PCCP is delighted to announce the latest high-profile themed issue, in the biophysics and biophysical chemistry research areas. This issue, titled "Molecular Mechanisms of the Photostability of Life", will be Guest Edited by Andrzej Sobolewski and Wolfgang Domcke and is scheduled for publication in early 2010. It is our pleasure to invite you to submit to this themed issue. 

The issue is the next in a series of themed issues in the fields of biophysics and biophysical chemistry, which will be published in PCCP throughout 2010. 

This issue will focus on molecular mechanisms of photostability. In recent years, remarkable advances in the investigation of the structure, spectroscopy and photoinduced chemical dynamics of isolated building blocks of life, in particular the DNA bases, DNA base pairs, amino acids and peptides, have been achieved. This research has provided increasingly compelling evidence that the fundamental building blocks of life are endowed with particularly efficient mechanisms of excited-state deactivation after the absorption of UV photons. The aim of this issue is to provide a snapshot of this fascinating research field with a balance of experimental and computational work. 

We believe that this series of themed issues will serve to foster links between the biophysics and biophysical chemistry research communities and will have a valuable and lasting impact in this broad field. 

Deadline for Submission: 01 December 2009 

Submissions, either communications or full papers, should be high-quality manuscripts of original, unpublished research, containing important new physical insight. All submissions will be subject to rigorous peer review to meet the usual high standards of PCCP. Manuscripts can be submitted using the ReSourCe web submissions service or as an email attachment to the PCCP Editorial Office. Please indicate on submission that your manuscript is intended for this themed issue.