Frontiers news
16 Jan 2014
Bielefeld University will cover Article Processing Charges for corresponding authors affiliated to Bielefeld University who wish to publish in any of the Frontiers journals.
Frontiers news
25 Nov 2013
Alex Hansen is professor of theoretical physics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His main research interests are complex transport processes in disordered media. He is Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Physics. What excites you about working as a Physicist? Nature in all its complexity is understandable – this never ceases to amaze me. The truth is often very subtle and the way there is typically quite frustrating, but with hard work one eventually gets there. Whodunits are very popular with the general public. Doing physics is solving mysteries and the excitement in doing so is that of the whodunit. Why did you join Frontiers in Physics as Field Chief Editor? I first heard of Frontiers in Neuroscience through a colleague a couple of years ago. He liked it a lot. When I heard that Frontiers were to start a corresponding journal in physics, I seized the opportunity and applied for an editorial position. I see the position as Field Chief Editor as a great challenge. Frontiers with its unique structure has given me – and all the other physics editors – the tools to create a great journal. It is our job now to succeed. How do you see Frontiers in […]
Frontiers news
28 Oct 2013
Dr. Martin G. Klotz is Professor & Chair of Biology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, USA, and works on the genome-informed reconstruction of key catabolic pathways in chemolithotrophs. He is Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Microbiology. 1. What excites you about working as a Microbiologist? Microbiology has long become the testing grounds for new technologies and it has been instrumental for the emergence of hypotheses and theory. Today’s new “next-generation technologies” have afforded microbiologists (which are actually a collection of mathematicians, chemists, geologists, physicists and engineers) to stop doing what their original craft prescribes – reductionism – and to study microbes at the levels of their natural existence, namely in populations, communities and ecosystems. This has led to spectacular insight and the recognition that bacteria and archaea are facultative multi-cellular organisms with chemical and social lifestyles that are the foundation for a functioning Biosphere on planet Earth. Hence, humankind’s quality of life and its sustainability will always demand continued pursuit towards a better understanding of microorganisms. 2. Why did you join Frontiers in Microbiology as Field Chief Editor? I immediately saw the possibility to create cross-disciplinary platforms of communication for colleagues that rarely “reach across the isle” […]
Frontiers news
22 Oct 2013
Open Letter to the Frontiers Editorial Boards On October 4, Science magazine published a news item describing the submission of a fake research article to more than 250 open-access journals, resulting in 60% of journals accepting the article after virtually no peer review. The study aimed at representing a “first global snapshot of peer review across open-access”: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/60.full The fake article was also submitted to Frontiers. In our case, the Specialty Chief Editor of the relevant section rejected the article the same day it was submitted following an initial scan for content, exactly in keeping with the high-quality control that Frontiers has put in place. Indeed, one of the reasons why Frontiers was founded was to fix the many problems of traditional peer review, which we achieve by: 1. Appointing only top-notch researchers and clinicians to our boards to ensure quality; 2. Introducing standardized review questionnaires that enforce in-depth and rigorous reviews; 3. Creating the interactive “Review Forum” which opens a direct dialogue between authors, reviewers and editors, allowing not only the editor, but also the reviewers to see and participate in each other’s reviews; 4. Requiring reviewers and editor to reach a consensus and take a unanimous decision; 5. Publishing the names of the reviewers […]
Frontiers news
29 Aug 2013
Those who often recall their dreams respond more strongly to their name, finds new study (Wired Magazine) – How often do you remember your dreams? For some people the answer can be as little as once or twice a month, whereas others can recollect their sleeping thoughts almost every day. Little is known about what causes people to remember dreams, but a new study has linked a propensity to remember dreams to a stronger neurological reaction to hearing the sound of first names — both when you’re awake and asleep. Researchers at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre divided 36 subjects into two groups — high dream recallers who frequently remembered their mental nighttime escapades, and low dream recallers who only remembered their dreams once or twice a month. For every participant, brain activity that occurred when they heard their first name and an unfamiliar first name was recorded both during sleep and while they were awake. Continue reading the Wired magazine news report.The study titled Alpha reactivity to first names differs in subjects with high and low dream recall frequency was published in Frontiers in Psychology as part of a Frontiers Research Topic on Contrasting Dreaming and Wakefulness: Frontiers in Consciousness Research. Follow the research activity of lead author, […]
Frontiers news
27 Aug 2013
Two neurologists from Illinois report a unique case of musical hallucinations that they say raises “intriguing” questions regarding memory, forgetting, and access to lost memories. The 60-year-old woman, with a history of bilateral sensory-neural hearing loss and tinnitus, reported hearing music one night while trying to fall asleep. She said it was like a radio playing at the back of her head. Within 4 months, she was hearing music all the time. She would hear 1 song over and over for 3 weeks, than another song. What’s novel about this case, say Danilo Vitorovic, MD, and José Biller, MD, from the Department of Neurology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University, Maywood, Illinois, is that the songs she heard were popular tunes that her husband recognized when she sang or hummed them, but she herself could not identify them. “She could actually hum the tunes and retrieve the lyrics to an extent of nonrecognizable songs,” Dr. Biller noted in an interview with Medscape Medical News. “That to us was unique.” Read the Mescape news report here. Media coverage also includes a blog post from Scope Medical Blog, published by Stanford Medicine, and Discovery News. The clinical case study, published in Frontiers in Neurology, can […]
Frontiers news
30 Jul 2013
Media coverage of research published in Frontiers Menthol cigarettes appear to be more addictive and pose a greater health threat than unflavored tobacco, an FDA report says. The agency plans more studies and will ‘explore all potential options,’ reports the LA Times. LA Times also features a Frontiers in Pharmacology review paper titled Not so cool? Menthol’s discovered actions on the nicotinic receptor and its implications for nicotine addiction that contributes to the mounting suspicion that adding menthol to tobacco causes it to behave differently in the human body.The paper, authored by Nadine I. Kabbani of George Mason University, focuses on menthol’s effects on the acetylcholine nicotinic receptors found throughout the body, including in the brain. It finds that menthol may directly promote nicotine craving because it binds to a particular type of nicotinic receptor within nerve cells, the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, and impairs its response to nicotine. In the longer term, menthol seems to promote the expression of other nicotinic receptor genes in regions of the brain that process pleasure, reward, and addiction. Dr. Kabbani concludes that it is time to re-examine rules and regulations on menthol cigarettes. Read more LA Times: FDA moves toward restricting menthol in cigarettes Frontiers in […]
Frontiers news
19 Jul 2013
Media coverage of research published in Frontiers. Drinking water is good for you. But did you know it can boost cognitive performance? Caroline Edmonds and colleagues from the University of East London and the University of Westminster report that reaction times were up to 14% shorter after drinking water. As part of a study, they tested 34 adults, who had not eaten or drunk anything overnight, for memory, attention, learning, and reaction time. Subjects were tested on two mornings: once after they had consumed a cereal bar and water, and once after eaten a cereal bar only. Reaction times were up to 14% shorter after drinking water, especially for those who felt thirsty. Unexpectedly, performance on a complex-rule-learning task became slightly worse after drinking. Future research will have to determine why drinking water can be beneficial for some cognitive tasks, but not for others, say the authors. The results are published in a paper titled Subjective thirst moderates changes in speed of responding associated with water consumption in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The research was covered by CTV, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Yahoo, Medical Dailyand the Huffington Post. Read the open-access paper here.
Frontiers news
12 Jul 2013
Media coverage of research published in Frontiers. When people sing in a choir their heart beats are synchronised, so that the pulse of choir members tends to increase and decrease in unison. This has been shown by a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg that examined the health effects for choir members. Researchers at the Academy are studying how music, in purely biological terms, affects our body and our health. The object is to find new forms where music may be used for medical purposes, primarily within rehabilitation and preventive care.In the latest study titled “Music determines heart rate variability of singers” published in theFrontiers in Psychology, the research group is able to show how the musical structure influences the heart rate of choir members. The study received widespread media coverage from BBC, CNN, New Scientist, Scientific American (and there is a podcast here), TIME magazine, CBC, The Times, Der Spiegeland many more. A video of the researchers performing their research live is available below. The paper is available to read here (open-access, of course!).
Frontiers news
10 Jul 2013
Media coverage of research published in Frontiers. A device that trains the brain to turn sounds into images could be used as an alternative to invasive treatment for blind and partially-sighted people, researchers at the University of Bath have found. A research team, led by Dr Michael Proulx, from the University’s Department of Psychology, looked at how blindfolded sighted participants responded to an eye test using the vOICe sensory substitution device. Its performance is even better than the current invasive techniques for vision restoration, such as stem cell implants and retinal prostheses, says Dr. Proulx. The findings are reported in the paper “How well do you see what you hear? The acuity of visual-to-auditory sensory substitution,” published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, as part of a Research Topic in Cognitive Science on synaesthesia research. Dr. Proulx appeared on BBC Radio 5, BBC World Tonight and other radio channels to discuss his research. Many leading media outlets also featured the news, including, TIME,CBC, Sky News, Engineering & Techology magazine, Nursing Times and many more. The paper is available to read here (open-access, of course!).
Frontiers news
05 Jul 2013
The growing Frontiers team is settling into our new office space and would like to wish all of our American followers a Happy 4th of July!
Frontiers news
02 Jul 2013
Media coverage of research published in Frontiers The largest human cognitive performance dataset reveals insights into the effects of lifestyle factors and aging. Lumosity, the leading brain training company, announced a new web-based, big data methodology for conducting human cognitive performance research. The Human Cognition Project, Lumosity’s research platform, contains the world’s largest and continuously growing dataset of human cognitive performance, which currently includes more than 40 million people who have been tracked for up to 6 years. The article, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, examined how Lumosity’s dataset can provide insights into the lifestyle correlates of cognitive performance and the impact of age on learning rate. Many leading media outlets covered this exciting news, including, Nature, Arts Technica,The Scientist, Information Week and Mescape. For the full list of media coverage, please click here. The paper is available here (open-access, of course!).
Frontiers news
10 Jun 2013
Media coverage of research published in Frontiers. How similar are the gestures of apes and human infants? More than you might suspect, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Psychology. Kristen Gillespie-Lynch and Patricia M. Greenfield, authors of a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, analyzed video footage of a female chimpanzee, a female bonobo and a female human infant to compare different types of gestures during communicative development. They found remarkable similarities among the three species, providing new evidence for the “gestures first” theory of the evolution of language. The study has received widespread media coverage, including, Slate, NBC, LA Times, Discovery News, Spiegel Online, redOrbit, Yahoo, Daily Mail and many more. For the full list of media coverage, please click here. Slate : Human and Ape Babies Share Common Gestures http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1 Image courtesy of amalthya and originally published on Flickr.
Frontiers news
27 Feb 2013
The Frontiers Review System promotes a mandate that is uniquely focused on the flawlessness and accuracy of research and is based on the unique Frontiers Review Guidelines. Review Editors – appointed to the Frontiers Editorial Boards from the community’s top experts worldwide – constructively collaborate with authors to ensure that studies are conducted in agreement with the standards of the specific community and to improve the quality of the paper where appropriate. The mandate maximizes the publication quality and protects the rights of authors of publishing their work in a fair and unbiased process. Review Editors focus on certifying the accuracy and validity of articles, not on evaluating their significance – the latter is done democratically by the community using the Frontiers Impact Metrics. To ensure a constructive review process and to acknowledge their significant contribution to a better paper, review editors are disclosed on accepted articles. http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=51066493 Frontiers full reviews are made up of two consecutive steps, an independent and an interactive review. In the independent review phase, review editors evaluate independently from each other whether the research is academically sound following a standardized review questionnaire. Then, Frontiers implemented for the first time the real-time Frontiers Interactive Review Forum, in […]
Frontiers news
27 Feb 2013
Democratic evaluation of the most outstanding research at Frontiers Frontiers has introduced a truly innovative feature to democratically judge its readers’ interests in academic publishing called Frontiers Impact Metrics. Following article acceptance by the Frontiers Review System and publication in one of the journals in the Frontiers Journal Series, advanced internet analytics automatically track down every article’s views and downloads. Every three months, the Frontiers platform analyzes the reading activity based on the inputs of the entire Frontiers Community. The Frontiers Evaluation System enables both the scholarly community and the general public to directly participate in scoring the academic excellence and social relevance of published research. Readers’ interests are then translated into new powerful bibliometric indicators and applied to select academically excellent and socially relevant articles, resulting in the most objective, unbiased and democratic assessment of research. At Frontiers, it is not the opinion of only 2-3 reviewers, however qualified, that determines the importance of a research work, but the entire academic community. Likewise, it is not the ranking of the journal in which an article is published to determine its impact, but the article itself. This assessment also provides the basis for the distillation of published articles in what […]
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