Biochimica et Biophysica Acta
Encyclopedia
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) is a peer-reviewed
scientific journal
in the field of biochemistry
and biophysics
that was established in 1947. The journal is published by Elsevier
with a total of 100 annual issues in nine specialised sections.
and biophysics
. Published by Elsevier
in cooperation with Interscience
, it was the first international journal to be launched by Elsevier. The journal first made a profit in 1951.
Early papers were published in English, French, and German, with summaries in all three languages. The majority of papers in the first volume originated in northern and western Europe, with a minority from the USA and elsewhere; contributors included William Astbury
, Jean Brachet
, Hubert Chantrenne
, Pierre Desnuelle, Claude Fromageot, Heinz Holter, Raymond Jeener
, Felix Haurowitz, Edgar Lederer, Kaj Linderstrøm-Lang, Roger Vendrely, Jean-Marie Wiame, and Ralph W.G. Wyckoff
.
Important papers from these early years include "Studies on the structure of ribonucleic acids" by Boris Magasanik and Erwin Chargaff
(1951), part of the evidence on which Watson and Crick's model of the structure of DNA
was based, and "Enzymic synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid" by Arthur Kornberg
and colleagues (1956), an early report on the isolation of DNA polymerase I
.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta was published as a single title until 1962, when additional sections began to be published alongside the main journal: first Specialized Section on Nucleic Acids and Related Subjects and then, from 1963, Specialized Section on Enzymological Subjects and Specialized Section on Lipids and Related Subjects.
In 1964, the main journal became Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – General Subjects, and was published alongside the three established sections plus Specialized Section on Biophysical Subjects and Specialized Section on Mucoproteins and Mucopolysaccharides. In 1965, the specialist sections were renamed, becoming Biophysics including Photosynthesis, Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis, Enzymology and Biological Oxidation, Lipids and Lipid Metabolism and Mucoproteins and Mucopolysaccharides (ceased in 1965). In 1967, Biophysics including Photosynthesis split into Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, and Enzymology and Biological Oxidation split into Enzymology and Protein Structure; the latter pair rejoined in 1982 to become Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology. Further sections were Molecular Cell Research, launched in 1982, and Molecular Basis of Disease, launched in 1990.
In addition to the specialised research sections, three review sections were launched in the early 1970s: Reviews on Biomembranes (1972–2000), Reviews on Bioenergetics (1973–87) and Reviews on Cancer (from 1974). The former two were later incorporated into the respective research sections.
Further name changes are given in the table in the following section.
, Canada
).
The sections published in 2011 were as follows:
, Chemical Abstracts Service
, Current Contents
/Life Sciences, EMBASE
, EMBiology
, Index Chemicus, MEDLINE
/Index Medicus
, Science Citation Index
, and Sociedad Iberoamericana de Informacion Cientifica.
Articles are available online via ScienceDirect
as PDF
s and HTML
; access is largely limited to subscribers, with a small number of sponsored open-access articles.
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
in the field of biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
that was established in 1947. The journal is published by Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
with a total of 100 annual issues in nine specialised sections.
Early years
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta was first published in 1947 and was the first international journal to be devoted to the joint fields of biochemistryBiochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
. Published by Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
in cooperation with Interscience
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
, it was the first international journal to be launched by Elsevier. The journal first made a profit in 1951.
Early papers were published in English, French, and German, with summaries in all three languages. The majority of papers in the first volume originated in northern and western Europe, with a minority from the USA and elsewhere; contributors included William Astbury
William Astbury
William Thomas Astbury FRS was an English physicist and molecular biologist who made pioneering X-ray diffraction studies of biological molecules. His work on keratin provided the foundation for Linus Pauling's discovery of the alpha helix...
, Jean Brachet
Jean Brachet
Jean Louis Auguste Brachet was a Belgian biochemist who made a key contribution in understanding the role of RNA....
, Hubert Chantrenne
Hubert Chantrenne
Hubert Chantrenne is a Belgian scientist, and one of the pioneers of molecular biology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He elucidated the messenger role played by the ribonucleic acid in the synthesis of proteins in ribosome, organelles of the cellular cytoplasm...
, Pierre Desnuelle, Claude Fromageot, Heinz Holter, Raymond Jeener
Raymond Jeener
Raymond Jeener was a Belgian molecular biologist and professor at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles . In 1954, he was awarded the Francqui Prize on Biological and Medical Sciences.-References:...
, Felix Haurowitz, Edgar Lederer, Kaj Linderstrøm-Lang, Roger Vendrely, Jean-Marie Wiame, and Ralph W.G. Wyckoff
Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff
Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff, Sr. was an American scientist and pioneer of X-ray crystallography. He was elected Foreign member of the Royal Society, on April 19, 1951....
.
Important papers from these early years include "Studies on the structure of ribonucleic acids" by Boris Magasanik and Erwin Chargaff
Erwin Chargaff
Erwin Chargaff was an American biochemist who emigrated to the United States during the Nazi era. Through careful experimentation, Chargaff discovered two rules that helped lead to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA...
(1951), part of the evidence on which Watson and Crick's model of the structure of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
was based, and "Enzymic synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid" by Arthur Kornberg
Arthur Kornberg
Arthur Kornberg was an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1959 for his discovery of "the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid " together with Dr. Severo Ochoa of New York University...
and colleagues (1956), an early report on the isolation of DNA polymerase I
DNA polymerase I
DNA Polymerase I is an enzyme that participates in the process of DNA replication in prokaryotes. It is composed of 928 amino acids, and is an example of a processive enzyme - it can sequentially catalyze multiple polymerisations. Discovered by Arthur Kornberg in 1956, it was the first known...
.
Diversification
In 1964, the main journal became Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – General Subjects, and was published alongside the three established sections plus Specialized Section on Biophysical Subjects and Specialized Section on Mucoproteins and Mucopolysaccharides. In 1965, the specialist sections were renamed, becoming Biophysics including Photosynthesis, Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis, Enzymology and Biological Oxidation, Lipids and Lipid Metabolism and Mucoproteins and Mucopolysaccharides (ceased in 1965). In 1967, Biophysics including Photosynthesis split into Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, and Enzymology and Biological Oxidation split into Enzymology and Protein Structure; the latter pair rejoined in 1982 to become Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology. Further sections were Molecular Cell Research, launched in 1982, and Molecular Basis of Disease, launched in 1990.
In addition to the specialised research sections, three review sections were launched in the early 1970s: Reviews on Biomembranes (1972–2000), Reviews on Bioenergetics (1973–87) and Reviews on Cancer (from 1974). The former two were later incorporated into the respective research sections.
Further name changes are given in the table in the following section.
Modern journal
As of 2008, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta encompasses nine specialised sections with a total of 100 annual issues in ten volumes. Over 13,000 pages were published in 2008. The journal sections are published separately, with one annual volume per section (two for Reviews on Cancer), but form part of the volume numbering for Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. Sections are available individually or as part of a combined subscription. All papers are in English. The overall editor-in-chief is Dennis E. Vance (University of AlbertaUniversity of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
).
The sections published in 2011 were as follows:
| Name | ISSN | Annual issues | Impact factor Impact factor The impact factor, often abbreviated IF, is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher impact factors deemed... |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBA – Bioenergetics | 12 | 3.688 | Commenced 1967; formerly part of BBA – Biophysics including Photosynthesis (1965–1966). Incorporates BBA – Reviews on Bioenergetics | |
| BBA – Biomembranes | 12 | 3.998 | Commenced 1967; formerly part of BBA – Biophysics including Photosynthesis (1965–6). Incorporates BBA – Reviews on Biomembranes | |
| BBA – Gene Regulatory Mechanisms | 12 | 3.475 | Commenced 2008; continuation of BBA – Gene Structure and Expression (0167-4781; 1982–2007), BBA – Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis (1963–1981) and BBA – Specialized Section on Nucleic Acids and Related Subjects (1962–4) | |
| BBA – General Subjects | 12 | 4.663 | Commenced 1964; continuation of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta | |
| BBA – Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids | 12 | 4.357 | Commenced 1998; continuation of BBA – Lipids and Lipid Metabolism (1965–98) and BBA – Specialized Section on Lipids and Related Subjects (1963–4) | |
| BBA – Molecular Basis of Disease | 12 | 4.139 | Commenced 1990 | |
| BBA – Molecular Cell Research | 12 | 4.374 | Commenced 1982 | |
| BBA – Proteins and Proteomics | 12 | 2.480 | Commenced 2002; continuation of BBA – Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology (1982–2002), BBA – Enzymology (1967–81), BBA – Protein Structure (1967–81), BBA – Enzymology and Biological Oxidation (1965–66), BBA – Specialized Section on Enzymological Subjects (1963–4) | |
| BBA – Reviews on Cancer | 4 | 11.685 | Commenced 1974 | |
Indexing and online journal
BBA is abstracted and indexed by BIOSISBIOSIS Previews
BIOSIS Previews is an English-language, bibliographic database service, with abstracts and citation indexing. It is part of Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge suite. Content that was originally integrated from the BIOSIS company before the merger in 2004 is now part of the Web of Knowledge...
, Chemical Abstracts Service
Chemical Abstracts Service
Chemical Abstracts is a periodical index that provides summaries and indexes of disclosures in recently published scientific documents. Approximately 8,000 journals, technical reports, dissertations, conference proceedings, and new books, in any of 50 languages, are monitored yearly, as are patent...
, Current Contents
Current Contents
Current Contents is a rapid alerting service database from the Institute for Scientific Information, now part of Thomson Reuters, that is published online and in several different printed subject sections.-History:...
/Life Sciences, EMBASE
EMBASE
Embase is an online information source of published literature designed to supportinformation managers and pharmacovigilance in complying with the regulatoryrequirements of a licensed drug. Through its unique and comprehensive content coverage,...
, EMBiology
EMBiology
EMBiology is a bibliographic database established in June 2005, and produced by Elsevier. EMBiology focuses on indexing the literature in the life sciences in general. Coverage includes science in the laboratory and science in the field...
, Index Chemicus, MEDLINE
MEDLINE
MEDLINE is a bibliographic database of life sciences and biomedical information. It includes bibliographic information for articles from academic journals covering medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and health care...
/Index Medicus
Index medicus
Index Medicus is a comprehensive index of medical scientific journal articles, published since 1879. It was initiated by John Shaw Billings, head of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, United States Army...
, Science Citation Index
Science Citation Index
The Science Citation Index is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information and created by Eugene Garfield in 1960, which is now owned by Thomson Reuters. The larger version covers more than 6,500 notable and significant journals, across 150 disciplines, from ...
, and Sociedad Iberoamericana de Informacion Cientifica.
Articles are available online via ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect is one of the largest online collections of published scientific research in the world. It is operated by the publisher Elsevier and contains nearly 10 million articles from over 2,500 journals and over 6,000 e-books, reference works, book series and handbooks issued by Elsevier...
as PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
s and HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
; access is largely limited to subscribers, with a small number of sponsored open-access articles.