ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Editorial Board wishes to place on record the valuable assistance rendered by the following scientists in reviewing manuscripts received for publication in the Journal of Biosciences.

Mittal Aditya, New Nagasuma R Chandra, Bangalore Ashok Agarwal, Cleveland , Bangalore Ramesh K Aggarwal, Hyderabad Amit Chattopadhyay, Hyderabad Loranne Agius, Newcastle upon Tyne Anne Clancy, Seattle Windsor Aguirre, Stony Brook W Wallace Cleland, Madison Sher Ali, New Delhi Russell G Cole, Nelson Ashima Anand, Delhi Athel Cornish-Bowden, Marseille T N Ananthakrishnan, Chennai David A Cotter, Windsor Rustom Antia, Atlanta Torsten Crass, Göttingen Sri Kumar Apte, Mumbai Asher D Cutter, Edinburgh Jaywant Arakeri, Bangalore Muhammed Umar Dáhot, Jamshoro Y Araki, Urayasu City Mark R T Dale, Edmonton David Archer, Nottingham Els Van Damme, Ghent Ajay Arora, New Delhi Sujoy Kr. Das, Kolkata Champakali Ayyub, Mumbai Tanya Das, Kolkata Chandrika B-Rao, Mumbai A G de Brevern, Paris Madan Babu, Cambridge Jean-Bernard Denault, La Jolla Stephen B Baines, Stony Brook S B Deshpande, Varanasi Tim Baker, Leeds Narendra Dhingra, Gurgaon Vineeta Bal, New Delhi Rajan R Dighe, Bangalore Anirban Basu, Manesar Rod J Dillon, Liverpool 3 Rasheedunnisa Begum, Vadadora Valentin Djonov, Bern David P Belesky, Beaver Carmen Domene, Oxford Irad Ben-Gal, Tel-Aviv Ian M Dworkin, Raleigh , Lucknow G Bard Ermentrout, Pittsburgh Upinder Bhalla, Bangalore T Ethofer, Tuebingen G K Bhat, Udupi Marc Fuchs, Geneva Anuradha Bhat, St. Andrews Maria E Gaczynska, San Antonio Samir Bhattacharya, Santiniketan , Bangalore , New Delhi K N Ganeshaiah, Bangalore Glenn Bjork, Umeä Claire Garros, Irvine Renee M Borges, Bangalore R Geeta, Stony Brook Wim Van Bortel, Antwerp Motomi Genkai-Kato, Matsuyama Bruno Bost, Orsay Surendra Ghaskadbi, Pune Luca Bracchini, Siena Saurabh Ghosh, Kolkata Clive R Bramham, Bergen Richard Giegé, Strasbourg Martin Buchert, Logan Mithieux Gilles, Lyon Douglas A Campbell, Sackville Albert Goldbeter, Brussels María Luz Cárdenas, Marseille B Gopal, Bangalore Sergio Casella, Padova K P Gopinathan, Bangalore Bruce K Cassels, Santiago R Goswami, New Delhi David Catcheside, Adelaide D Gotelman, Chicago Abjijit Chakrabarti, Kolkata Lalitha R Gowda, Mysore Subhabrata Chakrabarti, Hyderabad Yaffa Grossman, Beloit P Chakrabarti, Kolkata K Gunasekaran, Frederick Jayprokash Chakrabarti, Kolkata Satish K Gupta, New Delhi Dipshika Chakrabortty, Bangalore Donat-P Haeder, Erlangen G R Chandak, Hyderabad Martin W Hann, Mondsee

http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci J. Biosci. 31(5), December 2006, 693–695, © Indian Academy of Sciences 693 694

Raplh E Harbach, London Avishalom Marani, Rehovot Seyed E Hasnain, Hyderabad Jeffrey Marchant, Boston John Havel, Springfield G B Maru, New Mumbai Michele C Heath, Victoria Rajamma Mathew, Valhalla Andreas Heinemeyer, York Jack C McCarty, Mississippi Maria de Lourdes Higuchi, São Paulo James McNew, Houston Dominique G Homberger, Baton Rouge R Medhamurthy, Bangalore Martin Horowitz, Valhalla Nalin Mehta, New Delhi Maneesha S Inamdar, Bangalore Laura A Miller, Durham Hirokazu Inoue, Saitama N A Mitchison, London Kei Inouye, Kyoto Kenji Mizuguchi, Cambridge R K Jain, New Delhi Debasis Mohanty, New Delhi Neeraj Jain, Haryana Michel Morange, Paris R K Jain, Chandigarh Mitali Mukerji, Delhi Jyoti Kumar Jaiswal, New York Sunil Kumar Mukherjee, New Delhi Shahid Jameel, New Delhi Sunil Mukherjee, New Delhi Nihar Ranjan Jana, Manesar Sangita Mukhopadhyaya, Hyderabad Vikram Jayaram, Bangalore Rita Mulherkar, New Mumbai Christopher X Jon Jensen, Stony Brook K Muniyappa, Bangalore Man Mohan Johri, Mumbai K Muralidhar, Delhi V P Kamboj, Lucknow M R N Murthy, Bangalore Durgadas P Kasbekar, Hyderabad Marco Muzi-Falconi, Milan Trupti S Kawli, Stanford R Nagaraj, Hyderabad Shahid Khan, Chicago Tarala D Nandedkar, Mumbai Navin Khanna, New Delhi T D Nandedkar, Mumbai Sunil Khanna, New Delhi Dipankar Nandi, Bangalore Renu Khanna-Chopra, New Delhi Prem Narain, Farmington Hills Paramjit Khurana, New Delhi K A Natarajan, Bangalore Nand Kishore, Mumbai K Natarajan, New Delhi Toomas Kivisild, Tartu , New Delhi Ina Koch, Berlin C S Nautiyal, Lucknow Paturu Kondaiah, Bangalore Stuart A Newman, Valhalla Richard A Koup, Bethesda I A Niazi, New Delhi K S Krishnan, Mumbai Frederik Nijhout, Durham Gerhard Krumschnabel, Innsbruck Upendra Nongthomba, Bangalore Ananda Kumar P, New Delhi Ruth Nussinov, Frederick Arun Kumar, Bangalore Bernard Offmann, Réunion Jaliya S Kumaratilake, Adelaide Tsonis Panagiotis, Dayton Subhash C Lakhotia, Varanasi Amulya K Panda, New Delhi Ellen Larsen, Toronto Promila Pandhi, Chandigarh Alfons Lawen, Melbourne Veena K Parnaik, Hyderabad Alexander Lerchl, Bremen Samraat Pawar, Austin Emmanuel Levy, Cambridge R Pélissier, Montpellier André Levy, Lisbon Alfredo V Peretti, Cordoba Genxi Li, Nanjing David Perkins, Cambridge Richard A Lockshin, Jamaica Stephan Pflugmacher, Berlin S Mahadevan, Bangalore Joel Pothier, Paris Kshitish C Majumdar, Hyderabad A K Pradhan, New Delhi Subrata Majumdar, Kolkata Sreemanta Pramanik, Piscataway Partha P Majumder, Kolkata N S Punekar, Mumbai V G Malathi, New Delhi Peter J Punt, Zeist Anita Malhotra, Bangor V Radha, Hyderabad Sudip Mandal, Los Angeles Ram Rajasekharan, Bangalore R Manjunath, Bangalore

J. Biosci. 31(5), December 2006 695

S Ramachandran, New Delhi Padma Shastry, Pune Bruce A Ramsay, Harrowsmith Imran Siddiqi, Hyderabad Annapoorni Rangarajan, Bangalore Somdatta Sinha, Hyderabad A J Rao, Bangalore Jake J Socha, Chicago Ch. Mohan Rao, Hyderabad Ajit Sodhi, Varanasi N M Rao, Hyderabad Dieter Söll, New Haven Morris Soller, Jerusalem A Jagannadha Rao, Bangalore Ramesh Sonti, Hyderabad Desirazu N Rao, Bangalore Ana M Soto, Boston Arni Srinivasa Rao, Oxford Roger M Spanswick, Ithaca John J Rasweiler, New York Linda Spremulli, Chapel Hill Satyajit Rath, New Delhi N Srinivasan, Bangalore A R P Rau, Baton Rouge R Srinivasan, New Delhi Marauthachalam Ravi, Hyderabad Richard C Staples, Ithaca Vijaylakshmi Ravindranath, Manesar John Sternfeld, Cortland Kunal Ray, Kolkata Mark Stoneking, Leipzig M K Reddy, New Delhi James Sturgis, Marseille B V B Reddy, New York S Sujatha, Hyderabad A Surolia, New Delhi Veronica Rodrigues, Mumbai Paul J Szaniszlo, Austin Jagat K Roy, Varanasi Christoph C Tebbe, Braunschweig Syamal Roy, Kolkata B K Thelma, New Delhi Parag Sadhale, Bangalore Bernard Thierry, Strasbourg Nil Ratan Saha, Seattle S N Thomas, Riverside Partha Saha, Kolkata Shrish Tiwari, Hyderabad S K Saidapur, Dharwad Laura Torrentera, Austin Caburet Sandrine, Paris Francesca Trischitta, Messina , Hyderabad Skand Kumar Trivedi, Bhopal Kaustuv Sanyal, Bangalore Teresa Turner, St. Thomas Katsufumi Sato, Tokyo Narendra Tuteja, New Delhi Subrata Sau, Kolkata Jaya Sivaswami Tyagi, New Delhi Anssi Vähätalo, Helsinki H S Savithri, Bangalore G C Varshney, Chandigarh Rajiv K Saxena, New Delhi , Bangalore Detlef Schmechel, Morgantown Reiner A Veitia, Paris Robert D Schnabel, Columbia Rema Velayudhan, Manesar Alessandro Scoppola, Rome Abraham Verghese, Bangalore Adriano Sebollela, Rio de Janeiro Barbara M Vertel, Chicago José Gabriel Segarra-Moragues, Valencia Sandhya S Visweswariah, Bangalore Deepak Sehgal, Bangalore Steven Vogel, Durham Pradip Sen, Chandigarh Matthijs Vos, Yerseke Sanghamitra Sengupta, Kolkata Ulrich Warskulat, Düsseldorf Parantu Shah, Chicago Sun Wei, Beijing M S Shaila, Bangalore Arthur Weinstein, Washington E John Wherry, philadelphia Rajan Shankaranarayanan, Hyderabad Bonny S Williamson, Johannesburg Kartik Shanker, Bangalore Elisa Woodhouse, Bethesda Jeffrey P Shapiro, Gainesville Lingyun Xu, Shanghai Siddharth Sharma, Bangalore Kazuo Yabe, Sapporo Shiv Kumar Sharma, Gurgaon Tsunemi Yamashita, Russellville T R Sharma, New Delhi Kunio Yasuda, Ikoma Robert Sharp, Ann Arbor Syed Shams Yazdani, New Delhi L S Shashidhara, Hyderabad Xuhui Zhou, Norman

J. Biosci. 31(5), December 2006 Understanding the different manuscript statuses in the journal’s system and how long each stage typically takes can ease anxiety for authors and help them know when to contact the journal editorial office. Most journals have online submission systems, which have definitely made it easier and quicker for authors to submit their manuscripts. While each journal or publication house might use a slightly different term for each status, in general, here are the different possible statuses that the tracking system might show from submission to final acceptance or rejection: Related Q&A. How long does it take to receive the manuscript tracking number? Peer reviewers are busy scientists, and peer review is an honorary service that requires detailed scrutiny and evaluation of the manuscript. 1. All the received manuscripts corresponding to the remit of our journal are peer reviewed and appraised. 2. Authors submit the manuscript of the article issued according to "Manuscript Submission Requirements". The articles which do not meet the scientific subject area and the proper design of the journal aren't accepted to consideration. 4.3. Authors of submitted manuscripts receive from our Editorial Board a copy of peer review or substantiated refusal. If requested Editorial Board shall send copies of reviews to Minister of Education and Science of Russian Federation. 4.4. All reviews remain deposited in the editorial archive for 5 years. 4. The recommendation to the publication in the following formulations: to recommend the manuscript for the publication Reviewing your first manuscript for a journal can be both an exciting and daunting experience. You might be wondering where to start, what aspects to critique, or struggling with imposter syndrome. However, there are strategies you can put in place to get your foot in the door and start to build up your experience: Your supervisor/mentor probably receives more requests to peer review than are feasible for them. Ask yourself the following 20 questions: Do you have sufficient time and expertise in the field of the manuscript to be making an educated review? If you aren’t confident with a particular aspect of a manuscript, it’s ok not to comment on it, though you should make this clear to the editor in your confidential remarks. Do you understand the scope of the journal? Sometimes great science will be reviewed regardless of the cover letter, but a well written cover letter is useful for the vast majority of scientists who want to make their research stand out. The structure of a cover letter. A cover letter should be written like a standard business letter (see below). Address the editor formally by name, if known. online submission system, but it is proper to provide it in the cover letter, too. Begin your cover letter with a paragraph that states the name of the manuscript and the names of the authors. You can also describe what type of manuscript your submission is (research article, review, case study, etc.). In this first paragraph and the next, describe the rationale behind your study and the major findings from your research.