Public Library of Science to Launch Additional Open-Access Journals; PLoS ''Community Journals'' to Make Scientific and Medical Discoveries Freely Available Online.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Public Library of Science (PLoS) embarks today on a new phase of its ambitious plan to transform scientific publishing, announcing the 2005 launch of three new open-access journals--PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, and PLoS Pathogens. These PLoS Community Journals answer the increasing calls of scientists, scientific societies, and governments around the world for the free and open sharing of discoveries and data through reputable, high-quality, peer-reviewed journals targeted to specific research communities.

Like all PLoS journals--including the award-winning PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine--PLoS Community Journals are "open access", meaning that all papers appearing in these journals are freely available immediately upon publication for anyone to read, download, redistribute, and reuse. "Open access eliminates the subscription barriers that block access to so many important scientific papers," noted Dr. Michael Eisen, co-founder of PLoS. "We expect the genetics, computational biology, and pathogens communities to embrace open-access publishing and take the lead in developing innovative new ways to make use of the growing library of freely available scientific publications."

PLoS is partnering with the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) to publish PLoS Computational Biology. The community represented by the ISCB is acutely aware of the importance of open access, as the rapidly growing field of computational biology has depended heavily on the free and open availability of DNA sequences, protein structures, and other forms of biological data. Now accepting submissions at www.ploscompbiol.org and scheduled to launch in June 2005, PLoS Computational Biology makes journal articles in the field an unbounded resource. The publication is of broad biological scope--including works of exceptional significance that further the understanding of living systems at all scales, from molecules and cells to populations and ecosystems, through the application of computational methods.

"The ISCB believes that open access to scientific research is the best means of rapidly expanding the knowledge and innovation demonstrated by ISCB members and computational biologists around the world," announced ISCB President, Michael Gribskov. "The open-access publishing model pursued by PLoS is ideal for accelerating the type of multidisciplinary discoveries achieved by our members."

PLoS Genetics, now accepting submissions at www.plosgenetics.org and launching July 2005, publishes papers that provide important biological insights and transforming tools and technologies for genetics research, through human studies as well as investigations of model organisms--from mice and flies, to plants and bacteria. PLoS Pathogens, which will begin accepting submissions in March 2005 and commence publishing in fall of 2005, will publish the most significant studies of the interactions of host cells and organisms with bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

In order to make important scientific discoveries freely available online while covering the costs of publication, a growing number of open-access journals around the world treat the expenses of publishing research articles as an integral component of the cost of conducting research. The authors of each primary scientific article published in PLoS Community Journals are asked to pay a $1,500 open- access publication charge, which are normally covered by their research grants, funding agencies, or employing institutions. As is currently the case for existing PLoS journals, that fee is waived for any authors who say they cannot afford it, through a process that does not influence editorial decisions. In many cases, publication charges are reduced or waived upon an article's submission through PLoS Institutional Memberships and foundation grants.

"We believe that scientific publishing should be funded upfront by the organizations that sponsor research, rather than at the back end through ever increasing subscription rates," said PLoS Co-Founder Harold Varmus. "These one-time charges cover the costs of high quality peer-review and production, and allow PLoS to make all research freely available from the moment of publication."

As an important move to further its commitment to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource, PLoS is seeking additional partnerships and collaborations within different scientific communities and professional societies to catalyze and facilitate the launch of other open-access initiatives. "We share with the ISCB and all scholarly societies the desire to create journals that serve their communities. To this end, PLoS is committed to creating open-access venues for all quality research, and to providing an open-access publishing model that societies and other publishers can adapt for their own journals," stated Vivian Siegel, Executive Director of PLoS.

The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical research a public resource. PLoS publishes open-access journals of original peer-reviewed research, including PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine, which are available at no cost to anyone in the world with a connection to the Internet. More information can be found at www.plos.org, www.plosgenetics.org, and www.ploscompbiol.org .

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) is a scholarly society dedicated to advancing the scientific understanding of living systems through computation. Founded in 1997, the ISCB communicates the significance of our science to the larger scientific community, governments, and the public at large. The ISCB serves a global membership by impacting government and scientific policies, providing high-quality publications and meetings, and distributing valuable information about training, education, employment, and relevant news from related fields. More about the ISCB can be found at www.iscb.org.