1,226 news posts in Frontiers updates

Frontiers news

29 Jun 2023

Frontiers community engagement update – summer 2023

Photo credit: Frontiers We take a moment to reflect on the information, resources, and actions taken over the past several months towards promoting longer, more prosperous lives on a healthier planet. Photo credit: Frontiers Women in Science Serving as a platform for woman researchers to share their experiences, our Women in Science blog continued to highlight the unique efforts and inspiring stories of these researchers across disciplines. The team behind Women in Science carried out insightful conversations, learning more about the meaningful work these women are doing to contribute the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Each blog post also captures the individual’s unique journey, complete with their biggest learnings, greatest challenges, and helpful advice for future generations. Over the past several months, readers have explored climate change through an economic lens (SDG 13), stabilization and peaceful policymaking (SDG 16), marine science and gender equality in the fisheries sector (SDG 14), and environmental philosophy and alternative hedonism (SDG 12). Photo credit: Frontiers Frontiers’ Volunteers Volunteering opportunities can come in many forms. Groups may come together to support a certain cause, while individuals can select an experience to lend their tailored skillset to. Frontiers’ volunteering platform Alaya makes it easy for all […]

Frontiers news

28 Jun 2023

Frontiers publishing partnerships update – summer 2023

The publishing partnerships team is pleased to share the latest developments in our team alongside updates from our growing community of partners. Credit: Frontiers Responsive and efficient Our partner journals have experienced a positive start to 2023 with a rise of over 20% in submission numbers in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year. We’re proud to have achieved an average decision time of just 56 days from submission to decision across all partner journals, while consistently responding to partner requests for support within an average of less than two days. Our team is going the extra mile for our partners. Ahead of eligibility for PMC indexing for newly launched journals, we have provided a tailored service to support authors with self-deposition, resulting in 46 articles being indexed to date. New communications support for partners We are committed to supporting our partners to achieve their goals. As part of this commitment, we’re rolling out an enhanced communications support plan to increase awareness and visibility of our partner journals. The package includes tailored content and targeted social media support. A growing team Our publishing development team has expanded to 15 members, including one program lead, […]

Frontiers news

27 Jun 2023

Reflections on 2023 Convegno delle Stelline

Convegno delle Stelline is Italy’s only annual event for librarians and an important date in the calendar for all those with an interest in scholarly publishing. Frontiers was pleased to attend this year’s event in Milan. Credit: Frontiers Over 2,000 librarians attended this year’s conference and Frontiers participated as an exhibitor as part of the event’s Bibliostar fair. During the conference, key issues for discussion included the role of public libraries and their responsibility in promoting cultural well-being for diverse populations. Attendees also explored new technologies and strategies designed to support and facilitate structural changes, such as the transition to open access within scholarly publishing. Martina Sollai, customer experience specialist at Frontiers, said: “Our team received valuable feedback from current and prospective Italian partners, and reinforced Frontiers’ support to Italian institutions and researchers in their transition to open access publishing.” Here are answers to a few of the key questions that arose during our team’s conversations at the event: Which Italian institutions already partner with Frontiers? Frontiers collaborates with several important Italian partners who share our mission to make science open. Our agreements in Italy include public and private institutions such as the Italian Consortium of Biomedical Research Libraries – […]

Frontiers news

27 Jun 2023

Switzerland renews national deal with Frontiers

Frontiers announces that its national agreement with The Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL), first signed in 2022, has been renewed for another year. Credit: Frontiers The Swiss research community has once again affirmed its commitment to open access through the renewal of a national publishing deal with Frontiers. Signed by The Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries, the agreement simplifies the publishing process for both researchers and librarians. Ronald Buitenhuis, head of institutional partnerships at Frontiers, said: “This partnership is of great importance to us. Being headquartered in Switzerland, Frontiers is delighted to continue to offer significant benefits and support to authors in our home country. We look forward to a long-term collaboration as we work together to empower researchers.” The Swiss renewal is part of Frontiers’ expanding portfolio of international deals. Other recently agreed partnerships include consortiums in the United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Slovenia. In Switzerland, 15 institutions and research centers will benefit from the terms of the new agreement. New institutions can register to participate at any time and there is no annual fee to join. What are the benefits of joining the partnership? Frontiers streamlines processes for researchers and their institutions with tailored, flexible, […]

Frontiers news

27 Jun 2023

Frontiers and the World Economic Forum collaboration reveals the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023 report

The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023 report co-published by open access publisher Frontiers and the World Economic Forum has been presented today. The report identifies those technologies poised to have the biggest positive impact on society over the next three to five years. Curated by an international steering group of experts, the technologies were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. As this year’s knowledge partner, Frontiers collaborated with the Forum to identify experts from its far-reaching research community to provide further analysis of the technologies. Photo credit: Frontiers For more than a decade, the report has helped business leaders, innovators, policymakers, and other professionals across industries and disciplines anticipate developing technology and understand the associated risks and opportunities. The 2023 report has broadened its scope for the first time, incorporating a qualitative assessment of how each technology will impact people, the planet, prosperity, industry, and equity. These “impact fingerprints” are based on data gathered from more than 90 experts across 20 countries. They offer in-depth analysis of how the technology is predicted to influence society within the next five years. The academics were selected from Frontiers’ network of scientific journal editors, […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

Designer phages: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers Designer phages There has been a growing recognition of the crucial role in human health played by the microbiome—the community of microbes living on and within the body. Recent advances in synthetic biology have allowed the engineering of the microbiome using phages – viruses that selectively infect specific types of bacteria. This creation of so-called designer phages has been identified by the Forum as one of this year’s top ten emerging technologies. By reprogramming phages using laboratory tools, individual bacterial species can be targeted to produce therapeutic molecules or to become sensitive to specific drugs. Mine Orlu of the steering committee for the Forum report stated: “Engineering microbiomes using designer phages represents a groundbreaking approach to improving human well-being and agricultural productivity. By reprogramming the genetic information of these viruses, scientists can selectively target specific bacteria to prevent or treat diseases in […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

Flexible neural electronics: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers Flexible neural electronics One of the ten technologies selected by the Forum panel are so-called flexible neural electronics. These allow electrical signals from the brain to be captured by sensor hardware and used to control machines. While neural electronics systems are already in use for treating epilepsy and in some prosthetic devices, traditional probes can cause discomfort and exhibit poor signal accuracy. Researchers have recently developed neural electronics that conform to the brain, reducing scarring and improving accuracy—vastly outperforming traditional hard probes. Flexible neural electronics could deepen our understanding of brain diseases, provide greater control of prosthetics, and boost the development of brain-monitoring devices and brain stents. Angela Wu, of the steering committee for the Forum’s report, stated: “In the realm of neural electronics, the development of flexible, biocompatible circuits represents a significant breakthrough that addresses some of the past challenges of […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

Spatiotemporal omics: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers Spatiotemporal omics Based on the above criteria, spatiotemporal omics is one of the ten emerging technologies to be identified by the panel for inclusion in the report. Bringing together a combination of advanced imaging techniques and DNA sequencing, the technology is used to map biological process at the molecular level. Phillippe Roux, field chief editor of Frontiers in Cell Signaling, which will launch later this year and is one of the journals that has collaborated on the project, said: “Spatial omics has been identified as an emerging technology with the potential to revolutionize our understanding of biological systems. Frontiers in Cell Signaling can play a crucial role in promoting research in this area by focusing on the technical and analytical challenges in spatial omics.” In discussing the promise of spatial omics, Liz O’Day of the Forum report’s steering committee noted: “The emergence […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

AI in Healthcare: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers AI in healthcare One of the top ten emerging technologies identified in the report, the use of AI in healthcare has come to prominence largely as a result of the weaknesses in worldwide public health systems highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These technologies can enable us to anticipate and effectively address future health crises and can also help to reduce long waiting times for medical care. AI-based healthcare could particularly benefit healthcare systems in the Global South. Alongside the benefits of this technology, there are of course also challenges such as data privacy, public acceptance, and patient compliance which must be addressed. A carefully crafted ethical framework will be required for any system that curates personal data on a vast population. Despite these challenges, AI-based healthcare solutions are poised to become increasingly prevalent in the next 3–5 years. Thomas Hartung, editor-in-chief of Frontiers […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

AR/VR metaverse to improve mental health: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers AR/VR metaverse to improve mental health Mental health is widely acknowledged as one of the most pressing issues of our time. Although excessive screen and social media use have been associated with decreased mental wellbeing, AR and VR metaverse spaces are also being used to help combat the mental health crisis. This area of innovation has been selected as one of the WEF’s top ten emerging technologies this year. In considering the role the metaverse could play in mental health care, Corinna Lathan of the World Economic Forum report’s steering committee remarked: “As the mental health crisis continues to escalate, leveraging the metaverse holds immense potential for addressing this pressing public health issue. The metaverse can provide a continuum of mental healthcare services, which can both benefit patients and drive the advancement of this transformative virtual space.” The metaverse, which includes virtual […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

Sustainable computing and net-zero energy centers: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers Sustainable computing and net-zero energy centers Data centers, which account for an estimated 1% of global electricity consumption, are a growing contributor to the worsening environmental crisis. New approaches, which address this problem, have been identified among the top ten technologies listed in this year’s World Economic Forum report. Andrew Maynard, one of the report’s authors and member of the Forum’s steering committee for the project, said: “Given the growing global demand for data centers, technologies designed to ‘green’ the computing industry will increase in importance over coming years. The inclusion of sustainable computing in this year’s report highlights the need for technologies to control and optimize energy consumption in computing.” Innovative, sustainable solutions in this area bring together multiple technologies to improve energy efficiency, including liquid cooling systems and repurposing excess heat. Creative approaches are also being used to integrate and […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

‘Wearable’ sensors for plants: World Economic Forum emerging technologies report

As a World Economic Forum platform partner, Frontiers is collaborating with the Forum on the 2023 edition of its annual emerging technologies report. Chosen by an international panel of experts, the list of top ten emerging technologies included in the report were selected from nearly 100 contenders based on criteria including novelty, applicability, depth, and power. Credit: Frontiers “Wearable” sensors for plants To feed the world’s population in 2050, food production must increase by 70%, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. To achieve this, agricultural innovation will be crucial, and technology is a key element of this. Recent advances in crop monitoring, including the use of sensor-equipped drones and tractors alongside low-resolution satellite data, have helped farmers by increasing the scale of crop monitoring. However wearable plant sensors will take this monitoring to a new level, and it is this area of innovation which has been highlighted in the 2023 World Economic Forum emerging technologies report. Wearable plant sensors are small devices that can attach to crop plants to continuously monitor temperature, humidity, moisture, and nutrient levels. This data can optimize yields, reduce waste, detect early signs of disease and minimize the environmental impact of agriculture. Although challenges […]

Frontiers news

26 Jun 2023

Kate Soper – The growth agenda is no longer feasible. What is the alternative?

Author: Sorcha Brennan Kate Soper is emerita professor of philosophy and a former researcher with the Institute for the Study of European Transformations at London Metropolitan University. She had a long association with Radical Philosophy and was a regular columnist for the US-based journal, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism. She has also been an editorial collective member and writer for New Left Review. She is a translator, among others, of Sebastiano Timpanaro, Noberto Bobbio, Michel Foucault, Cornelius Castoriadis, and Carlo Ginzburg. Her own books include: On Human Needs: open and closed theories in a Marxist Perspective; Humanism and Anti-Humanism; Troubled Pleasures: Writings on Politics, Gender and Hedonism; What is Nature? Culture, Politics and the Non-Human. She has been involved in a number of research projects on climate change and sustainable consumption, most recently as a Visiting Fellow at the Dubendorf Institute, Lund University, Sweden. Her most recent book is Post-Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism. Photo credit: Jo Mortimer You have written and published on the theory of need and environmental philosophy for many years. Your 2020 book Postgrowth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism published by Verso is an intersectional continuation of these themes. How has your past scholarship and formation as a researcher led you to this juncture of post-consumption and the politics of pleasure? “Well, the most immediate impetus […]

Frontiers news

22 Jun 2023

Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts forms publishing agreement with Frontiers 

The Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts researchers may publish in any Frontiers journal at no cost to them and with a simplified process. Articles may benefit from a 10% membership discount. The Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. This agreement will further encourage Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts researchers to publish open access, increasing the volume of research openly available. While this reduces costs for the researcher, it also benefits the wider research community and the public at large.   For more information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional memberships page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your own organization.  Information for researchers  If you are a Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts researcher, please select “Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts” in the payment information section (“Frontiers institutional members”) when submitting your article. Frontiers will verify your eligibility with […]

Frontiers news

22 Jun 2023

Predatoryreports.org: An open letter from Frontiers’ chief executive editor

To our community, In March of this year, we alerted you to the emergence of predatoryreports[.]org. This website and its authors, whose motives are unknown, deliberately seek to undermine our organization, our community, and the open access movement by disseminating false information about Frontiers. At the risk of feeding the egos of the anonymous and irresponsible people behind predatoryreports.org with this second public acknowledgement, I report here on how we are seeking to address this issue. As responsibly asserted by the Committee of Publication Ethics in April, ‘authors and institutions should treat lists of predatory (or fake) journals with the same degree of scrutiny as they do with the journals themselves. Lists that are not transparent about criteria used should not be relied on.’ Researchers and institutions have valid questions about the quality, impact, and motives of their publishers. Predatoryreports[.]org attempts to undermine any constructive discussion by sloppily promulgating “the p-word”; unfortunately, this unethical behavior is being noticed, creating concern and bewilderment. The p-word is a blanket derogatory term that is so easy to use that it blocks scientific, critical, and common-sense thought processes. Some employ it liberally to create a smokescreen, in the hope that no one will feel […]