Dear Readers,

The Fall 2009 issue marks the introduction of the most significant changes to TuftScope since the founding of the journal in 2001. In recent years the journal has faced difficulties in printing all of the worthy papers that it receives. Furthermore, the staff realizes that readers seek for the publication to provide material that is both academically rigorous and accessible – a challenging balance to maintain. With this in mind the journal has decided to pursue several key changes to its print and online publication strategies.

In this issue readers will see the first wave of changes for the print edition, including a new layout style. The Table of Contents has been redesigned to include both print and online content. Our regular sections like News and Views, the Feature Interview, Opposing Viewpoints, and the Book Review return in this issue. At the same time, Opposing Viewpoints has been redesigned. Noticeably the references for the section are now in the online full text version. Complementing these sections are new additions including Editorials, Research Highlights, and an Insights article addressing a contemporary issue of interest. Finally, we include a new academic section known as the Science Report reviewing a major biomedical development. All of this new content reflects our commitment to providing readers with accessible and informative content.

Our Original Articles and Commentaries are also changing. In Spring 2010, readers will notice that some original articles may be condensed into summaries of key insights for the print edition and the full text versions of the articles only available online. Articles will also continue to be made available ahead of time through TuftScope Express at www.tuftscopejournal.org, as two articles in this issue are. Our goal in doing this is to make the most content available for our readers in the limited space we have available, while allowing those who seek greater depth to explore the full text online. Readers will benefit from more content and authors will gain exposure in two formats.

The scale of this transition means that TuftScope must maintain a novel and engaging electronic portal. This is exactly what we have done with the introduction of the www.tuftscopejournal.org website. With dynamic article features, a weekly weblog, social media, and an automated submissions system, the web site marks a major developmental goal for the journal. Whether readers are interested in reading News and Views or Research Highlights (now available every week of the academic semester), following the posts of our bloggers, subscribing to the newsletter, engaging with us through social media, or reading our Twitter feed, there is something for everyone on the web site.

It has been a pleasure serving the journal during this exciting time for TuftScope. But all of this would not have been possible without the efforts of the TuftScope student and faculty staff. There are too many individuals to name and thank who have contributed to this redevelopment (many of them are on the staff list). But some deserve special thanks: Professor Harry Bernheim for invaluable advice; Max Leiserson for designing the new website; Avigya Shrestha, Cole Archambault and Puritan Press for the new layout; Alice Tin and the TCU Senate for managing our finances and providing the funding necessary to publish this journal, respectively.

And so begins a new chapter for TuftScope. We hope you enjoy this issue!

Sincerely,

Michael Shusterman

Editor-in-Chief

Ron Zipkin

Managing Editor