Biotecnología Aplicada: 30 years publishing science

Scientific publications have always been core to the system of science; especially today, in a world as interconnected, and in turn, segmented. The dissemination of ideas, opinions and debate on the results of scientific research relies mainly on scientific journals, which have historically bridged the gap across geographic, language and ideological divides.

The international scientific journal Biotecnología Aplicada [1] (originally Interferón y Biotecnología) was founded in 1983, with the purpose of providing a vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas between Cuba’s growing biotechnological industry and researchers from Iberoamerican countries. Since 1984, when its first issue saw the light of day, Biotecnología Aplicada has become a documental record of the evolution of research on natural and recombinant human interferons in Cuba, Iberoamerica and countries from other regions of the globe. The journal has also tirelessly championed biotechnology as a technological alternative with potential applications to diverse facets of human activity, which prompted the change of names from Interferón y Biotecnología (Interferon and Biotechnology) to Biotecnología Aplicada (Applied Biotechnology) in 1990.

Based on Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro’s statement that “the future of our country has to be necessarily a future of men of science, of men of thought” [2], the pages of the journal have served to disseminate scientific findings of all stripes: from the latest advances in the modification of microorganisms, animal and plant cells for the production of molecules with veterinarian, agricultural or clinical applications to research on vaccines and other therapeutic products and everything in between, including the development of disease-resistant crops, advances in the latest clinical trials, the production of industrial enzymes and bioactives and animal models for human disease.

Biotecnología Aplicada has also promoted debate on bioethical issues and on the social outreach of biotechnologies in general and their use for the betterment of humankind, documenting the prioritized development of Cuban science and its humanistic conception alongside progress in biotechnological research worldwide.

True to Cuban scientific ethics, the journal has strived for impartiality and transparency, subjecting all submitted manuscripts to a blind process of peer review before publication. It has provided fresh news and analysis of international academic and scientific meetings and has publicized national awards granted by the Cuban Academy of Sciences (ACC), published important data on universities and research institutions and dedicated special issues to topics of social importance such as bioethics, the popularization of science and biotechnology in our country, and the role of the latter in the fight against human disease. Importantly, Biotecnología Aplicada has also earned the privilege of becoming the premier source of information on one of Cuban biotechnology’s most advanced products: Heberprot-P®, designed for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

Biotecnología Aplicada was certified as a scientific journal by the Cuban Academy of Sciences in 1994, a certification that was later reissued by Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (Citma) in 2007. It has earned a privileged position in the scientifi c-technological establishment of our country due to its prestige and professional excellence, as acknowledged by its designation as first-level national scientific journal for the purpose of validating publications to award scientific and academic degrees. Biotecnología Aplicada is indexed by more than 19 scientific bibliographic databases, catalogues and repositories such as Biosis, Scopus, SciELO and Latindex.

Throughout these years, Biotecnología Aplicada has reported not only national scientific results but also, from many countries in the world, especially from Latin America. The Editorial board and reviewers, as well as the Advisory board, are integrated by representatives from different countries. These successes represent the culmination of the joint efforts of its editorial staff, its consultants and technical personnel, who have managed to combine their duties as professional researchers with a commitment to the teaching of proper writing skills to junior researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, while fostering an environment that favors a sustained and productive exchange with other publishing houses. In the changing context of information and dissemination of science, Biotecnología Aplicada has continued to address the challenges represented by new technological advances in technical publishing, successfully representing the national scientific publishing industry in international meetings of the field where it has showcased its professional excellence and performance.

We hope this editorial serves as an introduction to future pieces on our journal, which will be published throughout the year to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Hopefully, it will also come to represent the commitment of its editorial staff and scientifi c collaborators to communicate, in a periodic and timely manner, the advances of biotechnology and related biosciences.