EMBnet.journal

Editorial

The other day, I visited my usual hair-dresser to get a hair cut. She wasn’t there that day, and so, having no other free time to attend on another day, I decided to ask one of the other hair-dressers in the salon.

As this was a new member of staff, she initiated the usual chat that we all have to endure during our regular hair-cut sessions: the weather, local events, and then the inevitable, “What do you do for a living?” I told her I work in the field of Bioinformatics. “Whats that?” she asked. I explained, in the most pedagogical way I could, and ended with, “We try to hunt down gene differences that make us what we are - tall or short, dark or blonde, sick or healthy.” She looked at me with a happy face and replied, “One of my friends used to be a hair-dresser, but now she has a company that does exactly that!”

Surprised by the comment, I asked, “Is she in Bioinformatics?” “I don’t know,” she replied, “but she’s doing tests that show whether people are carrying genes that make them fat or not. I’m planning to take one because, if a have a fat gene, why torture myself with diets if they don’t work?!”

This little true-life story shows how fast things are moving in the Life Sciences, and that many Bioinformatics tools are nowadays used in the most incredible ways in the most unlikely places.

Our journal is playing, every day, a more important role in educating people far beyond the traditional research communities by embracing the Open Access ideology, which has the power to open a whole treasure-trove of knowledge to mankind. Our journal is also encouraging the submission of Educational articles to make it easier and possible to educate not only researchers, but also students and the public, as basic knowledge in bioinformatics will be part of the arsenal of any individual who takes part in the moral and ethical discussions that are needed to shape a future that is already here.

EMBnet.journal Editorial Board