Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology

First published in 1950, under the title 'Progress in Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry', its original format was as a hardback book issued annually containing specialist reviews of important papers in the various different fields. Its multi-disciplinary coverage spanning biological and physcical science disciplines was novel at that time, anticipating a trend that developed over the following decades. It was well regarded from the first edition, with one reviewer describing it as "refreshingly different", and recommended "for advanced students who want a comprehensive review of various phases of biophysics, biophysical chemistry, physiology, and the theoretical basis of specialized experimental techniques".[2]

The founding editors were physicist Sir John Randall and the biochemist John Alfred Valentine Butler. Both had been closely involved with early work on the structure of DNA, Butler in early identification of the histone action in the inhibiting of DNA template action at the Chester Beatty Institute of the University of London, and Randall as director of the King's College London lab where Maurice Wilkes and Rosalind Franklin performed their experiments to determine the helical structure of DNA. The first volume included topics including the novel technique of X-ray crystallography of protein molecules, and the mechanical and thermal properties of muscle fibre operation.

When Randall stepped down in 1957 he was succeeded by Sir Bernard Katz FRS, and in 1961 by Hugh Huxley. Denis Noble FRS became editor when Huxley retired in 1967, and was joined by SirTom Blundell FRS as co-editor in 1979.

The publisher was Pergamon Press, which was taken over in 1951 by Robert Maxwell shortly after publication of the first issue. Maxwell wanted to convert the format to a general biophysical journal rather than an annual review in book form, a suggestion strongly resisted by Butler. From 1969 onwards, more frequent paperback issues were released, and the annual hardback edition was discontinued after Butler's death in 1977. In 1991, Maxwell sold Pergamon to Elsevier, although there is some doubt as to whether the sale was completed until after Maxwell's death and the collapse of his business empire.

In more recent years the journal has increasingly supported interdisciplinary and integrative research through "Themed Issues", often linked to high level discussion meetings on related topics. The overall emphasis remains on the synthesis of both reductionist and integrationist approaches, as well as combining structural and functional viewpoints.[3]

Examples of some influential reviews it has published include:

• Lips, P. (September 2006). "Vitamin D physiology". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 92 (1): 4–8. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2006.02.016. PMID 16563471. 1450 citations.[4]
• Zittermann, Armin (September 2006). "Vitamin D and disease prevention with special reference to cardiovascular disease". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 92 (1): 39–48. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2006.02.001. PMID 16600341. 675 citations.[5]
• Cantorna, Margherita T. (September 2006). "Vitamin D and its role in immunology: Multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 92 (1): 60–64. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2006.02.020. PMID 16563470. 396 citations.[6]
• Vigmond, E.J.; Weber dos Santos, R.; Prassl, A.J.; Deo, M.; Plank, G. (January 2008). "Solvers for the cardiac bidomain equations". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 96 (1–3): 3–18. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2007.07.012. PMC 2881536. PMID 17900668. 324 citations.[7]
• Hartzell, H.Criss (1988). "Regulation of cardiac ion channels by catecholamines, acetylcholine and second messenger systems". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 52 (3): 165–247. doi:10.1016/0079-6107(88)90014-4. PMID 2477870. 470 citations.[8]

In 2018, the journal published a review article entitled Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic? authored by over 30 authors, including Edward J.Steele and Chandra Wickramasinghe, which argued in favour of panspermia as the origin of the Cambrian explosion, and speculated that cephalopods are alien lifeforms that originated from frozen eggs found on a meteor.[9] The claims gained widespread derisive press coverage.[10][11][12]

The editorial of that issue authored by Noble acknowledged that panspermia was a "highly controversial hypothesis with the majority of biologists dismissing it out of hand",[13] and noted that the issue also included two commentary articles by Keith Baverstock and Karin Mölling, both highly critical of the notion that life had originated elsewhere than on this planet.[14][15]

The article was described by Mark Carnall, a curator at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, as "pseudoscience and nonsense".[16]

• Official website