Online Submissions
Already have a Username/Password for MMG 445 Basic Biotechnology eJournal?
Go to Login
Need a Username/Password?
Go to Registration
Registration and login are required to submit items online and to check the status of current submissions.
Author and Speaker Guidelines
Manuscript Instructions
Manuscripts are to be prepared using format based on that of the Current Opinion series of journals published by Elsevier, B.V. The goal of that series is to provide concise, timely and systematic reviews of major areas of research in the life sciences in a series of thematic issues or sections. In those journals, reviews are written by internationally recognized authorities and cover developments occurring over the last 12-24 months that provide an "expert's" view of the important original research in the field.
Contributions to the MMG 445 eJournal are intended to provide similarly comprehensive reviews by student authors in MMG445, covering developments in the broad field of biotechnology occurring over the last one to five years. In defining the scope of the eJournal we use the definition set forth by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which states that biotechnology is “ any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. ” It should be noted that under the terms of the CBD, humans are excluded from the convention; therefore, topics such as clinical medicine, public health, or material science are out of scope. If authors are uncertain about the relevance of a topic of interest they should contact the instructors before commencing work
Format
Title page - Provide the title of the manuscript, author, scope and subject category, department and email address on a separate cover sheet.
Abstract - The abstract should provide the reader with a brief description of the manuscript and should be no more than 100 words in length.
List of abbreviations (optional) - any non-standard abbreviations used in the article should be included in this list. Authors should avoid over use of abbreviations as well as pay careful attention to those that may be homonyms or synonyms in other well-known contexts.
Manuscript body - You are free to cover as much of an area as you want, but the body of the review may not exceed 2250 words in length and may not be less than 2000 words. Front matter and back matter are not included in the word count.
Introduction - The introduction should be no more than three paragraphs in length and provide the reader with a brief background about the topic of interest (the big picture), current challenges or opportunities in the field (within the last five years) and the part of the challenge or opportunity that will be addressed in the article.
Main body - The main body of the manuscript should provide an orderly discussion of the chosen subject. Subsections should be identified by headers (in bold) to clearly identify transitions. Nesting of subsections should be limited to two layers deep.
Conclusions - The conclusions should provide the reader with a brief summary of the your view of the field, based on the points that were raised in the body of the text. The conclusions must not introduce any new material. Authors must also provide the reader with a concise summary (200 - 250 words) of their views as to where the field is likely to head in the near future.
Acknowledgements - any source of funding received by the author (fellowships, scholarships, research grants, etc.) should be cited, along with any individuals who may have reviewed the manuscript prior to submission, provided helpful comments, etc.
References and recommended reading - Authors must provide a detailed list of references that were used in preparing the manuscript. Formatting of references must follow the unique Current Opinion style and authors must identify at least five references of particular interest, published within the last 12 months. These must be annotated with one or two bullets following the reference number in the in-text citation and in the reference list. In addition, authors must provide the reader with a brief commentary as to why those references are of significance. Web sites (and URLs) are not acceptable unless the web site is referred to in a peer-reviewed article. In such cases, the article describing the web site should be referenced. Authors should carefully review the formatting of references in the examples shown below.
1- Journal article
2- Journal article with greater than 10 authors (but not 11 authors)
3- Journal article of special interest
4- Journal of outstanding interest
5- Book (with editors listed instead of authors)
6- Book chapter
7- US patent
1. Fu GZ, Chan AW, Minns DE: Life cycle assessment of bio-ethanol derived from cellulose. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2003, 8:137-141.
2. Field D, Garrity G, Gray T, Morrison N, Selengut J, Sterk P, Tatusova T, Thomson N, Allen MJ, Angiuoli SV et al. The minimum information about a genome sequence (MIGS) specification. Nat Biotechnol 2008, 26:541-547.
•3. Tillman D, Hill J, Lehman C: Carbon-negative biofuels from low-input high diversity grassland biomass. Science 2006, 314: 1598-1600
Analysis of the effects of crop diversity, carbon storage, and net energy balance on mixed-prairie grass productivity from agriculturally-degraded lands, including comparisons to conventional biofuels precursors.
••4. Schmer MR, Vogel KP, Mitchell RB, Perrin RK: Net energy of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008, 105: 464-469.
One of the first published analyses of switchgrass to ethanol based on real data for on-farm production of switchgrass.
5. Archer MD, Barber J (Eds): Molecular to Global Photosynthesis. Imperial College Press, London; 2004.
6. Barber J, Kuhlbrandt W: Photosynthesis and photoconversion. In Molecular to Global Photosynthesis. Edited by Archer M, Barber J. Imperial College Press, London; 2004:3-89.
7. Ellestad GA, McGahren WJ, Sassiver ML, Hamann PR, Hinman LM, Upeslacis J: Targeted forms of methyltrithio antitumor agents. US Patent 1991, 5053394.
Tables - Authors should include no more than two tables in their manuscript and each must be discussed in the body of the manuscript. Tables can be effective in summarizing complex information that may be difficult to express only in text. Tables should be referred to by number in the body of the manuscript and should be appended to the manuscript following the references. Tables should include a brief but informative heading. Explanatory footnotes should be used to explain points that may not be obvious to a reader skimming an article or in cases where such footnotes may help to simplify table layout by supporting simple column headings.
Figures - Authors should include no more than two figures in their manuscripts and each must be discussed in the body of the manuscript. Figures can also be effective in summarizing complex information that may be difficult to express only in text. Each figure should be referenced in the body of the text, by number. Figures and figure legends should be provided on a separate page and briefly describe the figure so that a reader may understand it without reading the text.
Miscellaneous - Names of organisms appearing in the manuscript or references should be formatted according to the appropriate convention and code of nomenclature. Validly published names of Bacteria and Archaea should appear in italics at all taxonomic ranks. Names of plants and animals above the rank of genus should not be italicized. Invalid and illegitimate names should appear in quotes.
Sequence identifiers - Authors are expected to confirm that the accession number of any protein, nucleic acid, or genome sequence resolves to the correct information.
Manuscripts are to be uploaded into the eJournal editorial system by 5:00 PM on the assigned date (see http://ejournalblog.vudat.msu.edu/mmg445/question-and-answer-blog for the schedule based on cohort assignments, which fall on Mondays or Wednesdays). No exceptions will be made for delayed submission unless there are grave extenuating circumstances and prior arrangements have been approved by Dr. Garrity.
Presentations
Presentation are based on the review article and are staggered by 14 days to permit authors to take into consideration comments received during the peer-review process. Authors will be expected to deliver a polished and concise overview of the topic in the form of a 10 min PowerPoint presentation, using a predefined template. The completed PowerPoint presentation must be delivered by 5 PM before the scheduled presentation.
Guidelines and suggestions:
Presentations should follow the outline of the manuscript and should include a brief introduction that provides the audience with a frame of reference, a main body of the presentation and a strong conclusion. The goal is to engage the audience effectively and to get your message across. To do that, the audience needs to be able to focus on the science and not be distracted from the presenter’s message by slides that do not support their arguments. Presenters are encouraged to use figures and tables to explain their points rather than word slides.
"Slides":
Although there are a number of excellent presentation programs available, we recommend that you use PowerPoint (PC or Mac).
The graphics you use in your presentation should be chosen carefully, to support the spoken word. Your slides should help to clarify your ideas, emphasize important points, show relationships, and to provide the visual information your audience needs to understand your message. The following are general guidelines.
- Keep your visuals clear and simple.
- Use simple graphs, charts, and diagrams wherever possible.
- Avoid using too many colors, patterns and graphics in one frame.
- Use a minimum of words for text and title frames.
- Upper and lower case lettering is more legible than all capital letters.
- Vary the size of lettering to emphasize headings and subheadings.
- Avoid using more than three font sizes per frame.
- Sans serif fonts project better and are easier to read. (Example: Arial.)
- Try to maintain the same or similar font size from frame to frame.
- Try to keep all type horizontal.
- Contrasting colors work best.
- Highlight your main point or heading with a dominant color.
- Avoid intensely bright or saturated colors that compete with the text.
- Keep color schemes consistent throughout the presentation.
- During your talk, make specific reference to each of your slides.
- Avoid a series of slides that merely repeat what you are saying.
Graphics:
Photographs, graphs, illustrations, and other types of artwork are excellent means of communicating complex ideas, providing that they are meaningful and relevant. Likewise, a well-placed cartoon can sometimes drive home a point that might not otherwise be made. Artwork included in PowerPoint presentations should be high-resolution and preferably as PDF images that are inserted into the PowerPoint slide.
Planning your presentation:
Make sure that you spend an adequate amount of time in planning your presentation. All presentations must use the standard MMG445 template. The audience is comprised of advanced undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. Your presentation should be geared towards a technically sophisticated audience and should be rich in detail. Avoid overly simplistic introductions or discussions covering well known facts. Focus on the details of your selected subject. Sketching out the flow of the presentation in storyboard fashion is generally helpful in deciding what to include or exclude. It may also help you decide what types of visual effects are appropriate, and where to place them. Animation, if used at all, should be used sparingly. Animated slides take much longer to create than static slides, so plan accordingly.
Once you have completed your slides, practice your presentation more than once. If you use the speaker's notes feature (which we advise against) of PowerPoint, take care to pace you reading at the same rate as you would normally speak. If possible, project your slides onto a screen in a class room to make sure that your presentation works. Make sure that each slide is essential to your message and non-redundant. Carefully review the content of each slide so that you know which points you want to emphasize and why those points are important. A general rule of thumb is that you should never have more than one slide/minute, including the title, transitional slides, and the acknowledgments. Be brutal when editing your slides and pay careful attention to those on which you tend to become bogged down in explanations. We will cut you off at 10 minutes, whether you are done or not.
Packaging your manuscript and presentation:
You will also responsible for entering your presentation into the MMG Basic Biotechnology eJournal by 5 PM the day before your presentation is scheduled for peer-review. Pick the appropriate sub-category for your paper and presentation and follow the instructions on the site. Presentations should be uploaded as supplements to the manuscript by 5PM the day before it is scheduled for presentation. Please be aware, that as you load both your manuscript and presentation into the system that you are warranting that the work is your own and free of any plagiarism. Manuscripts showing evidence of plagiarism will be reported to Deans office, consistent with University policy. You are also authorizing your classmates to view your work as reviewers and editors.
On the day of your presentation, make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before class, so that you can be briefed on the tools we will use for presenting and recording the presentations.
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
- The author warrants that the submission is their own original work and that it does not incorporate the work of others. It is free of any sections that have been paraphrased or plagiarized.
- The submission has not been previously submitted elsewhere to meet the requirements of another course nor is it being used to simultaneously meet the requirements of a course in which the author is currently enrolled.
- The manuscript file is in Microsoft Word (.doc format)
- The text is single column and double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed at the end of the manuscript, in a separate appendix.
- The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
- The presentation slides were prepared using PowerPoint and adherer to the stylistic guidelines.
- All figures and tables that have been taken from other sources have been appropriately attributed to the original source. Permissions have been granted for the use of figures or tables are obtained from other non-open source publications.
- The author is the copyright owner of the PowerPoint presentation and manuscript and authorizes its royalty free, non-exclusive distribution through the MMG 445 Basic Biotechnology eJournal.
Copyright Notice
The MMG 445 Basic Biotechnology eJournal adheres to open access principles of Creative Commons Attribution Licensing. Copyright of papers, presentations, and audio-visual materials contained in the MMG 445 Basic Biotechnology eJournal resides with the authors, who have granted the journal the exclusive right of first publication. Others are free to share in the work with an acknowledgement of the original authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.