For some historic reasons, our new journal is named “Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics”, or as we have nicknamed it in short the Journal of GPB. A growing number of “–ome” and “-omics” have appeared in many diverse fields of biology, especially in the recent years under profound influences of the Human Genome Project and many other genome projects completed or in progress. We had almost attempted to re-name this journal “Ever-more-omics” to include all the new comers. However, after a second thought, we have decided to entertain these “Three Kingdoms” first while we are keeping an eye on others.
Despite the fact that no one related to the journal wants to exclude any other existing or newly arrived “-omics”, created by either true biologists or the entrepreneur types, who are either working toward scaling up their operations or enjoying advertising their favorite subjects, techniques or realms, we really should be appropriately apologetic because we are suspected in doing so any way. Maybe, just maybe, one of our immediate tasks right after launching this new journal is to somehow find it a new name to avoid confusions.
No matter what, we must start publishing and begin the “metamorphism” that will undoubtedly transform our new journal into a more integrated podium for genome biology over time. Even with this not-yet appropriately named podium, we scientists should be able to report their novel discoveries, to propose their favorite models and hypotheses, to voice their singular opinions, to debate on their elegant theorems, to share their diligent experimental tricks and to summarize their experts’ views on scientific advancement in their dearly loved fields.
We do not have a slightest doubt that we are entering the “Genomic Era” where a Knowledge Revolution is coming out a scientific one, the Genomic Revolution. It, in turn, comes out of an Informational Revolution, the information about genomes, the revolution to understand genomes in new ways and by new syntheses. Genomic information is about the biology of genomes, which is being generated in such a scale that even the stakeholders are exceedingly overwhelmed.
Genomic information is about the origin and evolution of genomes, the compositional dynamics of genomic constituents in all species on earth, the diversity of a genome in given populations, the intricate interplay of functional components of genomes, and systematic interpretations of molecular processes that keep extant life of all forms alive for millions of years. It is very basic, concerning all organisms on earth. It is new, leading toward the twilight zone where the unknown is interrogated and translated into the known.
The most important goal of our journal is to facilitate the conversion of genomic information into biological knowledge, a process that makes scientific discoveries understood and accepted by scientists as well as the public. We hope that our journal provides a vehicle that facilitates this process. At the mean time, we are certainly willing to keep an open mind accepting suggestions for making our Journal of GPB a unique and successful one that is published in China yet read and contributed by scientists around the world.
As much as we enjoy the Opening Song of the famous Chinese novel, Romance of Three Kingdoms, we are also fond of the equally famous Opening Sentence:
“Domains under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity.“ (http://www.threekingdoms.com/chapter.php?c=1)
If each “-omics”, such as genomics and proteomics, is to divide disciplines of biological sciences into ever-increasing number of “kingdoms”, or ever-decreasing amount of territories, for each “kingdoms”, there must be elements existing for unification and a time to unite them. If a decade is long enough for any fast-evolving fields of biology to change their courses or advancing speeds, we shall see our three little “Kingdoms” of Biological Sciences—Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics—becomes united in much less of their estimated due time and in such a way where the Essential Rules of Life are learnt more by systematic means and less by the old fashioned divide-and-concur strategy. We have three “kingdoms” to “romance” first but have a lot to unite in the future. Our editors, contributors, readers, and friends shall form a united front to fulfill this task.