Frequently asked questions about Molecular Cancer

Abstract

Molecular Cancer is as a forum for cutting edge cancer-related papers. This editorial will answer frequently asked question about this open-access and on-line journal as well as its publisher BioMed Central.

Editorial

There is no question that immediate and unrestricted access to information stimulates scientific communication. The Freedom of Information Act "provides individuals with a right to access to records in the possession of the federal government" http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/foia/. Indeed, almost every research funding comes from individuals and/or governmental institutions, and I firmly believe it is the right of everyone to access any kind of scientific information without barriers and free of charge. There is no limitation to positive data, because many "prominent medical journals often provide insufficient information to assess the validity of studies with negative results" [1] to allow a rigorous evaluation of the quality of these results. A newly launched journal focuses on "well documented results/conclusions that are unexpected, controversial, provocative and/or negative in the context of current tenets" [2]. Molecular Cancer and its publisher BioMed Central are fully devoted to open access publishing and there is no doubt that this will be the golden standard for scientific publishing [3–10].

Molecular Cancer is embedded in a family of related on-line journals, all with BioMed Central's open-access policy. Molecular Cancer focuses on all areas of cancer-related science, from bench and bedside [11] and publishes immediately after accepting; this concept is paying us back [12–19]. We, the editors of Molecular Cancer, are willing to make the journal even more attractive and are not afraid of work and effort. We do not charge extra for colored pictures, amount of data presented in the paper and/or supplemental data and so on.

Everything produces costs [8]; who will pay for it [20, 21]? BioMed Central charges a flat fee of $500 after a paper is being accepted for publication. In return, the authors retain their copyright and the paper is freely accessible without barriers and fees to everyone. Again, visibility and access rates are higher. There are no costs for an unlimited number of papers if the submitting author's Institution is a member of BioMed Central http://www.biomedcentral.com/inst/. Next, a number of funding agencies explicitly allow direct use of their grants to covering the article processing charges:

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://www.dfg.de/

• Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung http://www.fwf.ac.at/

• Health Research Board http://www.hrb.ie/

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute http://www.hhmi.org/

• International Human Frontier Science Program Organization http://www.hfsp.org/

• Israel Science Foundation http://www.isf.org.il/

• National Health Service http://www.doh.gov.uk/

• National Institutes of Health http://www.nih.gov/

• National Science Foundation http://www.nsf.gov/

• Rockefeller Foundation http://www.rockfound.org/

• Swiss National Science Foundation http://www.snf.ch/

There is further assistance in publication costs. The Soros Foundation http://www.soros.org/ allows authors from certain countries to apply for help in getting manuscripts published.

Conclusion

Molecular Cancer is an open-access and on-line journal; its publisher fulfills the Freedom of Information Act and guarantees access to papers without barriers and fees. Molecular Cancer does not charge for colored pictures, amount of data presented in the paper and/or supplemental data, page charges etc. BioMed Central charges a flat fee of $500 after a paper is being accepted for publication; in return, the authors retain their copyright. A number of funding agencies explicitly allow direct use of their grants to cover article processing charges; there are no costs for an unlimited number of accepted papers if the submitting author's Institution is a member of BioMed Central.