Lab on a Chip has been introducing a number of new features in 2006.  The first Pioneers in Miniaturisation Prize, aimed at young to mid career scientists working in micro- or nano-scale science, was awarded at the TAS meeting in Japan in November.

The winner was Professor David Beebe from the University of Wisconsin - Harp Minhas, editor of Lab on a Chip, and a member of the panel of judges, explains their choice, 'Professor Beebe impressed the international panel of judges as he continues to explore the limits of micro-scale devices and fabrication technologies, to develop tools for medicine and biology. These can be transferred from the laboratory to solve real world problems.' The Lab on a Chip editorial team was also very pleased with the high calibre of nominations and is planning for this to become an annual prize.  

In other Lab on a Chip news. this month sees the launch of a new web resource called Chips & Tips. This informal area enables researchers to exchange ideas on common problems encountered in the laboratory. Often results published in peer reviewed journals do not give a full picture of the tricks developed to get micro-fluidic devices to work, however, without them important breakthroughs would not have been made. 'Our aim is to provide a forum where this type of valuable information can be usefully exchanged,' continues Minhas.  

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December marks an important time for Soft Matter, the leading journal on soft matter. This month, Soft Matter will be bound to host journal, Journal of Materials Chemistry, for the very last time. Success since launch means that Soft Matter is well placed to go solo from January 2007.

A success story. Accesses to the Soft Matter website have tripled since January. The research published is truly interdisciplinary (see our evenly sliced pie!) and the journal's first Immediacy Index (a measure of how topical and urgent the papers published by a journal are) places Soft Matter firmly ahead of its nearest competitors. We await Soft Matter's first impact factor (to be released summer 2007) with baited breath.

If you've been reading Soft Matter via a subscription to a print or online host journal, make sure you continue to read the best in soft matter research next year by recommending it to your librarian. And if you've not read Soft Matter yet.aren't you missing something?

Showcasing hot science from RSC journals in Chemical Science, Chemical Technology and Chemical Biology has proved very popular with readers and authors alike. In fact, thanks to the increasing number of authors who submit their research, the free supplements have become so successful that from the next issue each will have:

 eight pages in print

 new article types

 new look front page

 supplementary material online

For Chemical Biology online, a contents listing of all chemical biology articles published across RSC journals will make it the best place for those in the field to find news and research. Exciting times are ahead - watch this space!

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