More Science, Online Only

The American Chemical Society plans to introduce two new online-only, peer-reviewed journals that will publish research related to biological systems and synthetic biology, and to polymer science. The journals will publish their first full issues in January 2012.

ACS Synthetic Biology will cover approaches to understanding how cells, tissues, and organisms are organized and function in natural and artificial systems, and the application of synthetic biology in engineering these systems. The journal is particularly interested in studies on the design, programming, and optimization of biological systems; computational methods to aid the design of synthetic systems; and integrative applied approaches to understanding disease and metabolism.

“The applications of synthetic biology impact all areas of biotechnology, including agriculture, chemical and fuel synthesis, materials, and pharmaceuticals,” notes Christopher A. Voigt, editor-in-chief of ACS Synthetic Biology.

Voigt recently joined the department of biological engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an associate professor. He studies the reprogramming of bacterial organisms to perform coordinated, complex tasks for pharmaceutical and industrial applications.

The society’s other new journal, ACS Macro Letters, will report major advances in areas of soft-matter science in which polymers play a significant role, including nanotechnology, self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry, biomaterials, energy, and renewable/sustainable materials.

ACS Macro Letters will complement the society’s Macromolecules journal, which will subsequently concentrate on full articles and reviews in polymer science.

“Whether it is in sustainable plastics, biomedical materials, renewable energy, or abundant clean water, polymers have a key role to play,” notes Timothy P. Lodge, editor-in-chief of Macromolecules and ACS Macro Letters. “The time is ripe” for the new journal, which will publish findings within four to six weeks of submission.

Lodge is a professor in the departments of chemistry and of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Minnesota. He studies polymer systems that self-assemble to form nanostructures.

Stuart J. Rowan will serve as deputy editor for the new journal. He is a professor in the department of macromolecular science and engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He holds joint appointments in both the biomedical engineering and chemistry departments.