A new publishing house that aims to change the way scientists communicate their research findings will be launched at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) meeting in Los Angeles from 21-25 May 2000. BioMed Central will give biological and medical scientists the opportunity to publish their research findings quickly and directly online. By immediately lodging all research published by BioMed Central in the NIH sponsored PubMed Central repository, the publishing house will give free access to the latest research findings to all.
"BioMed Central will be the most significant development for disseminating the results of biomedical research in our lifetime," says Dr Paul Nurse, Director General of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Visitors to the ASM exhibition will be among the first to learn about BioMed Central and how on-line submission and peer-review play an important role in releasing research information into the public domain faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Microbiologists will be among the first groups of scientists to have the opportunity to publish specialist journals within BioMed Central. These journals will allow scientists working in a specific field to publish their research results quickly and efficiently online. These free access journals will help facilitate the rapid dissemination of peer-reviewed research findings and encourage collaboration between research groups around the world.
BioMed Central will be located at booth #130 of the ASM exhibition at the Los Angeles Convention Center, South Exhibit Hall 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90015, USA.
1. Visitors to the BioMed Central booth will also be able to enter a prize draw for a Handspring Visor DeluxeTM. Visitors should leave a business card or contact details in the draw box at stand 130 to enter the competition. The draw will be made on Friday 26th May and the winner will be notified by email.
2. Further information on the ASM meeting and exhibition is available from www.asmusa.org/mtgsrc/generalmeeting.htm or the ASM communications department on tel: 202-942-9297 fax: 202-942-9367 email: Communications@asmusa.org
3. The original proposal for PubMed Central made by Dr Harold Varmus, the former Director of the NIH, can be found at:
www.nih.gov/about/director/pubmedcentral/ebiomedarch.htm
The PubMed Central archive of research can be found at: www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
4. BioMed Central is part of the Current Science Group, a group of independent companies that collaborate closely with each other to publish and develop information and services for the professional biomedical community. The Group has its head-office in London (UK), with additional offices in Philadelphia, New York and Tokyo. www.current-science-group.com