In preprints: highlighting the latest literature
Posted by Katherine Brown, on 6 October 2023
As readers of the Node’s monthly preprint round-up will know, it can be hard to keep up with the ever-growing number of preprints. That’s one of the reasons why Development started publishing ‘In preprints‘ articles – short perspectives that highlight one or a handful of notable preprints that have recently been posted. These pieces serve to point our readers towards relevant preprints that might otherwise escape their attention, as well as to discuss some of the latest advances in the field. In recent months, we’ve highlighted papers on interface surveillance in developing epithelia, the generation of six-legged mice and the flurry of preprints reporting human stem cell-derived embryo models – some of which made the news headlines, but others you may have missed.
As preprint enthusiasts, we’re keen to expand this section of the journal, so if you’ve recently read a preprint you think is important for your field and you’d like to spread the word about it, please do get in touch with us. We see writing these pieces as an opportunity to strengthen networks, and so are particularly keen to receive proposals from a partnership of authors who don’t directly work together (for example, a senior investigator teaming up with a junior PI). Your proposal should include: the title and DOI of the preprint(s) you want to cover, a brief explanation for why you think it is/they are noteworthy, and a proposed author list. We may not be able to consider all proposals, but we hope that – through this initiative – we can help to highlight and curate the preprint literature.
For early career researchers interested in writing (less formally) about the preprint literature, we’d encourage you to consider joining the preLights team – more information on how to apply can be found on this page.