The Journal prepares for its second century

ith this issue the journal introduces the first major change in its format in more than nine decades of publication. To be sure, there have been many modifications in typography and details of style during and after the development ofthe familiar format that has characterized theJournal since the early part of this century, but at no time have substantial changes been instituted. It may seem like an extreme degree ofconservatism to continue for so long a period without substantial changes. However , it was simply a matter of preserving what appeared to be a fully satisfactory style: the Editors were comfortable with it, and as far as we could determine, so were the contributors and the readers. There was little motivation for radical change. As a matter of fact, the new format was not primarily dictated by growing dissatisfaction with the old or by a strongly felt need to "modernize," but rather by the pressure to provide additional space for the rapidly increasing number of manuscripts submitted to the Journal. Fig. 1 illustrates this problem by showing the record for receipt of manuscripts over the past decade. After maintaining a stable level for the first five years, there has been a steady and precipitous increase in submissions since 1985. The larger page size and double column format will allow the publication of more papers, thus alleviating the pressure resulting from this increase , and at the same time will improve the display of certain types of data. Changes other than those dictated by page size and double column format have been kept to a minimum. A touch of modernization has been added by having the summary appear at the beginning of each article, where readers are now accustomed to look for it in most publications. The cover retains its conservative flavor ; however, the list of editors has been moved from the cover to the first inside page, and a picture of the entrance of Founder's Hall at The Rockefeller University has been added. An increase in the size of the editorial group, which should enable us to cope more efficiently with the growth of the journal, is responsible for the first of these modifications. In view of the history of the journal, the cover picture seems an appropriate decoration that recognizes the origin of the publication. The use of a multicolor design for the cover, with photographs relating to …