Chemistry Central Blog
1st Impact Factor for Chemistry Central Journal
The latest edition of Thomson Reuter's Journal Citation Reports has just been released, with the 1st official Impact Factor of 0.82 for Chemistry Central Journal.
We appreciate that the Impact Factor is by no means a perfect quality metric, but journal citation data is important for the growing success of Chemistry Central Journal and the open access journal portfolio of Chemistry Central.
There is also an improved Impact Factor of 2.13 for Geochemical Transactions, the society-affiliated journal published by BioMed Central.
Across the whole BioMed Central journal portfolio there are 12 new Impact Factors, bringing the total to 58. Like-for-like journal Impact Factors are up from an average (arithmetic mean) of 2.83 last year to an average (arithmetic mean) of 3.00 this year.
We thank you for your ongoing support of Chemistry Central through submission of papers to our journals and help with peer review of papers. We strongly encourage you to submit your manuscripts to our journals, and to spread the word about Open Access publishing and Chemistry Central Journal's 1st Impact Factor amongst your colleagues.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 11:20 Comments (0)
Centre for Systems Chemistry, University of Groningen
The Opening Symposium for the Centre for Systems Chemistry at the University of Groningen, Netherlands takes place 28-29 April 2009.
An engaging and informative programme includes the following Plenary Lectures:
Bert Meijer, Technical University Eindhoven, the Netherlands: How to control supramolecular polymerization processes.
Stefan Matile, University of Geneva, Switzerland: Synthetic photosystems, soft and smart.
Günter von Kiedrowski, Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany: Systems chemistry, chemical self-replication and multicomponent assembly.
Alan Rowan, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Catalysis; Dynamics and Motion.
Other speakers include: Ben Feringa, University of Groningen; Douglas Philp, University of St Andrews, UK; Sijbren Otto, University of Groningen; Gonen Ashkenasy, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; and Piet Herdewijn, University of Leuven, Belgium.
Chemistry Central is honoured that the announcement of the European launch of the Journal of Systems Chemistry will take place during the symposium. Several members of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Systems Chemistry will be speaking at and attending the symposium.
We are pleased to be involved in this emergent, rapidly growing field that is already generating much interest; as highlighted by the launch of the COST action on Systems Chemistry and by the creation of the Centre for Systems Chemistry at Groningen University.
The new journal will complement existing journals, providing a platform for papers that are special by virtue of the nature of research in Systems Chemistry, e.g. descriptions of new phenomena observed (rigorously!) in complex systems that do not yet have a detailed explanation; papers describing new methodologies for the study and analysis of complex chemical systems; and papers dealing with the re-interpretation of existing data.
We look forward to an interesting symposium, and to a successful new journal.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 18:45 Comments (0)
Chemistry Central, along with our colleagues at BioMed Central and PhysMath Central, are moving to new offices on Friday 20 March 2009.
Our new contact details will be:-
Chemistry Central Ltd
236, Gray's Inn Road
London WC1X 8HL, UK
+44 20 3192 2000 (switchboard)
+44 20 3192 2013 (customer services)
+44 20 3192 2011 (fax)
Please update your records accordingly.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 13:41 Comments (0)
Journal of Systems Chemistry accepting submissions
Journal of Systems Chemistry is the new peer-reviewed open access journal from Chemistry Central covering all aspects of systems chemistry, including (but not limited to):-
- experimental and theoretical studies of complex molecular networks and emergent phenomena
- catalytic and autocatalytic systems; self-replicating and self-reproducing chemical systems; dynamic combinatorial chemistry
- bottom up approaches to synthetic biology and chemical evolution
- research on chemical self-organization inspired by the problems of the origin and synthesis of life
- research from the conjunction of supramolecular, prebiotic and biomimetic chemistry, theoretical biology, complex systems physics, and earth, planetary and space sciences with a center in chemistry
The Editors-in-Chief are: Günter von Kiedrowski (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany), Sijbren Otto (University of Groningen, Netherlands), and Piet Herdewijn (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium); supported by a prestigious international Editorial Board.
In recognition that Systems Chemistry is an emerging field, we are inviting submission of a range of articles. As well as Research papers presenting primary research within systems chemistry, authors can also contribute:-
- Commentary articles: short, focused and opinionated usually related to a contemporary issue, or to highlight hot or emerging areas of research
- Perspectives: to focus attention on important issues - to provoke discussion either by the phrasing of new hypotheses, alternative interpretations of existing work, or by the presentation of new proposals for tackling existing problems
- Review articles: summaries of recent insights in specific research areas within the scope of Systems Chemistry
- Preliminary communications: for brief reports of findings
- Methodology articles: presenting a new experimental method, test or procedure
- Database and Software articles
- Book reviews and Meeting reports
More details are available at the Journal of Systems Chemistry About section and Instructions for Authors.
Your contributions are invited. Also, please let your colleagues working in this exciting, emerging field know about our new journal.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 11:35 Comments (0)
Journal of Cheminformatics publishes launch articles
We are delighted to announce that Journal of Cheminformatics has published its first articles. Journal of Cheminformatics is the new open access journal from Chemistry Central publishing peer-reviewed research in all aspects of cheminformatics and molecular modelling. It is run by Editors-in-Chief Christoph Steinbeck (European Bioinformatics Institute) and David J. Wild (Indiana University).
Amongst the launch articles is an insightful Editorial by David Wild on Grand challenges for cheminformatics, and a thought-provoking Commentary by Steven Bachrach on Chemistry publication - making the revolution. Also, Antony Williams and colleagues present their work on Computer-assisted methods for molecular structure elucidation.
Please share this information with your colleagues working in the field of chemical information who may be interested reading and publishing in this new journal.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 10:36 Comments (0)
Chemistry Central at the ACS Meeting
Chemistry Central is attending the forthcoming American Chemical Society Meeting, 22-26 March 2009 in Salt Lake City, USA. You can meet representatives from Chemistry Central at Booth #707 in the Exhibition Hall.
Come along to Booth #707 to hear more about the latest developments at Chemistry Central, including the exciting launch of Journal of Cheminformatics, a new open access journal devoted to the dissemination of new and original knowledge in all branches of cheminformatics and molecular modelling.
You can also pick up one of our fantastic mystery giveaways and be entered into a free prize draw to win an 8GB MP4 Watch Player with 1.5 inch LCD screen.
If you are attending and there is a specific topic you would like to discuss, and have a particular time in mind, please let me know and we can arrange a meeting.
We look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City!
Posted by Jan Kuras at 18:18 Comments (0)
ChemSpider Journal of Chemistry
Tony Williams at ChemZoo Inc. has announced the launch of ChemSpider Journal of Chemistry with the publication of 8 articles. It is intended that the journal demonstrates how web technologies can be used to enhance the information that can be communicated using web-based tools over standard online publishing approaches.
The plan is to host chemistry-related materials including synthesis, analytical chemistry, solid-state chemistry, chemical biology, cheminformatics, and molecular modeling, and publish original research, review articles, commentaries, methodologies, blog pages, and book and software reviews. All papers published in ChemSpider Journal of Chemistry will be made freely accessible online immediately upon publication; and will use a mixed review process of peer and public review.
The launch issue includes articles marked-up using ChemMantis technology from ChemZoo. The articles were sourced, with permission, from two Open Access journals - Chemistry Central Journal and MDPI’s Molbank.
The articles sourced from Chemistry Central Journal are: Isolation, purification, and full NMR assignments of cyclopamine from Veratrum californicum by Cooper et al. and Solvent effect on the spectral properties of Neutral Red by Rauf et al.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 15:31 Comments (0)
Meet Chemistry Central in 2009
Last year was very productive for us in increasing awareness of open access publishing and Chemistry Central amongst the research community.
One of our most successful means of communicating about open access publishing and Chemistry Central is at conferences and meetings.
In 2009, Chemistry Central will be attending the Spring and Fall American Chemical Society National Meetings and the IUPAC Chemistry Congress, as well as several smaller meetings.
This provides a fantastic opportunity to meet you and speak with you about what we’re doing. We look forward to seeing you there!
Also, if you are organising a conference or meeting – in particular a focussed themed meeting – please let me know. We can send promotional materials for distribution and display, and consider attending and exhibiting.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 16:59 Comments (0)
Festive greetings from Chemistry Central!
Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and all the best for the New Year!
Thank you for your continued interest and support in 2008. We hope that 2009 brings you much success.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 12:01 Comments (0)
Journal of Cheminformatics now accepting submissions
I am delighted to announce that the Journal of Cheminformatics is now accepting submissions.
The Journal of Cheminformatics is a new peer-reviewed open access journal devoted to the dissemination of new and original knowledge in all branches of cheminformatics and molecular modelling including:
- chemical information systems, software and databases, and molecular modelling
- chemical structure representations and their use in structure, substructure, and similarity searching of chemical substance and chemical reaction databases
- computer and molecular graphics, computer-aided molecular design, expert systems, QSAR, and data mining techniques
The Journal of Cheminformatics is an independent open access journal published by Chemistry Central. The Editors-in-Chief for the journal are: Christoph Steinbeck, Head of Cheminformatics and Metabolism at the European Bioinformatics Institute, and David J. Wild, Assistant Professor of Informatics at the Indiana University School of Informatics. Editorial control for the journal will lie with the Editors-in-Chief and Editorial Board, whilst Chemistry Central will provide in-house administrative and operational support.
The Journal of Cheminformatics will publish high quality peer-reviewed research of specific interest to the cheminformatics community. As well as providing open access to published articles, the journal will strive to respond to emerging electronic technologies to enhance the display of scientific data.
The new journal will benefit the scientific community by providing a valuable forum for the dissemination of research in cheminformatics. The multi-disciplinary nature of cheminformatics research makes the benefits of open access particularly attractive, as it ensures that scientists working on different aspects will all have shared access to the latest research.
I encourage you to spread the news of the Journal of Cheminformatics to your colleagues, and to submit your cheminformatics research to our new journal.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 17:28 Comments (0)
4th German Cheminformatics Conference
The 4th German Conference on Cheminformatics takes place on 9-11 November 2008 in Goslar, Germany. The meeting is organised by the "Chemistry-Information-Computer" division of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker e.V., and this international symposium will span a wide range of contributions related to computer-aided processes in chemistry, and to chemical information.
The programme includes sessions covering: Cheminformatics and Drug Development; Computational Material Science and Nanotechnology; Chemical Information; and Molecular Modelling.
The Chemical Information session is of particular interest, and includes a keynote presentation from Professor Steven Bachrach, at Trinity University, San Antonio, USA, entitled "Open Access: does it address our problems?"
Chemistry Central will also be making an exciting announcement at the conference.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 10:59 Comments (0)
NIGMS funds new structure-activity database
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), which is one of the National Institutes of Health, has announced funding of a project to enhance computer-aided drug design.
The University of Michigan will lead the project to expand and enhance the molecular data needed to develop computer programs that more accurately predict potential drug candidates. The data will be presented in a free access online database. The project is estimated to receive up to US$5 million over 5 years from the NIGMS.
Chemist Heather Carlson of the University of Michigan will oversee the creation and operation of the new Community Structure-Activity Resource.
To build it, Carlson and her co-investigators at the University of Michigan will gather molecular data from existing resources as well as generating new data. A major activity will be the collection of unpublished data from pharmaceutical company scientists, who emphasized both the need for this information and a willingness to share it.
The team also will draw from published literature as well as from Carlson’s Binding MOAD (“Mother of All Databases”), which contains more than 11,000 protein-ligand complexes, and the PDBbind database, which was developed by co-investigator Shaomeng Wang, and provides experimentally measured binding data. The team will conduct experiments to address any gaps in the data and sponsor community-wide events to facilitate collaboration among scientists.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 12:54 Comments (0)
Chemistry Central host OA session at EuCheMS Congress
Chemistry Central hosted an engaging open session - An Introduction to Open Access Publishing in Chemistry - at the recent EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Torino, Italy.
Jan Kuras, Associate Publisher at Chemistry Central, provided an overview of the strategy and business model of OA publishing and positioned it within the publishing landscape, highlighting the beneficiaries throughout the research community.
Dr Livia Simon Sarkadi, from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, then examined the benefits (as well as some disadvantages) of OA publishing to the chemistry community and shared some initiatives that could be implemented to progress OA in chemistry. These included: soliciting articles from leading chemists in areas of high topicality to raise the profile of an OA journal; engaging with young chemists for whom OA publications will be part of their careers; and seeking support for OA publishing from national societies and divisions.
Please contact us if you would like to find out more about the session. Also, if you are organising a chemistry conference in the future and would like to include a session on open access publishing please contact us.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 15:25 Comments (0)
Open Access session at EuCheMS Congress in Torino
Chemistry Central will be hosting An Introduction to Open Access Publishing in Chemistry on Thursday 18th September from 12-12.30 pm during the 2nd EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in the Madrid Room of the Lingotto Conference Centre, Torino, Italy.
This is a great opportunity to find out more about open access publishing and Chemistry Central, and will include an open floor debate for your questions to be answered.
We are pleased to announce that we will be joined by guest speaker Dr. Livia Simon Sarkadi, Associate Professor from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary, who will discuss the benefits of open access publishing from the academic perspective.
The session is free to attend, so we look forward to seeing you there.
Posted by Jan Kuras at 15:07 Comments (0)
Meet us at the EuCheMS Congress in Torino
The 2nd EuCheMS Chemistry Congress takes place in Torino, Italy, 16-20 September at the Lingotto Convention Centre.
Chemistry Central will be attending the congress, and you can visit the Chemistry Central stand (#31) any time from Tuesday 16th to Saturday 20th September, where we will be promoting open access publishing and our journal portfolio. Leave your details at the stand to enter our prize draw to win a fantastic 8GB MP4 Watch Player with 1.5 inch LCD screen.
The congress is co-organised by the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) and the Società Chimica Italiana (SCI). The 4-day programme includes plenary, keynote, and invited lectures as well as contributed oral communications and poster sessions. The scope of the congress will cover the 6 following themes: Advances in Synthesis; Advances in Understanding; Chemistry and Life Sciences; Energy and Industry; Environment; Materials and Devices. Participants include Nobel Laureates in Chemistry Peter Agre, Robert H. Grubbs, Hartmut Michel and K. Barry Sharpless.
We look forward to seeing you in Torino!
Posted by Jan Kuras at 11:10 Comments (0)