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Stem Cells: 21 Years Old, With the Best Yet to Come

As STEM CELLS approaches the completion of 21 productive years of publication, it seems proper to pause and reflect on the past two decades—and contemplate the next decade. At the outset, we acknowledge extreme gratitude to our editors, our international editorial board, and our reviewers whose tireless collective efforts are reflected in two decades of service that has fostered leading-edge science. And we thank our editorial staff whose dedication and talent has consistently produced a journal in which we may all take pride. They have also produced it with the speed that few if any journals can match. A bimonthly, peer-reviewed journal, STEM CELLS receives manuscripts from scientists around the world whose studies inform and expand research involving all types of stem cells. This fast-paced stem cell research arena demands speed and great diligence. For this reason, STEM CELLS recently implemented a state-of-the-art system, Manuscript Central, which enables manuscript submission online. Authors now can easily and quickly upload complete manuscripts with all figures at http://www.stemcells.manuscriptcentral.com. Since STEM CELLS’ Website can be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time, authors as well as reviewers can complete the submission and review process more easily and quickly; this will result in faster manuscript publication. Currently the gestation from manuscript submission to decision has been reduced to only 31 days, but we are committed to speeding it along even faster. By the end of this calendar year our editorial office has pledged to shave off at least five more days. The importance of stem cell research and the impact of our published papers demand this speed. We are delighted to announce that the newly released ISI impact factor for STEM CELLS is 4.034. In the publishing world of targeted journals, this is akin to breaking the “fourminute-mile.” We take pride in this peer recognition that solidly places STEM CELLS within the top ten percent of companion journals. More than anything else, it speaks boldly to the value of its published peer-reviewed manuscripts. To all who dedicate a measure of time, energy, and knowledge to furthering the success of STEM CELLS, we salute and thank you. Your collegial collaboration is being rewarded by demonstrably high impact. It is fitting to remember that in its first issue twentyone years ago, STEM CELLS was heralded as a journal, “by scientists in the pursuit of science.” Past is prologue and, with your continued support, the best is, therefore, yet to come.