The entire guide for authors and referees is available in PDF format.

AIMS AND SCOPE OF JOURNAL
Nature Biotechnology is a monthly journal covering the science and business of biotechnology. It publishes new concepts in technology/methodology of relevance to the biological, biomedical, agricultural and environmental sciences as well as covers the commercial, political, ethical, legal, and societal aspects of this research. The first function is fulfilled by the peer-reviewed research section, the second by the expository efforts in the front of the journal. We provide researchers with news about business; we provide the business community with news about research developments.

The core areas in which we are actively seeking research papers include: molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins; molecular therapy (therapeutics genes, antisense, siRNAs, aptamers, and DNAzymes, ribozymes, peptides, proteins); large-scale biology (genomics, functional genomics, proteomics, structural genomics, metabolomics, etc.); computational biology (algorithms and modeling), regenerative medicine (stem cells, tissue engineering, biomaterials); imaging technology; analytical biotechnology (sensors/detectors for analytes/macromolecules), applied immunology (antibody engineering, xenotransplantation, T-cell therapies); food and agricultural biotechnology; and environmental biotechnology. A comprehensive list of areas of interest is shown below.

Genetic engineering

• Strategies for controlling gene expression
• Strategies for manipulating gene structure
• Strategies for gene containment

Large-scale approaches

• Technologies for analyzing gene function (e.g., arrays, SAGE)
• Technologies for analyzing gene structure/organization (e.g., molecular beacons)
• Chemogenomics or chemical genetics
• Pharmacogenomics/SNPs
• Computational analysis

Proteomics

• Technologies for analyzing/identifying protein structure/function (e.g., 2-D gels, mass spectrometry, yeast two-hybrid, SPR, NMR, arrays and chips)
• Structural genomics
• Computational analysis

Metabolomics

• Technologies for analyzing/profiling metabolites (chromatography, mass spectrometry)
• Computational analysis

Computational biology

• Bioinformatics; algorithms; data deconvolution
• Modeling and systems biology: kinetics-based models and constraints-based models

Molecular engineering

• Rational approaches for proteins/antibodies/enzymes/drugs
• Molecular evolution
• Molecular breeding approaches

Metabolic engineering

• Genetic manipulation of species of interest to modify or allow the production of a commercially or therapeutically relevant compound
• Computational analysis

Novel expression systems

• Mammalian cells
• Insect cells
• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Plant cells

Delivery of genes, drugs, or cells

• Targeting strategies
• Viral and nonviral vector strategies

Imaging

• Reporter molecules
• Imaging approaches/technologies for visualizing whole animals, cells, or single molecules
• Computational analysis

Nucleic acid therapeutics

• Gene therapy (targeting, expression, integration, immunogenicity)
• Antisense
• RNAi
• DNAzymes and ribozymes
• Other (e.g., chimeric oligonucleotides/triple helix)

Nanobiotechnology

• Nanomaterials for use in drug delivery or as therapeutics
• Nanomaterials for use in industrial biotechnology
• Nanosensors
• Nanosystems for imaging molecules and cells

Vaccines and applied immunology

• Antibody engineering
• T-cell therapies
• Therapies exploiting innate immunity (e.g. complement)
• Antigen delivery vectors and approaches
• Nucleic acid vaccines
• Computational analysis

Regenerative medicine

• Stem cells
• Tissue engineering
• Therapeutic cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer)
• Xenotransplantation
• Biomaterials

Biosensors

• Approaches for detecting biological molecules
• Use of biological systems in detecting analytes

Assay systems

• Approaches for multiplexing and increasing throughput
• Selection/screening strategies for gene/proteins/drugs
• Microfluidics

Biomaterials

• Engineering materials for biological application
• Molecular imprinting
• Biomimetics
• Nanotechnology

Agbiotech and transgenic plants

• Crop improvement (resistance to stress, disease, pests)
• Nutraceuticals
• Forest biotechnology
• Plant vaccines
• Plants as bioreactors
• Gene-containment strategies

Pharming

• Transgenic animals
• Knockouts
• Reproductive cloning
• Biopharmaceutical and enzyme production
• Transgene targeting and expression strategies

Environmental

• Bioremediation
• Biomining
• Phytoremediation
• Monitoring

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SAMPLE ISSUE
Free online access to the October 2004 issue of Nature Biotechnology.

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EDITORS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Like the other Nature titles, Nature Biotechnology has no external editorial board. Instead, all editorial decisions are made by a team of full-time professional editors. Information about the scientific background of the editors may be found here.

A full list of journal staff appears on the masthead.

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RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER NATURE JOURNALS
Nature Biotechnology is editorially independent, and its editors make their own decisions, independent of the other Nature journals. If a paper is rejected from one Nature journal, the authors can use an automated manuscript transfer service to submit the paper to another Nature journal via a link sent to them by the editor handling the manuscript. Authors should note that referees' comments (including any confidential comments to the editor) and identities are transferred to the editor of the second journal along with the manuscript. In that case, the journal editors will take the previous reviews into account when making their decision, although in some cases the editors may choose to take advice from additional or alternative referees. Alternatively, authors may choose to request a fresh review, in which case they should not use the automated transfer link, and the editors will evaluate the paper without reference to the previous review process. Click here for details of the manuscript transfer service, and for links to NPG journals and subject areas. A general explanation of the relationships between Nature titles can be found here.

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EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING POLICIES
The Nature journals, including Nature Biotechnology, share a number of common policies including the following:

Relationship between Nature journals
License agreement and author copyright
Embargo policy and press releases
Use of experimental animals and human subjects
Competing financial interests
Availability of materials and data
Gene nomenclature
Security concerns
Refutations and complaints
Corrections

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IMPACT FACTOR
The 2005 impact factor for Nature Biotechnology is 22.7, according to the ISI Journal Citation Reports. Nature Biotechnology therefore ranks first out of 132 journals in the category of biotechnology and applied microbiology and is among the 20 most highly cited scientific journals.

The 2005 impact factor represents the number of citations in 2005 to papers published in 2003 and 2004, divided by the total number of papers published in 2003 and 2004. A more detailed explanation of impact factors appears on the ISI web site. The use—and misuse—of impact factors was discussed in Nature Neuroscience editorials in 1998 and 2003.

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ABBREVIATION
The correct abbreviation for abstracting and indexing purposes is Nat. Biotechnol.

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ISSN AND EISSN
The international standard serial number (ISSN) for Nature Biotechnology is 1087-0156, and the electronic international standard serial number (EISSN) is 1546-1696.

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FURTHER EDITORIAL INFORMATION
Please see the following editorials for more information on various aspects of journal policy.

Beaten out of submission (Dec 01)
Business as usual (Oct 01)

The entire guide for authors and referees is available in PDF format.

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