Biology of Sex
Differences, a new open access journal, has recently launched with BioMed Central
as the official journal of the
Organization of the Study of Sex Differences.

Sex
and gender differences are created by an intricate reciprocal interaction of
numerous biological and environmental forces. Biology of Sex Differences aims to serve as a
platform for discussion of the forces that differentiate females and males, and
the downstream pathways that are affected by sex-specific factors in both normal
traits and in disease.

Commenting on the sometimes complex, changing nature of sex
differences, Editor-in-Chief, Art Arnold describes in his inaugural editorial how understanding sex-specific
causal variables should help physicians anticipate important changes across
lifespan, but could also help uncover sex-specific protective forces
that are targets for novel therapies.

Through Biology of Sex Differences, Professor Arnold
hopes to encourage a shift in the way investigations
into sex differences are conducted and reported. Unlike journals that focus on
specific physiological systems or diseases, Biology
of Sex Differences will compare sex-specific effects across tissues,
species, and diseases with a view to understanding more fully how sex
differences impact on the entire organism.

A short interview with Professor Arnold, published in Science Magazine last week, provides a summary of the rationale behind starting the journal and the importance of understanding the role of sex
differences in disease models.

Amongst the first articles published in the journal, Georgios Kararigas and colleagues report on the role of 17beta-oestradiol in cardiac
remodelling in the elderly, and Sarah
Klein and colleagues review how sex and gender impacted on the biology of 2009 H1N1 infection.

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