Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1-2,
January 2001
© 2001 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Editorial |
Molecular Human Reproduction has come of age. Born as a molecular offshoot of Human Reproduction in 1995, it has rapidly acquired a clear identity of its own. Thanks to the untiring endeavours of Professor Bob Edwards as founding editor, a lot of scientists and clinicians, using molecular techniques in their work, have come to see Molecular Human Reproduction as their first choice for publication. This faith in the journal has recently been rewarded by the announcement of the first impact factor, which at 3.643 places Molecular Human Reproduction at the top of the list of all `Reproductive Biology' journals.
Although the scope of the journal may seem broad from the point of view of the physiological areas covered, most of the colleagues I have asked reply that they enjoy browsing the journal cover to cover. Indeed the breadth in terms of physiology is positive, since someone working with one molecular system or method in one tissue can often learn so much from seeing how a similar system is working in a quite different tissue. For molecular biologists, whose focus tends to be sharp in the subcellular, but blurry elsewhere, this is very important.
As the new Editor-in-Chief I want to maintain this breadth. Molecular Human Reproduction is the molecular complement of Human Reproduction, with emphasis on understanding the molecular and subcellular mechanisms which underlie reproductive physiology, where differentiation processes play such an important role compared to the steady-state mechanisms of other organs and tissues. It is a journal for publishing basic science. I should like to see articles on genes and mutations, signal transduction, receptors, extracellular matrix, biophysics, gene transcription, secretion, glycosylation, enzymes, and many other biochemical and genetic aspects of reproductive physiology as they affect the functioning of the cells and tissues of the male and female generative organs. This includes all their accessory tissues, as well as the gametes and early embryo.
I have been asked whether the word `Human' in the journal title is not too restrictive. My answer here is a clear `no'. For many years reproductive biology has been led by studies in domestic species, with a clear interest in animal production. The human in spite of its obvious importance has been neglected in terms of basic science. Reproductive biology is notorious for the species specificity of its parameters. It is therefore all the more important in an age where more emphasis is being given to infertility, contraception, age-related endocrine disorders, environmental impact, etc., that we increase our knowledge of basic reproductive science as it applies to the human. This does not mean that articles will be restricted to ones dealing with human molecules. The opposite is true, I wish to encourage the appropriate use and production of animal systems which are good models for aspects of human reproductive physiology, be these in primates, transgenic mice, or even ruminants and marsupials, as long as they are relevant to human biology. To this end, we shall be beginning an irregular series of solicited mini-reviews, whose specific aim will be to introduce and describe different animal models, their advantages and disadvantages, and especially their suitability as models for certain aspects of human reproduction.
We shall also be inviting specific mini-reviews on `hot topics': new methods or discoveries which have dramatically exceeded the bounds of current knowledge. In this way, Molecular Human Reproduction will be not only the best journal for article submission and reference, but also the first journal to reach for when looking for something to browse through over coffee, whether as hard-copy or on-line. Reproductive physiology is going through a very exciting stage in history. With the completion of the first phase of the Human Genome Project, we can expect to see an explosion in our knowledge of molecules involved in the reproduction of the species, in their function and pathology. This is an exciting time, and I for one am looking forward eagerly to all the new discoveries.
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