Implementation of the Biological Bulletin - Marine Models Electronic Record (BB-MMER), an Electronic Journal at the Marine Biological Laboratory

位于马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔的海洋生物实验室(MBL)出版了一本有97年历史的兼收并蓄的期刊《生物简报》，它将与海洋生物实验室的信息系统部门合作，制作一种电子伴侣：生物简报海洋模型电子记录(BB--MMER)。这份通过万维网发行的新期刊将发表在基础生物学和生物医学研究中有用的非哺乳动物海洋生物的实用信息。一个多世纪以来，海洋生物及其制剂一直是实验模型，它们的使用导致了许多基础发现，特别是在发育生物学、神经生物学和细胞生理学方面。不幸的是，由于篇幅的限制，这些生物体的收集、维护和培养的细节，以及它们在实验科学中使用所必需的详细方案、配方和书目，都没有在传统期刊上发表。因此，这些发现背后的细节已经丢失，或者必须在不同的实验室重新发现。BB-MMER将通过两种方式解决这个问题：一是作为传统的学术期刊；二是作为一个新的电子数据库，供世界各地的科学家使用。首先，就像它的硬拷贝表亲一样，BB-mmer将征集和接受投稿，这些投稿将由《生物公报》的稳定裁判进行审查。因此，所有接受发表并由BB-MMER分发的论文都将是真实的、可引用的期刊文章。同时，该局信息系统司的工作人员将利用MOSAIC环境为该期刊开发超文本链接和数据管理功能。每一篇BB--MMER投稿将按层次列出：即，首先是包含摘要和目录的标题页；然后(按选项)论文正文；最后(按选项)附录中的逐步实验室方案和其他详细材料。优秀的插图将以彩色或黑白形式提供，最终将包括视频片段。以电子方式出版期刊可以改进索引、检索和多用途。此外，电子出版使作者能够修改或升级以前出版的作品。但大多数价值是通过电子环境使之成为可能的联系和管理功能而增加的。因此，BB-Mmer的用户不仅能够获得关于大量选择的模式生物及其组织制剂的全面信息，而且还能够比较从许多不同的论文中引用的方案、配方、制剂或其他信息单元。随着数据库的大小和复杂性的增加，这一设施将随着时间的推移而变得更加富有成效。

The Biological Bulletin, an eclectic, 97-year-old journal published by the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, will collaborate with the Information Systems Division of the MBL to produce an electronic companion: the Biological Bulletin Marine Models Electronic Record (BB-- MMER). This new journal, distributed via the World Wide Web, will publish practical information about nonmammalian marine organisms that are useful in basic biological and biomedical research. Marine organisms and the preparations made from them have served as experimental models for more than a century, and their use has led to many fundamental discoveries, particularly in developmental biology, neurobiology, and cellular physiology. Unfortunately, neither the particulars of collecting, maintaining, and culturing these organisms, nor the detailed protocols, recipes, and bibliographies essential to their use in experimental science, are published in traditional journals due to limitations of space. Thus the details that underlie the findings are lost, or must be rediscovered in different laboratories. The BB--MMER will approach this problem in two ways: as a traditional scholarly journal; and as a novel electronic database available to scientists everywhere in the world. First, like its hard-copy cousin, the BB--MMER will solicit and accept contributions, and these will be reviewed by the Biological Bulletin's stable of referees. All papers accepted for publication and distributed by the BB--MMER will therefore be genuine, citable journal articles. Concurrently, the staff of the MBL's Information Systems Division will use the Mosaic environment to develop hypertext linkage and data management features for the journal. Each BB--MMER contribution will be presented hierarchically: i.e., first the title page containing an abstract and a table of contents; then (by option) the body of the paper, and finally (by option) step-by-step laboratory protocols and other detailed materials in appendices. Superior illustrations will be provided in color or black-and-white, and video segments will be included eventually. Publishing a journal electronically can improve indexing, retrieval, and multiple use. Moreover, electronic publishing enables authors to modify or upgrade previously published work. But most value is added by the linkage and management features that are made possible by the electronic environment. Thus, users of the BB--MMER will not only be able to obtain comprehensive information about a large selection of model organisms and their tissue preparations, but also to compare protocols, recipes, preparations, or other units of information called from many different papers. And this facility will become more fruitful with time, as the size and complexity of the database increases.