Royal Society launches groundbreaking new journal

The Royal Society today announces the launch of Open Biology, a new open access journal covering research in cellular and molecular aspects of biology. It is the Society’s first wholly open access and online-only journal.

The new journal will publish original, high quality, research in cell biology, developmental and structural biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, immunology, microbiology and genetics.  It will be overseen by a team of academic Subject Editors with support by an international Editorial Board. Subject Editors include Professor Peter Parham FRS, Stanford University and Professor David Glover FRS, Cambridge University.  The launch complements the Royal Society’s existing hybrid, optional open access journals and open access-friendly policies.

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society said “Open biology is an exciting new open-access journal covering a wide range of cellular and molecular biology.  The Royal Society is a strong supporter of open-access publishing and is pleased to launch its new journal which will draw on the high standards of the Society over its 350 year history of scientific publishing.”

The funding required to make Open Biology open access will derive from article-processing charges, which will cover the expenses associated with peer review, composition, hosting, and archiving.  A Call for Papers will be issued in July  and the first article published in Autumn 2011.