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Give Them Your Papers

Nature Genetics is asking members of the life science community to submit papers for potential publication that "reformat and integrate" existing data to generate "new hypotheses, predictions, and insights."

The journal wrote in an editorial last week that it is interested in data analysis papers that cover "new research in any area of gene expression and cell identity (including genetics, epigenetics, development, cell reprogramming, synthetic biology, and cancer."

Researchers can submit descriptions of their papers for consideration up until May 1. Nature Genetics will "solicit and coordinate editorial interest in these presubmission inquiries from the Nature research journals … and from competing journals, with a view to organizing and indexing this set of parallel publications later in the year." It will also "apply advice on data interoperability from a range of experts, including, but not limited to BioSharing, the Global Alliance for sharing data, ELIXIR, and the US National Institutes of Health Big Data to Knowledge initiative, and offer guidance to authors on adding value to proposed analyses," according to the editorial.

In reviewing submissions, editors "will look primarily for novelty and conceptual advances as well as for value added by reusing previously unconnected data sets," the editorial states. They will also look for "separation of hypothesis generation and validation, so predictions should be tested by simulation or on a comparable dataset." Finally, the use of "open data, open-source software, and open publication are encouraged, but will not be mandatory."

Papers that are accepted for publication should be submitted by September 1. They "may be published under an open license if they offer a community standard," the editorial states.