Biological Cybernetics' Welcome to 2000

[J. Leo van Hemmen]

Dear Friends:

In the February issue 82/2 (2000) of ``Biological Cybernetics'', the
first that was published this year, its Editors-in-Chief Gert Hauske
and I have published an Editorial welcoming the new..., well, take
whatever you like best: year, decade, century, or millennium.  Since
new publication formats have been introduced, we think it could make
for interesting reading for most of you.  We have therefore appended
the text as a LaTeX file.  If you don't have LaTeX, it is equally
readable once you know that \emph{...} means that {...} should be
italicized or, in LaTeX terminology, emphasized.

Enjoy reading,

Leo van Hemmen.

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\documentclass[12pt]{article}
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\section*{Editorial}

As we begin the year 2000, it is time to step back for some historical
perspective and to ask how a prominent journal in computational
neuroscience and cybernetics might better serve its scientific
community in the coming century.  What has \emph{Biological
Cybernetics} achieved as a long-standing forum for exchange of ideas
in this field and where are we going next?

It is fair to say that the first important papers in our field were
published in this Journal, and that we continue to be a major conduit
for influential literature in this domain.  It is, however, also clear
that progress in neuroscience and in our understanding of information
processing in biological systems, in general, will accelerate into the
next decade at an unprecedented rate.  As we have stressed in our
Editorial of last July (issue 81/1), such rapid growth of thought
makes it more urgent than ever to facilitate the interaction between
experimental reality and theoretical understanding.

In the present context, our operational definition of `theory' is
mathematical description of neurobiological reality.  Theory, then,
aims for more, viz., disclosure of underlying mathematical structures
that, together, unify our understanding.  To this end, we need
fundamental concepts that give structure to the many particular
observations we make as scientists, such as momentum and angular
momentum in mechanics.  As an everyday example of the insights gained
from both experimental and theoretical understanding, consider how
much better is our knowledge of a bicycle once we have both ridden
one, and studied it as a device for creating and conserving angular
momentum.  And so, we expect, will be the progress in understanding
computational neuroscience as a marriage of theory and experiment.  In
computational neuroscience the hunt for fundamental notions is open.
Maybe there is none, which we doubt.  A famous example underlining the
usefulness of theoretical concepts is Hassenstein and Reichardt's
velocity detector.  In our opinion, it is a fascinating challenge to
see what theoretical concepts look like and what they are.  It is our
aim that experiment and theory will join their efforts in advancing
conceptual understanding and in so doing generate synergy that will
benefit both.

As for \emph{Biological Cybernetics}, the discussion will evolve in
three clearly delineated publication formats.  First, important new
results are welcomed as \emph{Letters to the Editor}.  As a rule,
results satisfying the three criteria `novel, important, and
well-presented' will be published within three months after
submission.  Fast publication speed requires electronic submission.
Letters can be up to eight pages in print with no more than six pages
text and two pages figures and references -- the shorter, the better.
(See the ``Instructions for Authors'' for technical details.) Next,
regular manuscripts will appear as \emph{Original Papers}.  Finally,
there are \emph{Reviews}, scholarly reports of rapid developments that
the Editorial Board considers of key importance to information
processing in neuronal systems.  They can be either invited or
unsollicited.  We will also invite, and welcome, contributions
submitted for publication as \emph{Prospects}, a novel form of
`review' emphasizing future developments more than a the typical
Review does, and giving more license to personal speculation, provided
it is clearly explained.

The Journal has seen a substantial increase in number of submitted
manuscripts since our previous editorial calling for its intrinsic
coverage, essentially all aspects of communication and control in
biological information processing.  In recognition of the need for
vigorous and wide-ranging exchange of ideas for progress in science,
we start the new millennium for \emph{Biological Cybernetics} with the
redactional setup described above.  We are looking forward to your
participation in this exchange both as a reader and as an author of
papers, be they Letter, Original Paper, Review, or Prospects.
Together with the Editorial Board, it is you who makes the Journal a
vital medium of communication -- the more so at the beginning of a new
millennium.

\vspace{0.7cm}

\noindent Gert Hauske \\
J.\ Leo van Hemmen.

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Prof. Dr. J. Leo van Hemmen
Physik Department
TU M"unchen
D-85747 Garching bei M"unchen
Germany

Phone: +49(89)289.12362 (office) and .12380 (secretary)
Fax: +49(89)289.14656
e-mail: Leo.van.Hemmen at ph.tum.de