As an editor, I consider reference lists as virtually everyday reading, and I'm fascinated by the variety and number of journals being published. The journal landscape can be a dangerous place, it seems, and George Koutsantonis's comments about 'predatory publishing', where publishers (sometimes of questionable reputation) are looking to increase their metrics and profit by signing up unsuspecting authors (July issue, p. 18), prompted me to revisit my ponderings. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, established in 1665 by the Royal Society, is the oldest scientific journal in the English-speaking world. More recently (a mere 210 years ago), it split into journals A and B, to accommodate physical and life sciences separately.
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