''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences'' is a biweekly

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scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...

published by the Royal Society. The editor-in-chief is John Pickett (

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Overview

Each issue covers a specific area of the biological sciences. Each issue aims to create an original and authoritative synthesis, often bridging traditional disciplines, which showcases current developments and provides a foundation for future research, applications and policy decisions. Each issue is edited by one or more expert guest editors. The themes fall into one of four general categories: * Cell and Development * Health and Disease * Environment and Evolution * Neuroscience and Cognition All articles become freely accessible one year after their publication date.

History

Philosophical Transactions Volume 1 frontispiece

'' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' was established in 1665 by the Royal Society and is the oldest scientific journal in the English-speaking world. Henry Oldenburg was appointed as the first (joint) secretary to the society and he was also the first editor of the society's journal. In 1887 the journal expanded to become two separate publications, one serving the physical sciences, '' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences'', and the other focusing on the

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...

, ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences''. Nowadays, both journals publish themed issues and discussion meeting issues, while individual research articles are published in the sister journal ''

Proceedings of the Royal Society ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...

''. The journal celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2015. To commemorate this event it published a special collection of commentaries on landmark papers from the archive by scientists such as

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...

, Hans Sloane and Alan Turing.

External links

Official website

Royal Society Publishing

350th anniversary

History of Philosophical Transactions

References

{{reflist Publications established in 1887 Royal Society academic journals Biology journals Biweekly journals English-language journals Delayed open access journals 1887 establishments in the United Kingdom