On Monday, 13th October 2003, the first issue of "PLoS Biology" was published (1). The new journal, described by the initiators as a "high-quality, high-profile journal", includes scientific contributions from all areas of biology ranging from molecular biology to ecology. A print version is published once a month. All published articles will be freely available on-line.

Thus one of the basic aims of the Public Library of Science (PLoS) (2), a non-profit organisation that governs and operates the new journal, has been reached. Already in the year 2000, scientists of PLoS started to collect signatures for an initiative in order to call on scientific publishers to make scientific results, financed to a large extent by public funds, freely accessible (3). They threatened with a boycott to take place in autumn 2001. Although around 30,000 people had signed the initiative, most publishers did not change their policy. In the event, the boycott could not be carried through, simply because not enough journals were freely accessible (4).

To resolve this catch-22 situation, PLoS decided to establish its own publishing venture. In December 2002, it obtained support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation with a grant of nine million dollars. At the time PLoS announced that it would launch two journals, PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine (5). Last summer a widespread advertising campaign announced the launch of PLoS Biology for autumn 2003 (6). By that time PLoS had gained strong support, for instance from James Watson and Edward O. Wilson. In addition to that interested parties were able to appraise an inaugural issue on the internet.

Outstanding Editorial Board and a special service

Looking at the homepage of PLoS Biology, one is first impressed by the academic quality of the Editorial Board. Paul Harvey, Susan Lindquist and Frans de Waal are to be

Cartoons in the service of the PLoS advertising campaign. large

Nobel laureate James Watson also supported the advertising campaign for PLoS Biology. (picture: PLoS) large

found there. Scientists from Switzerland, such as Susan Gasser of Geneva and Konrad Basler of the University of Zurich, are also present. The inaugural issue, as promised, includes articles on a wide variety of subjects, such as the origins of Borneo's unique elephants and the threat of their extinction or the transcriptome of the malaria virus in red blood corpuscles.

As a special service PLoS Biology also offers a synopsis of each article written by a professional scientist. The synopses facilitate the realisation of a central concept of PLoS: that research, funded in part by the public, returns something by enabling access to results. A taxpayer, diagnosed with breast cancer, for example, should be able to find out, for free what leading research has found out about her illness. After all, PLoS's motto is: knowledge x access = progress.

Financially viable?

The new journal is based on a financial model whereby authors pay a certain sum for the publication. PLoS are counting on 1,500 dollars per article. The initiators believe that this mode of financing the journal is worthwhile for researchers on the whole because the more open access journals there are, the less money will be needed for expensive subscriptions. Many other publishing houses doubt whether this will be the case. In the most recent issue of the science magazine "Nature", Decan Butler, for example, expresses his doubt, especially as to whether young scientists will be prepared to publish in a journal that is not established. In the British newspaper "The Guardian" Alan Lesher, the US counterpart from "Science“, reveals an open mind regarding the new competition. "We are all scientists and love experiments. If it succeeds we will all learn our lesson."

Celebration in Zurich

At any rate, the science community seems very pleased with itself. In Zurich, the launch of PLoS Biology is a reason to celebrate. The celebration will take place on 31st October from 5pm–7pm in the Lichthof of the University of Zurich. Amongst others, Alexander Borbély, Prorector Research, will give a lecture on the subject of "Open access". All researchers in Zurich from the area of Life Science are personally invited as well as other interested parties.