By Randy Schekman -
In June 2011, three of the most prestigious research funding bodies in the world announced an unprecedented collaboration to inspire change in the way scientific discoveries are communicated and shared.
The first product of this collaboration iseLife,an open-access journal for the most influential discoveries in life science and biomedicine.eLifewill be a platform to increase the quality of peer review and showcase how technology may be used to enhance scientific reporting.
Over the past year and a half, the eLife staff and editorial leadership have worked diligently to launch a top journal – from the introduction of our logo and first website, the appointment of nearly 200 esteemed colleagues to our senior editorial team and board of reviewing editors, and the announcement of the call for papers, to the release of our very first published articles in the past few weeks. The response toeLifethus far has been most encouraging, with outstanding submissions and an effective and streamlined review process that reviewers and authors alike have found to be most refreshing.
In roughly a week and a half – during the week of December 10, we’ll mark the culmination of these events with the launch of the officialeLifejournal website. This first version of the website will show some of the ways in whicheLifewill explore improving science communication with digital media.
Our launch release will also contain a new set of important papers, along with commentary by experts and colleagues – above and beyond the rich selection of material we have published prior to the website launch. Advance notice of these papers will be provided next week. ( Sign up to stay informed).
The scientists behind eLife will be celebrating the launch, and their hard work in bringing it to fruition, in events in ten different countries between December and March. Keep an eye on this site for our list of events and how you can participate.
To be alerted when theeLifejournal website is online, sign up. To browse the papers we’ve already published, visit http://www.elifesciences.org/the-journal/articles/.
Please stay tuned as we grow closer to this important landmark in the eLife initiative. And thank you for your support.
