182 according to the ThomsonISI consultant

Published in "Nature" is an important step in the career of a scientist. It is indeed, with the American magazine "Science", the most prestigious publication in the scientific world. It was on "Science" the advantage of being more comprehensive, less focused on the work of American researchers. It is also multidisciplinary in a world where knowledge tend to fragment more and more, and to publish in various forms: articles, but also letters and syntheses open several possibilities of expression. This explains how the scientific community looking at nearly every issue of this weekly.

"Nature" is a venerable, "but always fresh and innovative", publication by its presentation. The journal was created in Britain in November 1869 by Scottish Publisher Macmillan, with mission to present to the public the major scientific discoveries, and to promote science in everyday life. With objective is also to provide to the men of science themselves information on all developments that may occur in all areas, and provide a discussion forum. The group opened an Office in Washington as early as 1970 and is now present also in New York, Tokyo, Munich, Paris, San Francisco and Boston.

Its most important feature lies in its process of selection of a few thousand articles published each year. They are in fact selected by other scientists, specialists of the same material. In other words, they undergo the test of "peer review", the peer review. They are anonymous and perform an extremely serious work of criticism of submitted articles. "They reject more than 30 of the work before them", said a scientist. It is thus that it maintains its reputation and that you get the greatest impact: 32.182 according to the Thomson/ISI consultant. This method of measurement of the work is that which is used for scientific research. It identifies the number of times where the research is cited in other works.

Online debates

Of course, this does not prevent accidents, such as the publication, in 2004, the work of the Korean Hwang Woo - suk on cloning human embryos, which it is revealed that they were false. The scandal has caused endless debates in the scientific community, and "Nature" had to remove this article.

In part to address this type of skid, "Nature" has recently decided to experiment with a "peer review" online and brand name. Also, a space of debate was opened on this subject. The Nature group is at the forefront of online dissemination and its website receives over 20 million visits per month.

Technology now encourages this type of practice open and transparent. If the author is in agreement, his article is placed on the Net at the same time as it is reviewed anonymously by peers according to the previous system. At the end of the "peer review", comments sent on the Net are evaluated and taken into account. "In three weeks, we already have 11 items to the test in this system." This is a huge success, we would be expected not! ", notes Linda Miller, Executive Director of"Nature"in New York, who note that most researchers are young, more they are likely to try this process. Furthermore, points out, it has the advantage to allow to cross various skills.

The magazine has no external editorial board, but an essay composed of science journalists. They complement the log summaries and information about the scientific world, opportunities, funding which are also the professional journal of the scientific world.

If the journal "Nature" remains the great generalist Journal of reference, it has become over the years the spine of a series of more specialised publications.

Specialized editions

The majority of the capital of Macmillan indeed was purchased in 1995 by the German Publisher decision, the group private Stuttgart, which has several such as the prestigious Farrar, Straus and Giroux publishing houses in New York and newspapers, including the economic newspaper "handelsblatt" and the weekly "Die Zeit" in Germany. In 1999, the German group, which was displayed in 2005 a turnover of more than 2 billion euros and a profit of 188 million euros operating, resumed full capital remaining. The Macmillan outgoing definitively eponymous publishing family. Since then, "Nature" has declined a small dozen of specialized monthly publications: biotechnology, cell biology, biology chemical, genetics, immunology, materials, medicine, neuroscience, structural and molecular biology. To add other publications such as "Nature clinical practice" and "Nature Methods" and journals dealing with cancer, new drugs. A way to browse broadly across the spectrum of what can be published in scientific matters, to compete with "Science" but also the Dutch editions Elsevier, very strong in this area. It does: for the time being, the true prestige is to be published in the weekly "Nature".