The recent ACS Fall 2009 National Meeting in Washington was the occasion for the release of some exciting news for researchers from across the chemical sciences: invitations were distributed, an audience gathered, a few words were spoken and then the ribbon was cut, revealing the news that in 2010 a new journal - Chemical Science - would join the RSC portfolio.

David MacMillan cuts the ribbon to reveal RSC's new journal, Chemical Science

At the forefront of the most exciting developments, and helping to define the important areas by publishing the most significant cutting-edge research, Chemical Science will be a dedicated home for findings of exceptional significance from across ALL the chemical sciences. 

Editor-in-chief David MacMillan of Princeton, US, will lead a dynamic international team of associate editors who will drive the scientific development and make decisions on the content. 'I am extremely honoured and excited to be working with the RSC on the launch and development of Chemical Science,' he says. 'This is an opportunity to bring forward a very new type of journal and a new way of disseminating edge publications from the world of chemistry. I look forward to being part of this new approach to publishing the world's most pioneering studies in the chemical sciences.'     

Free access to Chemical Science will be available.

MedChemComm, a new, peer-reviewed journal from RSC Publishing was announced recently at the 3rd International Symposium on Advances in Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry in Kiev, Ukraine, and the ACS Fall 2009 National Meeting and Exposition in Washington DC, US. Launching in mid 2010, the journal will focus on medicinal chemistry research, including new studies related to biologically-active chemical or biochemical entities that can act as pharmacological agents with therapeutic potential or relevance. 

The new journal will be owned by RSC Publishing and will be the official journal of the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC). It will complement the existing RSC Publishing portfolio of bioscience journals, providing authors in the field with a dedicated subject-specific publication. Monthly issues will contain a mix of vibrant and concise research and review articles.

The co-editors-in-chief will be Gregory Verdine, Harvard University, US, and Anthony Wood, Pfizer, UK. Wood comments: 'MedChemComm is very important, especially when one considers the mission of the journal is to emphasise the role of chemistry as a powerful vehicle to conceptualise new understanding of biological systems and processes. It is a means to design new tools to modulate these selectively by exploring multiple modalities of intervention.' 

Free access to MedChemComm  will be available for 2010 and  2011.

October sees the publication of the 100th issue of the Journal of Environmental Monitoring (JEM). Editor Harp Minhas, announced it a milestone event, as the journal undergoes a significant change in its subject approach. Minhas explains: 'The impact of environmental research is of special concern to our readers. From now on all submitted articles will provide a statement explaining how the research impacts the environment directly and how the work provides insight into environmental processes.' 

In a separate journal development, new titles Nanoscale and Analytical Methods have published their first articles online,  just months after the initial launch announcement in March.

Nanoscale, a collaborative venture with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China, publishes experimental and theoretical work across the breadth of nanoscience and nanotechnology, while Analytical Methods will appeal to scientists with an interest in the latest research methods demonstrating the link between fundamental and applied analytical science. 

Register for free online access to all Nanoscale and Analytical Methods content throughout 2009 and 2010.