Despite the proliferation of specialty journals and web-based medical publications, there remains a need for high quality relevant information in a format that is convenient for clinicians. This is the goal of Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology, one of a new series of clinical journals from the publishers of Nature.

Our mission is to provide you with easy-to-read articles of the highest quality to maintain and expand your clinical and translational scientific knowledge base

I am honored to be working with an expert international Advisory Board and Nature Publishing Group, which has an established reputation for editorial excellence, on this exciting new venture. Our mission is to provide you with easy-to-read articles of the highest quality to maintain and expand your clinical and translational scientific knowledge base. But how exactly will Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology help you?

The journal has some unique editorial features that will ease your workload and help you interpret and put into practice the enormous amount of published research. It will filter information from the obvious research journals, as well as those that might only occasionally publish research in your specialty. The journal will also promote the chronology of medical research, by reporting, interpreting and offering an informed opinion over a period of time.

Each issue of the journal will contain timely and topical articles of various types. Research Highlights are short summaries of relevant articles published in other journals. Practice Points are unique articles that focus on influential research papers; they consist of a structured synopsis written in-house and a commissioned commentary written by an external author, which puts the research into context. The Practice Point itself summarizes how the original article should affect the way you treat your patients. Viewpoints are opinion articles, in which authors discuss or debate topical subjects. Review articles, of which there are several types, are authoritative overviews of developments in the specialty. For example, Therapy Insights provide information about medical conditions managed by physicians in other specialties, and how that condition impacts on the treatment or management of gastrointestinal or hepatobiliary diseases. Drug Insights pertain to the mechanisms and applications of drug classes, whereas Technology Insights focus on advances in treatment and diagnostic technologies and equipment (e.g. imaging techniques and technology-assisted surgery). Mechanisms of Disease articles provide insights into the science underlying diseases. Primer articles provide simple, jargon-free explanations of areas essential to the understanding of clinical research, such as statistical methods and evidence-based medicine. Finally, Case Studies describe interesting studies of patients presenting with unusual symptoms or in unusual circumstances, with a thorough discussion of diagnosis and management. You also have the opportunity to earn Category 1 CME credits through the journal's partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical School.

All content will undergo peer-review, with two exceptions: the Editorial and the Research Highlights. Content is editorially independent; authors are asked to state any professional or financial situations that may be perceived as causing a conflict of interest with respect to integrity of content.

As the field continues to expand, and our knowledge base and applications evolve, the Advisory Board will continue to identify pertinent topics for established experts to review, critique and debate. They will ensure that all aspects of gastroenterology and hepatology are covered; indeed, the articles included in this inaugural issue demonstrate the broad scope and spectrum of Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

I hope you enjoy reading this new publication and look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions.