The history of science has repeatedly shown that when hypotheses are proposed it is impossible to predict which will turn out to be revolutionary and which will be considered ridiculous (http://medicalhypotheses.blogspot.com/2009/12/davidhorrobins-inaugural-editorial.html). Also, hypotheses that appear to be ridiculous now or even 50 years from now may turn out to be genius 100 years later. For example, William Coley, who pioneered the development of cancer immunotherapy in late part of the 19th century, was not recognized for his discoveries until the end of the 20th century. Furthermore, a large number of wonderful hypotheses have been lost due to the inability to record them. Most of the works of Al-Farabi, the 10th century scientist, philosopher, cosmologist, and musician who was born in modern Kazakhstan, were not recorded during his lifetime, depriving his followers from effectively using his ideas.
With the introduction of Internet technologies, we now have the capability to share our most innovative ideas with the rest of the world. To speed up the translation of science from labs to classrooms, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh started the Global Health Network Supercourse project in the late 1990s (www.pitt.edu/~super1), where lectures are used as “nuggets of knowledge” to be shared with scientists around the world. The new Central Asian Journal of Global Health will be the first open access scientific journal affiliated with the Supercourse network. This journal is a direct outgrowth of the Supercourse effort, possible due to the large network that has been developed as a result of the Supercourse activities.
The Central Asian Journal of Global Health is a biannual journal aimed at those working in the fields of public health and medicine. Specifically, our aim is to focus on a geographic region that is not sufficiently highlighted by existing journals: Central Asia. However, this journal will not be limited to research from Central Asia, but will be open to submissions from around the world. In addition to the highest-quality reviews and perspectives covering the field of health in Central Asia, each issue will include news stories and investigations into the hottest topics and new research practices in the field of public health, helping us fulfill our goal of uniting multiple disciplines and cross-disciplinary research under one roof.
The Supercourse and the new journal will greatly interface with each other. Each will rely on a similar network of over 50,000 scientists from 174 countries that utilize the Supercourse library. Furthermore, every author of an accepted article will be strongly encouraged to submit a Supercourse lecture in PowerPoint format to rapidly disseminate the findings.
The Central Asian Journal of Global Health is a fully peer-reviewed online open access journal. It will provide a forum for discussion for all aspects of public health, medicine, and global health in Central Asia and around the world. The Central Asian Journal of Global Health is dedicated to publishing material of the highest scholarly interest, and to this end we have assembled a distinguished Editorial Advisory board. We welcome contributions from established researchers, especially those working on cutting edge questions, but we are also keen to act as a supportive environment for new investigators and for those who have never published in English language journals before.
Our hope is that this journal will serve as a greenhouse for revolutionary biomedical and public health ideas in Central Asia and around the world.
Please send us your papers through the journal’s website at http://cajgh.pitt.edu.