Archive by category | Publishing

NSMB’s tips for revising your paper in response to reviewers

NSMB's tips for revising your paper in response to reviewers

From: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 17, 389 (2010) Your paper went out to review, and after anxious waiting, you receive the letter asking for a revised paper. However, those ever-demanding editors and reviewers want more. One of the most important elements of a revision is the point-by-point response. Here are some tips for making it more effective. Keep to the point. We [the NSMB editors] internally call this a point-by-point rather than a rebuttal, implying that it makes a series of points in response to each point raised by the reviewers. We will, and indeed have, read through 17-page  … Read more

Nature Geoscience on the pros and cons of online publication

Nature Geoscience on the pros and cons of online publication

Online publishing has blurred the boundary between accepted and published articles, a topic discussed in an Editorial this month (April) in Nature Geoscience ( 3,219; 2010) . From the Editorial: With the advent of online publication over the past 10 years, it no longer needs to take months or years for an accepted paper to become available to journal subscribers, and the term ‘monthly journal’ is losing its meaning. Articles are published online weeks to months before publication in print, with benefits all round: authors can make their peer-reviewed results available to the scientific community quickly, readers can keep abreast  … Read more

Special focus on genome instability

Special focus on genome instability

The March issue of Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology presents a web focus on genome instability. The integrity of the genome is crucial for tumour suppression and for the propagation of genomic information to subsequent generations. DNA damage can result from cellular metabolism, exogenous genotoxic agents or routine errors in DNA replication and recombination. To combat these attacks and maintain genome integrity, cells have evolved a response system that induces cell cycle arrest, allowing sufficient time for DNA repair by specialized proteins. The DNA damage response system activates the appropriate DNA repair pathway or, in the case of irreparable damage,  … Read more

How publishers are adding value

How publishers are adding value

Grace Baynes of Nature Publishing group was interviewed by Dick Kaser last week on Infotoday blog, the conference blog by the editors of Information Today. In this video interview, she “notes that while 2008 and 2009 may have been about developing and deploying products with social networking capabilities, the opportunities that lie ahead require content and business model innovation. She suggests that publishers think about Open Access, mobile devices and ebook readers. Some may also need to rethink pricing and licensing terms.” VIdeo interview with Grace Baynes of Nature Publishing Group. More news about Nature Publishing Group. Join the NPG  … Read more

Web-based scholarly communication in chemistry

Web-based scholarly communication in chemistry

New web-based models of scholarly communication have made a significant impact in some scientific disciplines, but chemistry is not one of them. What has prevented the widespread adoption of these developments by chemists — and what are the prospects for adoption over time? These controversial questions are addressed by Theresa Velden and Carl Lagoze of Cornell University in a Commentary in the December issue of Nature Chemistry (1, 673-678; 2009). The authors write: “The success of these new web-based and social-network models in disciplines neighbouring to and at the periphery of chemistry (such as drug design) stands in contrast to  … Read more

NPG’s annual letter to customers (2009)

Nature Publishing Group’s managing director, Stephen Inchcoombe, has just written his annual letter to the company’s customers. NPG’s customers are varied: as well as authors and peer-reviewers, they include readers, subscribers, librarians, institutions, advertisers, suppliers, partners, sponsors, and more. The annual letter is, necessarily, broad, so I’ll highlight here a few points of particular interest to authors:  … Read more

New NPG journal: Cell Death & Disease

Via press release: Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and the Associazione Differenziamento e Morte Cellulare (ADMC) have announced a new open access journal, Cell Death & Disease. Launching in January 2010, Cell Death & Disease will explore the area of cell death from a translational medicine perspective. The journal is now accepting submissions.  Read more

Data sharing discussed at Nature and Nature Network

Sharing data is good. But sharing your own data? That can get complicated. As two research communities who held meetings on this question in Rome and in Toronto in May report their proposals to promote data sharing in biology, a special issue of Nature (10 September 2009) examines the cultural and technical hurdles that can get in the way of good intentions. Some of the authors of these proposals are participating in two online forums (Rome and Toronto) at Nature Network – so please accept our invitation to visit and have your say on these questions.  Read more

Short is sweet, says EMBO reports

Scientific publishing seems to be moving in several contradictory directions. Against these conflicting trends, EMBO reports seeks to re-assert the importance of the short-format article, carrying a single key message of ground-breaking significance. So writes the journal’s Editor, Howie Jacobs (EMBO reports 10, 935; 2009). Against a background of screeds of scientific articles, blogs and other commentary available on the internet, and vast mountains of supplementary information and data, the short-format of EMBO reports is increasingly popular. From the Editorial:  … Read more