The Science of Nature

Abstract

Since its foundation in 1913, the body of academic work published in Naturwissenschaften (NAWI) has reflected contemporary developments across the breadth of the natural science disciplines. Achieving international acceptance as a multidisciplinary journal is challenging and potentially risky, but is ultimately a highly desirable goal, which only a few journals have been able to sustain over time. 2013 will mark 100 years of this journal’s existence, and NAWI is now confirming its focus and future direction as one of the few multidisciplinary journals of present time. Now more than ever, cross-boundary thinking is demanded of scientists of all disciplines, in order to tackle the challenges facing society, such as the global anthropogenic impact on our planet. Careers in the natural sciences of the past decades were largely driven by individual specialist development, often requiring highly specific skills, in order to be able to cope with the rapid developments of individual disciplines. Although I believe that this strategy will continue to be important, there is an increased demand for scientists to be able to put the pieces of specialist knowledge together in order to reveal the bigger picture. This call for scientific synthesis not only addresses those who work in the applied world of resource management, but also those of us who address the basic ‘blue skies’ research questions that might reveal ground-breaking revelations. Cross-boundary thinking requires a different approach to conceptualising problems, if not a change in academic culture. As an evolutionary biologist evaluating work done in previous decades fostering this mentality requires a redefinition of scientific approaches from first principles. This is particularly poignant in a year in which we celebrate one of the greatest thinkers of all, Charles Darwin, who published ‘On the Origin of Species’ only 150 years ago. His groundbreaking work has changed our view of ourselves, the world we are living in, and even our society. As a peer-reviewed international journal, NAWI will continue to advocate the development of multidisciplinary thinking. The academic focus of the NAWI has shifted under the influence of several Editors-in-Chief over time. From 2000–2009, Tatiana Czeschlik has led the journal to its current height in performance with an impact factor of 1.955, and ranked 7 in the Multidisciplinary Science Journal category (Thomson, 2007). Tatiana has recently decided to step-down from her responsibility as principal Editor-in-Chief, and since 1 February 2009, I have taken on the responsibility to lead the journal beyond its 100 years in existence. I am extremely grateful that Tatiana has agreed to lead me through the interim period, and as a continuous source of information and feedback. Our joint lead as Editors-in-Chief throughout 2009 will guarantee continuity whilst I implement my ambitions for further development of the journal. I wish to conclude these editorial thoughts by focusing on some technical changes to the journal, most of which have already become day-to-day practice: NAWI is now accompanied by the subtitle—The Science of Nature— giving credit to the fact that English is undoubtedly the lead academic language at the present time. As a matter of further internationalising the journal, the editorial board is currently undergoing a major revamp by incorporating new members. This simply reflects that a few specialists cannot evaluate the whole scope of the natural sciences. A sound peer-review process thus demands a wide range of expertise to cope with the challenges involved in assessing the Naturwissenschaften (2009) 96:421–422 DOI 10.1007/s00114-009-0528-7