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''Nature'' is a prominent Scientific Journal , first published on 4 November 1869 . Although most scientific journals are now highly specialized, ''Nature'' is one of the few journals, along with other weekly journals such as '' Science '' and '' Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences '', which still publishes original Research articles across a wide range of Scientific fields. In many fields of scientific research, important new advances and original research are published as Article s or Letter s in ''Nature.'' Research Scientist s are the primary audience for the journal, but summaries and accompanying articles make many of the most important papers understandable for the general public and to scientists in other fields. Toward the front of each issue are Editorial s, news and feature articles on issues of general interest to scientists, including current affairs, science funding, business, scientific Ethics and research breakthroughs. There are also sections on books and arts. The remainder of the journal consists mostly of research articles, which are often dense and highly technical. Due to strict limits on the length of articles, in many cases the printed text is actually a summary of the work in question with many details relegated to accompanying ''supplemental material'' on the journal's website. HISTORY Scientific magazines and journals preceding ''Nature'' Nineteenth-century Britain was home to a great deal of scientific progress; particularly in the latter half of the 19th century, Britain underwent enormous technological and industrial changes and advances.Siegel, "A Cooperative Publishing Model for Sustainable Scholarship," p. 88 The most respected scientific journals of this time were the refereed journals of the Royal Society , which had published many of the great works from Isaac Newton , Michael Faraday through to early works from Charles Darwin . In addition, during this period, the number of popular science periodicals doubled from the 1850s to the 1860s. Barton, "Just Before Nature," p. 3 According to the editors of these popular science magazines, the publications were designed to serve as “organs of science,” in essence, a means of connecting the public to the scientific world. ''Nature'', first created in 1869, was not the first magazine of its kind. One journal to precede ''Nature'' was titled ''Recreative Science: A Record and Remembrancer of Intellectual Observation'', which, created in 1859, began as a natural history magazine and progressed to include more physical observational science and technical subjects and less natural history. Barton, "Just Before Nature," p. 7 The journal’s name changed from its original title to ''Intellectual Observer: A Review of Natural History, Microscopic Research, and Recreative Science'' and then later to the ''Student and Intellectual Observer of Science, Literature, and Art''. Barton, "Just Before Nature," p. 6 While ''Recreative Science'' had attempted to include more physical sciences such as astronomy and archaeology, the ''Intellectual Observer'' broadened itself further to include literature and art as well. Similar to ''Recreative Science'' was the scientific journal titled ''Popular Science Review'', created in 1862 Barton, "Just Before Nature," p. 13, which covered different fields of science by creating subsections titled ‘Scientific Summary’ or ‘Quarterly Retrospect,’ with book reviews and commentary on the latest scientific works and publications. Two other journals produced in England prior to the development of ''Nature'' were titled the ''Quarterly Journal of Science'' and ''Scientific Opinion'', founded in 1864 and 1868, respectively. The journal most closely related to ''Nature'' in its editorship and format was titled ''The Reader'', created in 1864; the publication mixed science with literature and art in an attempt to reach an audience outside of the scientific community, similar to ''Popular Science Review''. These similar journals all ultimately failed. The ''Popular Science Review'' was the longest to survive, lasting 20 years and ending its publication in 1881; ''Recreative Science'' ceased publication as the ''Student and Intellectual Observer'' in 1871. The ''Quarterly Journal'', after undergoing a number of editorial changes, ceased publication in 1885. ''The Reader'' terminated in 1867, and finally, ''Scientific Opinion'' lasted a mere 2 years, until June 1870. The creation of ''Nature'' Not long after the conclusion of ''The Reader'', a former editor, , editor of ''Nature'' from 1966 to 1973 as well as from 1980 to 1995, suggested at a celebratory dinner for the journal’s centennial edition that perhaps it was the journalistic qualities of Nature that drew readers in; “journalism” Maddox states, “is a way of creating a sense of community among people who would otherwise be isolated from each other. This is what Lockyer’s journal did from the start.”"The ''Nature'' Centenary Dinner," p. 13 In addition, Maddox mentions that the financial backing of the journal in its first years by the Macmillan family also allowed the journal to flourish and develop more freely than scientific journals before it. ''Nature'' in the 20th century Nature underwent a great deal of development and expansion during the 20th century, particularly during the latter half of the 90's. Editors In 1919, Sir Richard Gregory followed Sir in 1965, and finally to David Davies in 1973. In 1980, Sir John Maddox returned as editor and retained his position until 1995. Dr. Philip Campbell has since became Editor-in-chief of all Nature publications. ''Nature''’s expansion and development In 1970, ''Nature'' first opened its Washington office; other branches opened in New York, Tokyo, Munich, Paris, San Francisco, and Boston in 1985, 1987, 1987, 1989, 2001, and 2004, respectively. Starting in the 1980’s, the journal underwent a great deal of expansion, launching over ten new journals. These new journals comprise the Nature Publishing Group, which was created in 1999 and includes ''Nature'', Nature Research Journals, Stockton Press Specialist Journals and Macmillan Reference (renamed NPG Reference). In 1997, ''Nature'' created its own website, www.nature.com, and in 1999 Nature Publishing Group began its series of ''Nature Reviews''. Some articles and papers are available for free on the Nature Web site. Others require the purchase of premium access to the site. Nature claims a readership of over 300,000 senior scientists and executives and over 600,000 total readers. The journal has a circulation of around 65,000 but studies have concluded that on average the journal is shared by as many as 10 people. Demographics: Nature , a profile of Nature's readership. PUBLISHING IN ''NATURE'' Having an article published in ''Nature'' is very prestigious, and the articles are often highly cited, which can lead to promotions, grant funding, and attention from the mainstream media. Because of these Positive Feedback effects, competition among scientists to publish in high-level journals like ''Nature'' and its closest competitor, ''Science'', can be very fierce. ''Nature'''s Impact Factor , a measure of how many citations a journal generates in other works, was 29.273 in 2005 (as measured by Thomson ISI ), among the highest of any journal. As with most other professional scientific journals, articles undergo an initial screening by the editor, followed by Peer Review (in which other scientists, chosen by the editor for expertise with the subject matter but who have no connection to the research under review, will read and critique articles), before publication. In the case of ''Nature'', they are only sent for review if it is decided that they deal with a topical subject and are sufficiently ground-breaking in that particular field. As a consequence, the majority of submitted articles are rejected without review. According to ''Nature'''s Mission Statement : It is intended, FIRST, to place before the general public the grand results of Scientific Work and Scientific Discovery; and to urge the claims of Science to a more general recognition in Education and in Daily Life; and, SECONDLY, to aid Scientific men themselves, by giving early information of all advances made in any branch of Natural knowledge throughout the world, and by affording them an opportunity of discussing the various Scientific questions which arise from time to time. Landmark papers Many of the most-significant scientific breakthroughs in modern history have been first published in ''Nature''. The following is a selection of scientific breakthroughs published in ''Nature'', all of which had far-reaching consequences, and the citation for the article in which they were published.
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