Molecular Biology of the Cell: It's Our Journal

Abstract

Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBC) begins its 16th year, and I am proud to have been asked to serve as its new Editor-in-Chief. I follow in the footsteps of two visionaries in scientific publication, David Botstein and Keith Yamamoto. Under their leadership, MBC set the tone as a journal whose exclusive motivation was to serve the scientific community and to facilitate the communication of important findings. The following philosophy of Molecular Biology of the Cell, first articulated in 1992, remains our guide: Molecular Biology of the Cell is published by the nonprofit American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) and is free from commercial oversight and influence. We believe that the reporting of science is an integral part of research itself and that scientific journals should be instruments in which scientists are at the controls. Hence, MBC serves as an instrument of the ASCB membership and as such advocates the interests of contributors and readers through fair, prompt, and thorough review, coupled with responsible editorial adjudication and thoughtful suggestions for revision and clarification. Our most essential review criterion is that the work significantly advances our knowledge, and/or provides new concepts or approaches that extend our understanding. At MBC, every editorial decision is rendered solely by active working scientists—true peers of the contributors. The ASCB and MBC are committed to promoting the concept of open access to the scientific literature. MBC seeks to facilitate communication among scientists by publishing original papers that include full documentation of Methods and Results, with Introductions and Discussions that frame questions and interpret findings clearly (even for those outside an immediate circle of experts); exploiting technical advances to enable rapid dissemination of articles prior to print publication, and transmitting and archiving videos, large datasets, and other materials that enhance understanding; making accepted manuscripts freely accessible within days of acceptance via MBC in Press and presenting final online format only 2 months after acceptance. Key to our philosophy is the statement that “the reporting of science is an integral part of research itself, and scientific journals should be instruments in which scientists are at the controls. Hence, MBC serves as an instrument of the ASCB membership and as such advocates the interests of contributors and readers.” In other words, MBC is our journal. We are active participants—as editors, reviewers, authors, and readers—in determining how MBC affects research and researchers in cell biology. What are our responsibilities, and how do we exercise them?