Identities of an embryology journal in a molecular age; or, How Development got its name.

Abstract

Journals build identities to attract authors and subscribers. Name changes make the stakes explicit. This article explains how the plain Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology (JEEM) turned into the glossy Development in 1987. Newly opened archives reveal long-term negotiations that illuminate transformations in periodical publishing and in disciplinary politics. Founded in 1953, JEEM welcomed descriptive as well as experimental research on animal development, but the rise of molecular approaches called into question title and scope. In 1970, the editors refocused on mechanisms of development, but a powerful editorial board rejected a new name. Then the owner, The Company of Biologists, abolished the board and began to professionalize; editors promoted gradual reform. Responding to intensified competition, represented by the journal Cell, and to falling submissions and declining library sales, the Company pushed for molecular papers as it became its own publisher and printer. This let the relaunched Development offer speed, colour and reinvestment in science to recruit personal subscribers as well as authors from a community generating hot data. The story spotlights the actions of a charity in the transition from clubbiness to professionalism and evidences a commitment to the experimental tradition while promoting molecular studies.