The Journal of General Physiology
Encyclopedia
The Journal of General Physiology is a peer-reviewed
scientific journal
published by the Rockefeller University Press
. The journal covers biological
, chemical
, or physical
mechanisms of broad physiological
significance. The major emphasis is on physiological problems at the cellular
and molecular
level.
. Editing duties were shared with Winthrop Osterhout of Harvard University
. The initial rationale for the journal was stated in this extract from the 1918 announcement of publication:
Following the death of Loeb in 1924, the editorship was passed to Osterhout, who moved to the Rockefeller Institute
shortly thereafter. He was joined by William Crozier of Harvard and John Howard Northrop
of Rockefeller, who served as fellow editors. For the next 20-plus years, this trio read and evaluated all submissions. They were joined in 1946 by Wallace Fenn and in 1950 by Alfred Mirsky
and Lawrence Blinks. In the mid-1950s, Detlev Bronk
and Frank Brink Jr. also became editors.
This practice of editorial review and evaluation continued into the mid-1950s. However, with Mirsky acting as a de facto editor in chief (and formally appointed as such in 1960), the practice of peer review using outside reviewers took hold. In 1960 associate editors were added. Mirsky was succeeded by Clarence Connolly, who served from 1961 to 1964. Prior to Connolly, it was common practice for editors to publish in the journal, as evidenced by Osterhout, Crozier, and Northrop each publishing over 100 articles (the time frame of Northrup’s publications—the first in 1919, the last in 1968—bears out his longevity). Connolly was the first editor to not publish in the journal and subsequent editors have published infrequently. When an editor or associate editor does submit an article, the review process is handled by an outside guest editor, usually a member of the editorial board
.
From 1964 to 1966, J. Woodland Hasting of Harvard University served as editor in chief. In 1966, the Rockefeller University recruited Paul Cranefield to establish a laboratory of cardiac
physiology, and he became editor in chief. Under Cranefield, the journal began to be published on a monthly basis (it had been a bimonthly publication since its inception). Beginning in 1968 and continuing until 1984, Cranefield acted as the sole editor; though with the support of honorary editors and an editorial board. In 1984 Cranefield recruited several associate editors. At this time, the practice of weekly editorial meetings became standard, with discussion of reviews and consensus of the editors being the modus operandi
that continues to the present day (though the meetings now partially occur in cyberspace
). In 1995, Andersen succeeded Cranefield as editor in chief. In 2008, Andersen was succeeded by Edward Pugh Jr.
Over the past several years, the journal has instituted a series of Perspectives. The purpose of the Perspectives is to provide a forum in which scientific uncertainties or controversies can be discussed in an authoritative yet open manner. To frame the issue, two or more experts are invited to present brief points of view on the problem, which are published back-to-back in the journal. The Perspectives are accompanied by a short introductory editorial that introduces the problem and also invites the submission of comments in the form of Letters to the Editor
.
While the journal is still printed as a monthly publication, articles are posted online twice a month.
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
published by the Rockefeller University Press
Rockefeller University Press
The Rockefeller University Press is a department of The Rockefeller University. It publishes three scientific journals: The Journal of Experimental Medicine, founded in 1896, The Journal of General Physiology, founded in 1918, and The Journal of Cell Biology, founded in 1955 under the title The...
. The journal covers biological
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, chemical
Chemical substance
In chemistry, a chemical substance is a form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. It cannot be separated into components by physical separation methods, i.e. without breaking chemical bonds. They can be solids, liquids or gases.Chemical substances are...
, or physical
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
mechanisms of broad physiological
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
significance. The major emphasis is on physiological problems at the cellular
Cellular
Cellular may refer to:*Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics*Cellular , a 2004 movie*Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands*Cellular manufacturing...
and molecular
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
level.
Editorial history
The journal was established in 1918 by Jacques LoebJacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb was a German-born American physiologist and biologist.-Biography:...
. Editing duties were shared with Winthrop Osterhout of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. The initial rationale for the journal was stated in this extract from the 1918 announcement of publication:
Under the pressure of demands of medicine and other professions, physiology has developed in the direction of an applied scienceApplied scienceApplied science is the application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include testing a theoretical model through the use of formal science or solving a practical problem through the use of natural science....
, with limited opportunity for the investigation of purely theoretical problems. On the other hand, the physico-chemical methods of analyzing life phenomena have thus far made little inroad into the domain of zoologyZoologyZoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and botanyBotanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
. Under these circumstances, it has happened that what might be regarded as the most fundamental of all the biological sciencesBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, namely general physiology, has not come to have a journal of its own. It is this condition which the establishment of The Journal of General Physiology is intended to correct.
Following the death of Loeb in 1924, the editorship was passed to Osterhout, who moved to the Rockefeller Institute
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
shortly thereafter. He was joined by William Crozier of Harvard and John Howard Northrop
John Howard Northrop
John Howard Northrop was an American biochemist who won, with James Batcheller Sumner and Wendell Meredith Stanley, the 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The award was given for these scientists' isolation, crystallization, and study of enzymes, proteins, and viruses...
of Rockefeller, who served as fellow editors. For the next 20-plus years, this trio read and evaluated all submissions. They were joined in 1946 by Wallace Fenn and in 1950 by Alfred Mirsky
Alfred Mirsky
Alfred Ezra Mirsky was an American pioneer in molecular biology.Mirsky graduated from Harvard College in 1922, after which he studied for two years at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons until 1924 when he moved to the University of Cambridge on a US National Research...
and Lawrence Blinks. In the mid-1950s, Detlev Bronk
Detlev Bronk
Detlev Wulf Bronk was President of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 1949 to 1953 and President of the National Academy of Sciences from 1950 to 1962. Bronk is credited with reshaping the postwar university environment at Hopkins...
and Frank Brink Jr. also became editors.
This practice of editorial review and evaluation continued into the mid-1950s. However, with Mirsky acting as a de facto editor in chief (and formally appointed as such in 1960), the practice of peer review using outside reviewers took hold. In 1960 associate editors were added. Mirsky was succeeded by Clarence Connolly, who served from 1961 to 1964. Prior to Connolly, it was common practice for editors to publish in the journal, as evidenced by Osterhout, Crozier, and Northrop each publishing over 100 articles (the time frame of Northrup’s publications—the first in 1919, the last in 1968—bears out his longevity). Connolly was the first editor to not publish in the journal and subsequent editors have published infrequently. When an editor or associate editor does submit an article, the review process is handled by an outside guest editor, usually a member of the editorial board
Editorial board
The editorial board is a group of people, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.- Board makeup :...
.
From 1964 to 1966, J. Woodland Hasting of Harvard University served as editor in chief. In 1966, the Rockefeller University recruited Paul Cranefield to establish a laboratory of cardiac
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
physiology, and he became editor in chief. Under Cranefield, the journal began to be published on a monthly basis (it had been a bimonthly publication since its inception). Beginning in 1968 and continuing until 1984, Cranefield acted as the sole editor; though with the support of honorary editors and an editorial board. In 1984 Cranefield recruited several associate editors. At this time, the practice of weekly editorial meetings became standard, with discussion of reviews and consensus of the editors being the modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
that continues to the present day (though the meetings now partially occur in cyberspace
Cyberspace
Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place.The term "cyberspace" was first used by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson, though the concept was described somewhat earlier, for example in the Vernor Vinge short story "True...
). In 1995, Andersen succeeded Cranefield as editor in chief. In 2008, Andersen was succeeded by Edward Pugh Jr.
Over the past several years, the journal has instituted a series of Perspectives. The purpose of the Perspectives is to provide a forum in which scientific uncertainties or controversies can be discussed in an authoritative yet open manner. To frame the issue, two or more experts are invited to present brief points of view on the problem, which are published back-to-back in the journal. The Perspectives are accompanied by a short introductory editorial that introduces the problem and also invites the submission of comments in the form of Letters to the Editor
Letter to the editor
A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...
.
While the journal is still printed as a monthly publication, articles are posted online twice a month.
External links
- Volumes 1–4 of the journal at the Biodiversity Heritage LibraryBiodiversity Heritage LibraryThe Biodiversity Heritage Library is a project for the digitization of literature on biodiversity. It was founded in 2005 and was initially formed by ten United States and British libraries....