New journal to publish discoveries in biophysics

A new open access journal from Cambridge University Press – QRB Discovery – will provide an outlet for exciting new discoveries in the burgeoning field of biophysics.

Its launch this week coincides with the annual conference of the Biophysical Society and promises those working in the field a fast, transparent way to publish cutting edge results.

Biopyhsics applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics and maths to study the living world, from molecules and cells right up to populations of animals and plants. This interdisciplinary approach has a huge number of applications, including new ways to overcome disease, eradicate global hunger and produce renewable energy sources.

The focus for QRB Discovery will be on biological phenomena that can be described and analysed from a molecular angle.

A sister title to the existing Press journal, Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics, its Editor-in-Chief will be Professor Bengt Nordén from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

He said: “Research in this area has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges facing our species and our planet. It’s vital that discoveries with the potential to benefit society are published quickly and transparently.

“The field has been missing a dedicated place to publish ground-breaking results – ‘discoveries’ – that point towards an exciting direction, rather than presenting a traditional comprehensive study. This is the gap QRB Discovery will seek to fill.”

He added: “Authors will be encouraged to elaborate on the potential consequences and wider impact of their discoveries. If the research is of high quality and it’s a sound result that points in an exciting direction – even if that’s speculative – we will publish.”

Caroline Black, the Press’s STM Publishing Director, said: “The launch of QRB Discovery is an opportunity to publish more original research papers across the disciplines of physics, mathematics and computational sciences as applied to biological problems. By filling the current gap in the market for such papers, we will provide a venue of real value to authors in these disciplines.

“The journal has been designed to provide rapid, open access publication with rigorous, constructive and open peer review, giving the research a wider reach and greater impact, and demonstrating our commitment to discourse and the development of a topic.”

###