Comment: Magazine for a new world order

The challenges of chemical science demand a new publication, says Phil Abrahams

A New Year, and with it comes a new magazine. The launch of any publication is always a great opportunity. The readers, the institutional subscribers, and the advertising community can all be offered an improved service and the changes we have made to the design and contents are aimed at achieving just this.

Chemical science has never been more central to society. From materials to medicines, from nanotechnology to sustainable development, and genetic crop modification to climate research, the contribution of chemistry and chemists makes the world go around, something that we need to be proud of, and non-chemists need to be encouraged to appreciate.

Chemistry World has been launched to reflect these challenges: a new title, to acknowledge the international nature of the subject; a new design, to help make the articles we print be both readable and attractive; a modified approach to news-gathering and feature-writing that we believe will make the magazine more topical.

Some of these changes you will see in this first issue and others will become evident as the magazine evolves.

What, though, of the new look? Our pages have been re-designed to giv e a less-cramped style whilst 'sign-posting' of individual items will save readers' time in browsing the pages.

We will still be reviewing and analysing chemistry news and events and the new 'Chemical Science' section will devote more space to the latest research and development stories.

An old favourite, Radicals, has been renamed and relocated to face the inside back cover, together with a brief resume of key historic events. In forthcoming issues we will also be publishing more features on applied chemistry, a programme of company profiles, overviews of chemical science in national and international regions, and interviews with interesting figures from the community.

From 5th January, members and subscribers will be able to access Chemistry World online. RSC members should access the site via their user name (membership number) and password. We will be adding to the online services in the coming year, with extra content and more frequent news updates, to ensure even greater topicality for our global coverage.

Of course, many people, on the new Editorial Board and on the RSC staff, have been working hard to deliver Chemistry World , but it is your view of our new magazine that will be important.

Tell us what you like about the changes and how we can develop.

Use the Letters pages to debate areas of concern for the chemical science community.

In turn, we will endeavour to communicate these issues to a wider audience and ensure that the magazine, like its subject, is thought-provoking.

We hope all our membership readers, as well as our subscribers and advertisers, find the new magazine to be an improvement both now and in the longer term, and look to it as an authoritative guide to the new chemistry world.