Editor

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GUIDANCE FOR AUTHORS
Editor
Denis Noble
Publishing Editor
Tim Holt
Editorial Board
Publishing format
Along with all Royal Society journals, we are committed to archiving
and providing perpetual access. The journal also offers the facility for
including Electronic Supplementary Material to papers free of charge.
Denis Noble – Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford
Fraser A. Armstrong – Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford
Sheng He – Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Clemens Kaminski – Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge
James Kirkpatrick – Pathologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Alfonso Martinez-Arias – Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Richard Templer – Chemistry, Imperial College London
John Tyson – Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Denis Wirtz – Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Weian Zhao – Stem Cell Research Center, University of California
Publishing Editor: Tim Holt
(tel: +44 (0)20 7451 2649; fax: +44 (0)20 7976 1837;
[email protected])
Production Editor: Tom Lowen
6–9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, UK
rsfs.royalsocietypublishing.org
Conditions of publication
Articles must not have been published previously, nor be under
consideration for publication elsewhere. The main findings of the
article should not have been reported in the mass media. Like many
journals, Interface Focus employs a strict embargo policy where the
reporting of a scientific article by the media is embargoed until a
specific time. The Editor has final authority in all matters relating to
publication.
AIMS AND SCOPE
Each issue of Interface Focus is devoted to specific topics at the interface
of the physical and life sciences. It facilitates cross-disciplinary research
across this traditional divide by acting as a forum accessible to all. Each
issue aims to include a combination of high quality review and research
articles and all contributions are peer-reviewed to the Royal Society’s
exacting standards. Articles are initially published online and subsequently
in print.
ISBN: 978-1-78252-082-5
Copyright © 2014 The Royal Society
Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any
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of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. In particular, the Society permits the making of a single photocopy of an article from this issue (under
Sections 29 and 38 of this Act) for an individual for the purposes of research or private study.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
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Subscription prices
2014 calendar year
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subscription combined online
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Selection criteria
The criteria for selection for both theme issues and their constituent
articles are scientific excellence, originality and interest across the
physical sciences / life sciences interface. The Editor is responsible
for all editorial decisions, in part based on the reports received from
the referees. Many more good proposals and articles are submitted
to us than we have space to print; we give preference to those that
are of broad interest and of high scientific quality.
UK, Europe
and ROW
Europe
£1061
€1379
USA, Canada
and ROW
US$1900
Electronic Submission details
The majority of Interface Focus issues are commissioned. However,
suggestions for themes are welcome and initial proposals should be
addressed to [email protected]. For full submission
guidelines and access to all journal content please visit the
Interface Focus website at rsfs.royalsocietypublishing.org.
The Royal Society, the national academy of science of
the UK and the Commonwealth, is at the cutting edge
of scientific progress. We support many top young
scientists, engineers and technologists, influence
science policy, debate scientific issues with the public
and much more. We are an independent, charitable
body and derive our authoritative status from over 1400
Fellows and Foreign Members.
Our mission: to expand knowledge and further the role
of science and engineering in making the world a better
place.
The Royal Society’s strategic priorities are to
• The Royal Society’s strategic priorities are to:
• invest in future scientific leaders and in
innovation,
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This paper meets the requirements of ISO 9706:1994(E) and ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper) effective with volume 1, issue 1, 2011.
Interface Focus (ISSN No: 2042-8898) is published bimonthly for US$2517 per year by the Royal Society, and is distributed in the USA by Air Business,
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Articles
Articles are contributions containing original scientific research.
Reports
Reports are short, letter-style contributions which are published
rapidly. Preliminary and more speculative work of high quality is
strongly encouraged.
Reviews
Reviews are articles of the highest quality and aim to be of interest
to communities working at the physical sciences / life sciences
interface. Reviews cover the latest developments in an area of crossdisciplinary research. They put such research into a broader context
and are written in a style that makes them accessible to readers in a
wide range of disciplines. Complete literature surveys are not
encouraged.
Topics
Interface Focus welcomes articles on a diverse range of topics
including, but not limited to
.
biocomplexity
.
biophysics
.
biocomputation
.
chemical biology
.
bioengineering
.
medical physics
.
bioinformatics
.
synthetic biology
biomaterials
.
systems biology
biomechanics
.
theoretical biology
bionanoscience
.
tissue engineering
.
.
.
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Cover image: Cooperative and selfish strains of E. coli bacteria – labelled with green- and red-fluorescent proteins, respectively – compete
for space and resources in a microfabricated environment. This micrograph shows bacterial competition inside two 100x100 micron
micro-habitat patches linked by a narrow, 5-micron wide channel. While the selfish strain (red) slowly migrates through the junction
channel into a micro-habitat populated by cooperating bacteria (green), local interactions and spatial segregation allows the cooperative
strain to resist the invasion of selfish individuals and avoid extinction. (Image courtesy of Guillaume Lambert.)