From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Journal of General Physiology
The Journal of General Physiology
The Journal of General Physiology Editorial history
The journal was established in 1918 by Jacques Loeb. Edit-
ing duties were shared with Winthrop Osterhout of Har-
vard University. The initial rationale for the journal was
stated in this extract from the 1918 announcement of
publication:
Under the pressure of demands of medicine and
other professions, physiology has developed in the
direction of an applied science, with limited oppor-
tunity for the investigation of purely theoretical
problems. On the other hand, the physico-chemical
methods of analyzing life phenomena have thus far
Abbreviated title J. Gen. Physiol. made little inroad into the domain of zoology and
ISO)
(ISO) botany. Under these circumstances, it has hap-
Discipline Physiology pened that what might be regarded as the most
fundamental of all the biological sciences, namely
Language English general physiology, has not come to have a journal
Edited by Edward N. Pugh, Jr. of its own. It is this condition which the establish-
ment of The Journal of General Physiology is in-
Publication details
tended to correct.
Publisher Rockefeller University Press (United
States) Following the death of Loeb in 1924, the editorship was
passed to Osterhout, who moved to the Rockefeller Insti-
Publication history 1918-present
tute shortly thereafter. He was joined by William Crozi-
Frequency Monthly er of Harvard and John Howard Northrop of Rockefeller,
Open access After 6 months who served as fellow editors. For the next 20-plus years,
this trio read and evaluated all submissions. They were
Indexing joined in 1946 by Wallace Fenn and in 1950 by Alfred
ISSN 0022-1295 (print) Mirsky and Lawrence Blinks. In the mid-1950s, Detlev
1540-7748 (web) Bronk and Frank Brink Jr. also became editors.
This practice of editorial review and evaluation con-
CODEN JGPLAD
tinued into the mid-1950s. However, with Mirsky acting
OCLC number 01390169 as a de facto editor in chief (and formally appointed as
Links such in 1960), the practice of peer review using outside
reviewers took hold. In 1960 associate editors were
• Journal homepage added. Mirsky was succeeded by Clarence Connolly, who
• Online access
served from 1961 to 1964. Prior to Connolly, it was com-
• Online archive
mon practice for editors to publish in the journal, as ev-
idenced by Osterhout, Crozier, and Northrop each pub-
The Journal of General Physiology is a peer-reviewed sci-
lishing over 100 articles (the time frame of Northrup’s
entific journal published by the Rockefeller University
publications—the first in 1919, the last in 1968—bears
Press. The journal covers biological, chemical, or physical
out his longevity). Connolly was the first editor to not
mechanisms of broad physiological significance. The ma-
publish in the journal and subsequent editors have pub-
jor emphasis is on physiological problems at the cellular
lished infrequently. When an editor or associate editor
and molecular level.[1]
does submit an article, the review process is handled by
an outside guest editor, usually a member of the editorial
board.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Journal of General Physiology
From 1964 to 1966, J. Woodland Hasting of Harvard are invited to present brief points of view on the prob-
University served as editor in chief. In 1966, the Rocke- lem, which are published back-to-back in the journal.
feller University recruited Paul Cranefield to establish a The Perspectives are accompanied by a short introducto-
laboratory of cardiac physiology, and he became editor ry editorial that introduces the problem and also invites
in chief. Under Cranefield, the journal began to be pub- the submission of comments in the form of Letters to the
lished on a monthly basis (it had been a bimonthly pub- Editor.[3]
lication since its inception). Beginning in 1968 and con- While the journal is still printed as a monthly publi-
tinuing until 1984, Cranefield acted as the sole editor; cation, articles are posted online twice a month.[4]
though with the support of honorary editors and an ed-
itorial board. In 1984 Cranefield recruited several associ-
ate editors. At this time, the practice of weekly editorial
References
meetings became standard, with discussion of reviews [1] Mission statement
and consensus of the editors being the modus operandi [2] http://jgp.rupress.org/cgi/content/full/125/1/3
that continues to the present day (though the meetings [3] http://jgp.rupress.org/
now partially occur in cyberspace).[2] In 1995, Andersen search?submit=yes&tocsectionid=perspectives
succeeded Cranefield as editor in chief. In 2008, Andersen [4] http://jgp.rupress.org/misc/ifora.shtml
was succeeded by Edward Pugh Jr.
Over the past several years, the journal has instituted
a series of Perspectives. The purpose of the Perspectives
External links
is to provide a forum in which scientific uncertainties • Official website
or controversies can be discussed in an authoritative yet • Volumes 1–4 of the journal at the Biodiversity
open manner. To frame the issue, two or more experts Heritage Library
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Journal_of_General_Physiology"
Categories: Physiology journals, Publications established in 1918, English-language journals, Monthly journals
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