The day has come for an online-only Nature journal. Nature Communications is open for submissions, writes publishing executive editor Maxine Clarke on the Nautilus blog (http://go.nature.com/fOpE4f).

Launching in spring 2010, the journal aims to rapidly publish top-notch research in all areas of the physical, chemical and biological sciences. A 'hybrid' journal, it will offer both subscription-based and open-access options for publication. Staff will aim to publish papers within 28 days of acceptance. Nature Communications will not only provide a faster route to publication for all, but will also plug some gaps not covered by other Nature research journals, such as palaeontology and high-energy physics.

Although no area will be excluded from consideration, “the editors particularly welcome submissions from cross-disciplinary fields including biophysics, physical chemistry, environmental science and mathematical biology,” writes Clarke. She adds that the online-only model will enrich manuscripts with “innovative web technologies, including interactive browsing and efficient data- and text-mining.”