(Press-News.org) SAN FRANCISCO — The Public Library of Science (PLOS) today announced the launch of two journals, PLOS Aging and Health and PLOS Ecosystems. Both journals are grounded in our commitment to rigor and research integrity of the highest standard and our open science principles, which facilitates greater reproducibility, faster scientific progress, and broader access to knowledge. In addition, both journals are underpinned by our Flat Fee model that is designed to shift the cost from researchers to an institutional annual fee, which enables institutions to provide unlimited publishing opportunities for their researchers across participating journals.
The new journals, including their scope, include:
PLOS Aging and Heath: an open access journal that will publish boundary breaking work from researchers, clinicians, public health scientists, social scientists, and policymakers across the spectrum of aging research. The scope includes research that advances our understanding of aging, integrating biological, developmental, clinical, neurological, and functional dimensions. The journal will highlight factors such as disease processes, cognitive and mental health changes, geriatric care, lifestyle interventions, advances in technology, healthcare systems, social determinants, and policy approaches to understand and optimize health across the human lifespan. It will also address the societal, policy, and healthcare system transformations required to support healthy aging and quality of life on an individual level and across diverse and evolving populations.
“As researchers, we tend to individually study relatively narrow areas, in terms of scope. Bringing together multidisciplinary, global researchers can help advance understanding of the implications of research findings, generating new ideas and innovations that stand to impact a greater number of people worldwide,” said Jennifer A. Schrack, Co-Editor-in-Chief, PLOS Aging and Health. “We are stronger together than independently, and our research needs to reflect that. The field of aging research is limited by journals that are siloed in terms of scope, for example, biology, clinical, cognitive, or policy-related only. PLOS Aging and Health presents the exciting opportunity to publish research across these boundaries to increase visibility of research findings and methods.”
“I am thrilled to be working alongside Jennifer, and the entire PLOS team, as we focus on studies from a human perspective where the translational aspects on biological mechanisms and clinical usefulness will be emphasized,” said Sara Hägg, Co-Editor-in-Chief, PLOS Aging and Heath. “The aging field is still emerging and attracting many new researchers, and by imbedding open science principles in the research we publish, we hope to accelerate the findings in the aging research field and support the highest standard possible in research ethics.”
PLOS Ecosystems: a multidisciplinary, open access journal that brings together research relevant to addressing the challenges facing our terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems and nature's contributions to people. This selective, community-driven journal is a venue for the breadth of impactful and societally relevant research on the conservation, management, restoration, sustainability and use of ecosystems across scales. The scope of topics is therefore wide, including disciplines from both natural and social sciences, but also interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research involving policymakers, resource managers and practitioners. By connecting scientists from a wide breadth of disciplines, but also practitioners, and decision-makers, it will foster the exchange of knowledge, promote innovation, and strengthen the links between science, policy, and society to drive solutions for the biodiversity and environmental crises of our time.
“I am excited to lead this journal at this inflection point for our planet,” said Henrique Miguel Pereira, Editor-in-Chief, PLOS Ecosystems. “As ecosystems are transformed and biodiversity declines at an alarming pace, we are not only losing the results of millions of years of evolution but also missing vital opportunities to address interconnected global challenges — from climate change to sustainable agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the creation of healthier and more livable cities.”
“Both of these titles give researchers a forum to directly address critical challenges facing our society today,” said Lauren Coligan, Publisher, PLOS. “We believe that by extending our suite of open science journals we can influence open science norms in these research communities in considered and appropriate ways while providing rapid access to research which can directly change the future.”
About the Public Library of Science
PLOS is a non-profit organization on a mission to drive open science forward with measurable, meaningful change in research publishing, policy, and practice. We believe in a better future where science is open to all, for all. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
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