Cover image
Planarian flatworms have the remarkable capacity to regenerate their entire body. Despite a wealth of molecular-genetic data, no constructive model of regenerative patterning exists. Levin and colleagues (doi:10.1242/bio.20123400) created a formalism for abstracting key features of flatworm anatomy from functional experimental data; an example of this graph representation is shown here superimposed upon successive stages of head regeneration in an amputated worm. New artificial intelligence tools can use the formalism and database to help derive algorithmic models of regeneration, establishing a new bioinformatics of shape.
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Biology Open and COVID-19
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on researchers worldwide. The Editors of all The Company of Biologists’ journals have been considering ways in which we can alleviate concerns that members of our community may have around publishing activities during this time. Read about the actions we are taking at this time.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Editorial Office if you have any questions or concerns.
Sustainable Conferencing with The Company of Biologists
A new initiative spearheaded by Directors Sally Lowell, Kate Storey, Alastair Downey and Holly Shiels will provide information, technology and grants to help the community run conferences in a more sustainable way.
Publishing ethics in the era of paper mills
In a new Editorial, Managing Editor Rachel Hackett and Editor-in-Chief Steven Kelly write about misconduct in publishing scientific research and highlight BiO’s practices to ensure that the profits from the hard work of scientists continues to inspire the next generation of researchers.
Shifting away from the business-as-usual approach to research conferences
Chelsie Counsell, Franziska Elmer and Judith Lang discuss their experience of organising a global, virtual coral reef conference, including the key steps, with a timeline, required to organise it.
Interview – Evgeniya Karpova and Evgenii Komyshev
In an interview, co-first authors Evgeniya Karpova and Evgenii Komyshev discuss the implications of their new method of counting Drosophila offspring using the SeedCounter mobile app.
Open science saves lives: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic
Over on preLights, Jonny Coates and Gautam Dey discuss a preprint by Besançon et al., which identifies some of the challenges with how the COVID-19 literature has been created and shared.