Just launched is the new open-access scientific journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. Elementa aims to facilitate scientific solutions to the challenges presented by this era of accelerated human impact on natural systems. It is committed to the rapid publication of technically sound, peer-reviewed articles that address interactions between human and natural systems and behaviors (Elementa, Feb 2013). Submission will be accepted April 2013

Elementa is aimed at six main knowledge domains including:

• Atmospheric Science
• Earth and Environmental Science
• Ecology, Ocean Science
• Sustainable Engineering
• Sustainability Sciences

Elementa is supported by BioOne and five academic Dartmouth, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington.

For further information go to the pre-publication site.

Retraction Watch is a blog which seeks to highlight the latest scientific retractions. The blog started in August 2010 by Ivan Oransky (executive editor of Reuters Heath and teachers medical journalism a New York University) and Adam Marcus (managing editor of Anaesthesiology News).

So why a blog on retractions?

1. Science takes justifiable pride in the fact that it is self-correcting - most of the time….Retractions are therefore a window into the scientific process.
2. Hope the blog will form an informal repository for the retractions we find and might even spur the creation of a retraction database.
3. Highlighting the retractions will give journalists more tools to uncover fraud and misuse of funds.
4. Interested in whether journals are consistent….with printing retractions.

Ivan Ornsky and Adam Marcus - First Post August 2010

Example of the retractions published in December 2012:

• Retractions three and four for Hopkins cancer biomarker group - 31 December 2012
• Neuroscientist made up data in NIH grant applications, says ORI - 28 December 2012
• ORI sanctions former Texas Tech postdoc for falsification, fabrication, plagiarism - 28 December 2012

To find out more go to Retraction Watch

The consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP) has negotiated that nearly all particle-physics articles will be immediately free on journal websites from 2014. This impacts researchers, meaning individual groups will not need to arrange open publication of their work. Peter Suber an advocate of open access stated "It is the most systematic attempt to convert all the journals in a given field to open access"(Nature|News, Sept 2012) To read further go to Nature|News or get the latest news and debate on Open Access from SCOAP.

Allen Press has produced a 2012 Study of Subscription Prices for Scholarly Society Journals based on historical prices over the past two years from 220 journals and survey findings from 20 society/association publishers. The study reveals how libraries are dealing with the present budget challenges and the consequences for scholarly publishers.

A breakdown of the average price increase by subject is included. For all titles in the study, price increases in 2012 averaged 5.8%, down from 7.5% in 2011. This was the first time in seven years the average increase for USA journals has fallen belown 6%.

PeerJ offers academics two Open Access publication options:

PeerJ - a peer-reviewed open access academic journal
PeerJ PrePrints - a 'pre-print' server that allows you to gain credit and feedback from peers before publishing.

PeerJ is aimed at Biological and Medical Sciences academics, and provides an "integrated solution" for researchers' publishing needs. Committed to improving the process of scholarly publishing, PeerJ selects articles based on scientific and methodological soundness, rather than impact or interest.

What is unique about PeerJ is that it offers a lifetime membership model. This model provides a low-cost membership to individuals that offers lifetime rights to publish for free with PeerJ, instead of a system that charges authors per publication.

A recent interview with PeerJ cofounder Peter Binfield explains in detail the aims of PeerJ and its ambitions for the future.