Happy 5th birthday BiO!

Editor-in-Chief Jordan Raff and Managing Editor Rachel Hackett look back over how far BiO has come in five years. Thank you to all our authors, reviewers and readers who have made BiO what it is today - we couldn't have done it without you.

Editor's choice - Symmetrical retrograde actin flow in the actin fusion structure is involved in osteoclast fusion

Multinucleated osteoclasts form a podosome-derived fusion structure during cell fusion. Now, Masanori Nakamura and colleagues reveal in an Editor's choice Research article that juxtaposition of fusion partner cells is probably maintained via force generated by symmetrical retrograde actin flow in the fusion structure.

Featured article - Patterning and gastrulation defects caused by the t^w18 lethal are due to loss of Ppp2r1a

Our most-read article in June was Lisette Lange and co-workers' Research article on how the 'classical' t^w18 lethal mutation affects gastrulation and embryo patterning. The authors show that phosphatase PP2A is dysfunctional in t^w18 and essential for Nodal and WNT signalling in the epiblast.

Why should you publish your next paper in BiO?

Biology Open has strong credentials and publishing with us is easy and fast. BiO aims to provide rapid publication for scientifically sound observations and valid conclusions in developmental, cell, experimental and translational biology. Submit your paper here; you’ll be in good company.

Recent translational biology research highlights in Biology Open

Enhancing NAD⁺ salvage metabolism is neuroprotective in a PINK1 model of Parkinson's disease
Susann Lehmann, Samantha H. Y. Loh, L. Miguel Martins

Reprogrammable CRISPR/Cas9-based system for inducing site-specific DNA methylation
James I. McDonald, Hamza Celik, Lisa E. Rois, Gregory Fishberger, Tolison Fowler, Ryan Rees, Ashley Kramer, Andrew Martens, John R. Edwards, Grant A. Challen

Innovative approaches to establish and characterize primary cultures: an ex vivo 3D system and the zebrafish model
Chiara Liverani, Federico La Manna, Arwin Groenewoud, Laura Mercatali, Gabri Van Der Pluijm, Federica Pieri, Davide Cavaliere, Alessandro De Vita, Chiara Spadazzi, Giacomo Miserocchi, et al.

Transfer to Biology Open

If your submission to one of our other journals, Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology or Disease Models & Mechanism, is unsuccessful, did you know you can transfer your paper and any reviews directly to Biology Open? The majority of papers transferred with reviews are accepted for publication. Find out how here.