Editorial

What are journals for?

Miranda Robertson

Journal of Biology 2009, 8:1doi:10.1186/jbiol111

Published:	27 January 2009

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Here is a truism. The function of a scientific journal is to disseminate the results of research. It also of course has a responsibility to ensure as far as possible that the results reported are valid. But it would seem from the comments of many biologists – sometimes in print [1-3] – that the policing function of journals (especially but not exclusively the high-profile journals) is in danger of overwhelming their primary function as publishers.