The year 2010 is a special year for science in the Middle East. Earlier this year was the launch of Nature Middle East, a new portal from Nature Publishing Group, which focuses on emerging science in the Arab world. I may, obviously, a little biased, but I try to be as objective as possible when I say this is one of the best things that ever happened to science and research in the Arab world.

Now, hot on the heels of Nature Middle East, and only a few months afterwards, The Lancet Middle East comes to the region. This is another pivotal event for the Middle East. The Lancet is one of the oldest and most respected medical journals in the world.

The website offers a nice introduction in Arabic with some background information about the journal. It also has a news section with stories related to the region it covers.

Apart from the dedicated news section, the rest of the website seems to act as a portal to attract more readers from the Middle East to The Lancet’s popular website and to highlight the different Lancet branded journals. This is different from Nature Middle East, where all material published on the website is directly produced and dedicated to it.

Nevertheless, I love the fact that more people and organizations are turning their eyes towards the Middle East, realizing the potential it holds. On a completely selfish note, this will do wonders to the budding science community in the region. The new portals and journals coming to the region will feed this community, nurturing it quicker than was possible before. But on the other side, there’s also good business here, as these journals tap into a largely maiden region, with great potential. And those who come first will have the upper hand in the long run.

I think the science landscape in the Arab world is gearing up to be very very interesting in the coming months and years.