapy is an international peer-reviewed journal and will publish open access research articles of outstanding quality. Please sign up on the Stem Cell Research & Therapy website to receive regular updates, and to read and submit original research articles.

Posted by Andrea Melendez at 15:03    Comments (0)

EvoDevo is now accepting submissions!

EvoDevo, a new open access journal on the hot topic of evolutionary developmental biology, is ready to accept submissions.

Topics of interest include comparative gene function and expression, homology and character evolution, comparative genomics, phylogenetics and palaeontology.

This soon-to-be launched BioMed Central journal is overseen by co-Editors-in-Chief Mark Q Martindale (University of Hawaii, USA) and Max Telford (University College London, UK), who are supported by an expert Editorial Board.

For more information on EvoDevo please visit the journal website or contact the Editorial Office. Why not register for updates keeping you abreast of any journal developments?

Submit your research to EvoDevo and take advantage of an efficient online submission process, a rapid, high quality peer-review service and high visibility. There are no extra charges or limits on the number of color figures or movies you wish to include.

Posted by Emma Pettengale at 12:41    Comments (0)

How should governments respond to the new era of medical genomics?

Two new articles in Genome Medicine discuss US healthcare reform and the recent UK House of Lords report on genomic medicine, and examine their potential consequences for genomic research and for medical care.

Each issue of Genome Medicine features a Musings column by David G Nathan and Stuart Orkin, who tackle a variety of controversial topics and provide a unique, exciting perspective on the events and developments in genomic medicine.  In October’s Musings on the slow but inexorable process of medical care reform in the United States, the authors argue that cutting the healthcare budget in the US could have a devastating knock-on effect for the progress of medical research, not just within the US but worldwide.  Cost controls and changes in behavior will go some way towards alleviating these impending problems, but care must still be taken to protect research and teaching hospitals from any negative consequences.

In “A new strategic phase for genomic medicine in UK health services”, Hilary Burton and colleagues comment upon the UK House of Lords report on genomic medicine.  The authors suggest that medical genomics research cannot be translated into the clinic without adequate financial support for the later stages of translational research and for the testing of new biomarkers and diagnostics, which at present find it more difficult to attract funding.  Future priorities must also lie in training, education, and dissemination of knowledge and technologies to developing countries.

Genome Medicine, BioMed Central’s premier medical journal, stands at the forefront of research and clinical practice in the post-genomic era. Genome Medicine and BioMed Central will be exhibiting at the upcoming American Society of Human Genetics meeting on the 21-23 Oct in Honululu, Hawaii. Please drop in at booth #603 to meet us!

Posted by Rebecca Furlong at 11:05    Comments (0)