Online‐only issue

Abstract

This is a preamble to the first online-only issue of BJP. An ‘online-only issue’ means that there will be no accompanying print issue, but in all other respects it is a regular issue of BJP – it is citable in the normal way and has volume, issue and page numbers. It is additional to our normal subscription-access content, and has been supported by the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) as a bonus to the Scientific Community. This experiment allows us to publish the papers more quickly. We have also chosen to promote the papers to specific audiences who might not yet have access to BJP by making the papers ‘free to download’ without charge to the authors or readers. The papers are compiled in Thematic Sections corresponding to some of the areas in which BJP is strong, including Drug Discovery Cardiovascular Pharmacology Neuropharmacology Molecular & Cellular Mechanisms Immunology & Inflammation In a changing publishing environment, BJP aims to be innovative and to constantly enhance our service to authors and readers. To assist authors, papers published in BJP are completely free of charges to authors, including, Free full colour throughout Absolutely no submission or page charges. Our next innovative contribution to the community will be the new and updated Fifth Edition of the Guide to Receptors and Channels (GRAC), sponsored by the BPS and Pfizer, available at http://www.brjpharmacol.org/. This has been compiled in collaboration with the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC-IUPHAR) and is the first component of an exciting new venture by BPS and IUPHAR that will create a common portal to pharmacological data called the ‘Guide to Pharmacology’ and will be available at http://www.guidetopharmacology.org. This will provide access to GRAC and to the IUPHAR database of receptors and channels http://www.iuphar-db.org/, which are being integrated. Both the new GRAC and the portal will be available online in November 2011.