MBoC 2011: same values, improved feng shui

Abstract

Molecular Biology of the CellVol. 22, No. 21 EditorialFree AccessMBoC 2011: same values, improved feng shuiDouglas R. Kellogg, and David G. DrubinDouglas R. KelloggSearch for more papers by this author, and David G. DrubinSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:13 Oct 2017https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e11-09-0743AboutSectionsView PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail INTRODUCTIONMolecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) was conceived nearly 20 years ago as a journal that would be run by and for cell biologists under the auspices of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). The goal was to provide the cell biology community with a journal that would enhance scientific communication among cell biologists by providing authors with rapid, rigorous, constructive, and fair peer review, as well as editorial decisions that were not constrained by journal space or perceived trends. Over the years, MBoC has come to epitomize these values and in so doing has become a pillar of the cell biology community. Today, the values remain the same, but as MBoC heads into its twentieth year we are happy to highlight what we are doing to be more essential and relevant than ever. ASCB ANNUAL MEETING ISSUE AND COVERAGEThis issue is MBoC's third annual special issue focused on the ASCB Annual Meeting. It includes a collection of fascinating essays by the recipients of the E. B. Wilson Medal, the Keith Porter Award, the Women in Cell Biology Awards, the E. E. Just Award, and the Early Career Life Scientist Award. Together with invited Perspective and Retrospective essays by other prominent cell biologists, these articles provide insight into research careers, education, mentoring, diversity, science advocacy, and how key discoveries were made.In addition, for the second year in a row, we have invited chairs of the ASCB Annual Meeting Minisymposia to write reviews of their sessions. These will be published early in 2012. A REVAMPED WEBSITEIn August, MBoC launched a new and improved website (www.molbiolcell.org). In addition to a more contemporary look, better and more flexible use of screen real estate, and enhanced functionality, the new website includes links to sites with information about careers, education, ASCB events, and cell biology resources. Other new features and functionality will be added in the coming months.A NEW DESIGNEarly this year MBoC rolled out a new design for the “print” (PDF) versions of articles and for the journal's cover and front matter. We've received positive feedback; users have commented that the new look makes articles more inviting and easier to read.EXPECTATIONS FOR RIGOROUS AND CONSTRUCTIVE PEER REVIEWMBoC published an Editorial (Drubin, 2011) about the peer review process, which included a set of guidelines for how editors and reviewers can ensure that papers submitted to MBoC receive a rigorous, constructive, and fair review. This editorial received an extraordinary response from the community. It is clear that many scientists are frustrated with the current state of peer review and that MBoC can be an important part of the solution.FEATURE ARTICLESIn 2010 MBoC started publishing Features articles on topics of interest to the cell biology community. These have focused on a broad range of topics, including how to carry out quantitative binding assays, the role of National Institutes of Health Program Directors, meeting reviews, how to support innovation and translational research, and the transformational role of deep sequencing techniques in Caenorhabditis elegans genetics. The Features articles provide the cell biology community with a forum for communicating new ideas about topics such as research, mentoring, careers, and cell biology techniques.A VENUE FOR PAPERS WITH A THEORETICAL COMPONENTMBoC recognizes that theoretical approaches will increasingly be necessary to unlock some of the most interesting and challenging mysteries in cell biology. To encourage and support publication of articles with a theoretical component, MBoC published an Editorial from a group of experts that outlined guidelines for preparing theoretical papers (Mogilner et al., 2011). In addition, MBoC published a Features article that provided advice on when a project will benefit from theoretical approaches (Fletcher, 2011).With these improvements, we anticipate that MBoC will do even better at serving the ASCB community. As always, we welcome suggestions for further improvements, as well as suggestions for new Features articles. This is your journal, so let us know how MBoC can best serve your needs!FOOTNOTES10.1091/mbc.E11-09-0743Douglas R. Kellogg is the Features Editor of Molecular Biology of the Cell. David G. Drubin is Editor-in-Chief.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe thank the ASCB Award winners for their excellent contributions to this volume. We also thank Larry Goldstein, Ted Salmon, and Clare Waterman for contributing excellent articles on science policy and on the discovery of fluorescent speckle microscopy. We are grateful to Janet Iwasa for the beautiful cover image, which was elegantly constructed with images from The Cell: An Image Library (http://cellimages.ascb.org). Finally, we thank Mark Leader and Eric Baker for their expert guidance and supervision of all things MBoC.REFERENCES Drubin DG (2011). Any jackass can trash a manuscript, but it takes good scholarship to create one (how MBoC promotes civil and constructive peer review). Mol Biol Cell 22, 525-527. Link, Google Scholar Fletcher DA (2011). To model or not to model?. Mol Biol Cell 22, 909-910. Link, Google Scholar Mogilner A, Edelstein-Keshet L, Bloom K (2011). Guidelines for publishing papers containing theory and modeling. Mol Biol Cell 22, 907-908. Link, Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 22, No. 21 November 01, 20113917-4204 Metrics Downloads & Citations Downloads: 57 History Information© 2011 Kellogg and Drubin. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).We thank the ASCB Award winners for their excellent contributions to this volume. We also thank Larry Goldstein, Ted Salmon, and Clare Waterman for contributing excellent articles on science policy and on the discovery of fluorescent speckle microscopy. We are grateful to Janet Iwasa for the beautiful cover image, which was elegantly constructed with images from The Cell: An Image Library (http://cellimages.ascb.org). Finally, we thank Mark Leader and Eric Baker for their expert guidance and supervision of all things MBoC.PDF download