Editorial (1999)

If a man will begin with certainties, he will end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, then he will end with certainties. Advancement of Learning Francis Bacon, English Essayist and Philosopher (1561–1626). For all of our life, the 19 in the bottom right hand corner of our cheque books has provided us with a sense of security and the certainty of boundless time – unspent cheques that could be spent forever. Now as we write 1999 on those cheques, doubt begins to creep in. Certainty and permanence fade as we face a new millenium which will bring with it new challenges and new doubts, but also unprecedented achievements and certainties. For scientists in our field, the end of this century will be remembered as the beginning. Much has been said and written about the ‘medicine of the twenty‒first century’ and ‘the medicine of tomorrow’. Suddenly tomorrow is today. The end of a century is a time to reflect on our achievements and plan for the future. For the patients and their families whose suffering we aspire to alleviate, the new century marks the beginning of a new hope. But it is also a time of continuing frustration as they find themselves trapped between undeniable but incomplete advances, and anticipated, but as yet unfulfilled technological progress that will conquer their disease. When we were approached by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. just over 12 months ago to take on the editorship of a new journal devoted to the science of gene transfer and its clinical applications, two issues were central to our decision. First, to start a new journal one has to believe that there is going to be something worthwhile to say, and second, one has to be convinced that it cannot already be said through existing communication channels. In reviewing the achievements of the past ten years, it is difficult not to be optimistic about our ability to attain our goal in the years that lie ahead. Certainly much remains to be done before gene therapy fulfills its promise of making a significant impact on the way patients are treated. Successful application of gene therapy will require a substantial effort by investigators working in the basic sciences. The next stage in gene therapy will be a difficult one and will require the coming together of seemingly unrelated areas of science and medicine. It is for this reason that we wished to establish a cross‒disciplinary journal. To assist us in establishing and maintaining the standard of the journal, we have nominated eight associate editors whose prompt and effective contribution to this first issue we would like to acknowledge. They have been ably supported by an editorial board of recognized scientists chosen to represent all the areas within our field and also to reflect a geographical distribution consonant with the location of laboratories and clinics throughout the world where research on gene transfer and therapy is being conducted. It is our ambition to set a standard of science that will do justice to our field. Each step of the way must be a solid step, laying a firm foundation for the steps that lie ahead. Alongside the revolution that has been taking place in the science of gene transfer, another revolution is affecting our everyday lives – the revolution in information technology. We now have at our disposal means of communicating information that were unthinkable ten years ago. Manuscripts can be communicated across the world in seconds by electronic mail, articles can now contain not only words and images, but also animation and sound and the internet offers the possiblity of making articles available faster and linking information to other related sources of information simply by hitting a key. The willingness and the enthusiasm of our publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. to provide exceptional editorial resources to ensure rapid and thorough review of manuscripts, and to apply the latest publishing technology available to The Journal of Gene Medicine has convinced us that not only are we going to have new things to say, but that we are going to say them in an exciting and innovative way. a faster review of manuscripts submitted – four weeks on average. The authors whose papers appear in this first issue know what we are talking about. the option to have articles published electronically as preprints immediately upon acceptance. As you read this first print issue, the papers that will appear in the next print issues are already published electronically (http://www.wiley.co.uk/genmed). the possibility of including animation to enhance the information communicated. Two papers in this issue make use of this facility. The paper by Garcia et al. presents a computer simulation model for intramuscular gene therapy. The model is not only described but can actually be used on‒line. The report by Wagner et al. of a surrogate model for measuring treatment outcome in cystic fibrosis includes a movie of a sinus endoscopy. direct links from article references to bibliography databases. access to additional sources of information. We invite you to browse the clinical trial database, which is updated regularly and is, to the best of our knowledge, the most comprehensive source of information on current gene therapy clinical trials available anywhere.