This month’s Editorial in Nature Chemical Biology, A mechanistic meeting point, addresses the divergent ideas among different communities of scientists of what constitutes mechanistic insight into a biological system. From the Editorial:

“Obviously, it is ideal for scientists from many disciplines to agree that a scientific result is insightful and exciting, because it means that the conclusion crosses scientific borders. Accordingly, chemical biologists should plan their projects and publications to consider each of these fundamentally distinct approaches from the outset. Interaction with colleagues and collaborators with different backgrounds can facilitate these excursions into foreign intellectual territory. In addition, authors should use referee reports as an important guide for developing improved papers that more effectively balance the requirements of research at the interface of chemistry and biology. The integration of expectations concerning mechanistic insight into a new, cohesive, community mind-set will serve as the foundation for chemical biology moving forward.”