From Editor's Desk
Authors:   Editor, Journal of Environmental Biology, Lucknow, India, Gaumat SUMATI 
Published: January 2022

Journal of Environmental Biology is one of the leading international, interdisciplinary, open access and peer reviewed research journal that has been publishing research papers for over 40 years. The mission of the journal has been to keep scholars, academicians and scientists abreast of latest research. My first encounter with Journal of Environmental Biology was in the library of Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow that I would frequently visit to explore different journals for collecting research material for my doctorate program, followed by submitting research papers for publication in journal, however, in my wildest dream I had never imagined that someday I would be working in JEB. My father's scientific background had a strong influence on me which inspired me to opt for science stream for taking research as a career. After enrolling for a doctorate program, once again I was lucky to work under a supervisor who encouraged her scholars to visit libraries and study journals before commencing for laboratory experiments. Further, my passion for reading also propelled me to visit different libraries of research institutes during free time. Although, Google was available for literature search, but full length research papers were not easily available as most journals were paid, this further compelled us to visit libraries for collecting literature. After completing my doctorate program, instead of taking up a conventional career, I got an opportunity to join the R&D Division of JEB as a scientist. This turned out to be a turning point of my career as again I was fortunate to work under Dr. R.C. Dalela, the Editor-in-chief of JEB who is a known academician and researcher of India. He has been a teacher, a guide, a mentor and also a torchbearer to innumerable students. His constant guidance, training, support, and gesture towards life and work has shaped my career. After working in JEB for over a decade, I feel privileged and proud to serve as an Editor of JEB, looking after the entire publication work. Over time the journal has also grown, transformed and established itself on the International platform. The rising popularity among the scientific community and the feedback received from researchers and Editorial Board Members has propelled us to expand our horizons. For the year 2022, I have made efforts to give a new and modified look to the journal. To begin with, I warm-heartedly welcome the new members of the Editorial Board, and thank them for accepting my invitation to join JEB Editorial Board-2022. Also, I deeply acknowledge the co-operation received from the serving members of the Editorial Board during the pandemic period in the smooth functioning of the journal affairs and their time to time suggestions for upgrading the journal's policies. The Editorial Board-2022 is robust, dynamic and diverse, constituting experts of varied fields. Further, the growing popularity of JEB can be witnessed by the e-mails we receive from the scientists to serve journal as EB members and reviewers. Quite often we have been receiving research articles from new emerging areas of Cancer Biology, Environment Toxicology and Health, Climate Change and Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Nanoscience, and Wild Life Conservation. Looking into the interest of the researchers, we have included these new areas under the scope of the journal. This step would open new doors for researchers to submit their new innovative high-quality research work in JEB and also make JEB a top multidisciplinary journal. Looking into the flow of research articles we receive, the journal has introduced a new section “Theme Section” where research articles pertaining to a specific theme can be submitted. We invite research articles on the following theme: Regime Shift Ecology; Wildlife Conservation; Environmental Toxicants and Human Health; Nanotechnology and Environmental Protection; Rewilding lost ecosystem. On the basis of suggestions and ideas received from the Editorial Board Members, the journal has launched new sections: v Monographs v Book Review where authors and publishers can get their books reviewed and published in JEB. v Events: Announcements related to academic events such as conferences from academic institutions will be advertised on the journal's website. v Achievements: Academic achievements and awards of Editorial Board Members, Reviewers and Authors will be showcased on the journal's website. We further plan to encourage and motivate the research scholars and scientists for suitably awarding them for their outstanding contribution in the research field. The journal aims to provide leading services to the global research audience worldwide, which is well reflected in the Open Access facility of the journal. This facility is provided to the researchers, especially scholars so that the published research articles are readily available to them, free of charge, and also for rapid dissemination of research published in the journal publically. As an Editor of the journal, I encourage scholars to make maximal use of the Open Access facility of journals as this would significantly increase their knowledge and also make them aware of the latest research carried out worldwide. Laboratory studies are an integral part of the doctorate program, but reading and writing skill is equally essential for presenting the experimental output. Often, while evaluating the manuscripts for scientific content, I observe that the papers are rejected due to poor presentation despite strong scientific study. Therefore, I strongly suggest the supervisors to motivate their research scholars to take out some time and visit libraries to cultivate the habit of reading literature and also develop their writing skills. I believe this would positively improve the vocabulary, grammar, and of course ability to write a good research paper. There should be group discussion among the scholars and most important constant communication with their supervisor. Each day I come across several submissions in JEB, most of them are prepared and submitted by research scholars. Here, I would like to specify that JEB is not a platform for submitting Ph. D. work. Authors, especially supervisors should instruct their research scholars to first visit the website of the journal, read the Publication Policies and “Guidelines for Authors” of the journal. Before submitting their research articles, authors should strictly prepare their manuscript as per the Guidelines of the journal, and ensure manuscript for scientific merit, clarity, and correct English. Now onwards, all the manuscripts submitted for publication in JEB will be strictly scrutinized by the R&D Division before it is subjected to peer review. The peer-review system will be made more rigorous and meticulous. JEB strictly condemns plagiarism, therefore, manuscripts with plagiarized content will be outrightly rejected. These steps are being taken to save the time of Editorial staff and avoid delay in the processing of manuscripts. Editorial and Publication work requires immense hard work. It is not only a job but also a service. One has to be industrious, efficient, creative and competitive, and also derive pleasure from work. Fortunately, I and my team enjoy our work, abide by the norms of the organization and try to give our best services to the scientific society. It gives me and my team immense pleasure to release the January issue-2022 with a new look and content. I hope this issue would be of much relevance and interest to JEB readers. For further improvement, we welcome suggestions and feedback from our contributors and readers. “ I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy ” Rabindra Nath Tagore