At the end of December 2024, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research presented the first issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal titled Natural Science Review. The published articles cover a wide range of scientific topics reflecting the journal’s multidisciplinary nature: accelerator physics, high energy physics, theoretical physics, and life sciences.

The cover of the first issue of Natural Science Review

On creating the journal

The idea of establishing an online journal, published by JINR and free for authors and readers, was first announced at the Institute’s Science and Technology Council at the end of 2023, although prospects for its development were analysed for several months.

The key incentive for launching Natural Science Review was the need for an additional backbone infrastructure for scientific communication between the JINR Member States and partner organizations. It had to ensure that interaction between researchers is fully free from commercial factors, which are not typical of science, and be practical, flexible for growth opportunities, and capable of setting standards in the field.

The order to establish a new interdisciplinary scientific journal was issued in July 2024 in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee of Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the JINR Member States. The creation of Natural Science Review and its web platform was carried out not only by the Editorial Team: the legal aspects were handled by the JINR Legal Department and JINR Licensing and Intellectual Property Department. Their tasks included approving the publishing policy, ensuring the simplicity of paperwork for the journal and its authors, and providing readers with the opportunity to freely use the published materials for non-commercial purposes. The Editorial Team, the International Scientific Advisory Board, and a working group are already functioning. The journal was registered as a scientific media outlet and assigned an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). A web platform was created, and the first issue of the journal was published. In addition, a digest newsletter about the journal was launched.

Natural Science Review is a digital periodical using the Diamond Open Access publishing model. The online format enhances interactions between the authors and the reviewers, thereby turning the journal into a convenient platform for active scientific discussions. While the practice of publishing electronic periodicals is generally widespread, these journals rarely rely on the Diamond OA model. This editorial policy implies that the publisher provides all funding of the journal, including all publication and review costs. These factors significantly simplify access to published articles, enhancing the effectiveness of scientific communication and ensuring independence from commercial restrictions.

Natural Science Review is issued by and for researchers, providing conditions for productive interdisciplinary communication through the publication of high-quality works. “I am confident that as an international scientific organization with an extensive research base, deep scientific knowledge, long-standing traditions, publishing experience, plenty of personnel and other resources, can fully ensure the effective functioning of the journal,” Editor-in-Chief of the journal, JINR Scientific Leader Victor A. Matveev emphasises.

The first issue of Natural Science Review

On 28 December 2024, the first issue of the journal containing seven articles was published. The technical design report of the SPD Experiment is devoted to the installation of a universal detector in the second interaction point of the NICA Collider under construction to study the spin structure of the proton and deuteron. The article by Viktor Smirnov describes the application of independent component analysis to the computer model of NICA’s Booster. Andrei Onishchenko’s work is devoted to the study of three-loop photon spectral density and its asymptotics in quantum electrodynamics with N species of fermions. The publication by Dmitry Kazakov, Denis Tolkachev, Ravil Iakhibbaev, and Vladislav Filippov discusses the possibility of applying the generalised renormalisation group formalism to cosmological problems related to the inflationary stage of the early Universe and the cosmological constant. Victor Matveev, Nikolay Krasnikov, and Sergey Gninenko devoted an article to discussing the NA64 Experiment (CERN) and the possibility of observing oscillations and decays of Ks,L kaons into unknown particles within the framework of extensions of the Standard Model. A group of JINR researchers (Hamlet Khodzhibagiyan, Pavel Akishin, Andrey Butenko, and others) presented an overview of the creation of superconducting magnets for charged particle accelerators at the Institute since the early 1970s. The review by Kahramon Mamatkulov, Grigory Arzumanyan, and Heba Esawii covers advanced photon and neutron-based spectroscopic techniques and describes how these techniques helped explain the “molecular dances” of lipid-protein interactions and their disruption in neurodegenerative diseases.

Laying out plans

One of the urgent goals for the Natural Science Review is to advance to a level that satisfies the indexing criteria of the modern international databases. In addition, there is an objective necessity for the JINR Dissertation Councils to accept journal publications as materials for Candidate’s and doctoral dissertations.

The current plan includes quarterly releases and additional special issues dedicated to scientific discoveries and historical anniversaries. This requires maintaining a high rate of peer review and a substantial amount of manuscripts for publication.

“In the future, we would like to start exploring some unique niches. For example, the working group discussed introducing pre-moderated comment sections under articles, creating additional categories with articles on relevant topics for the scientific community. We can try to expand the concept of a publication: currently, it only includes text articles with accompanying files, but other objects may be products of intellectual activity as well. But first of all, this, of course, requires detailed discussion and thorough consideration,” Executive Secretary of the Natural Science Review Editorial Team Liudmila Kolupaeva noted.

The new JINR scientific journal aims to become one of the world’s leading publications, consisting of only the highest quality original research in a wide range of natural sciences. According to Executive Secretary of the Editorial Board Alexander Nezvanov, this requires the recognition of Natural Science Review by the international scientific community. “The journal provides a platform for all researchers of the world to publish articles in open access,” he emphasises. The publications by leading scientists and their contribution to the work of the journal’s Editorial Team and International Scientific Advisory Board are important for ensuring the high quality of published articles and building the high reputation of our publication in the scientific community.”

Achieving the goals and completing the tasks assigned to the journal require a comprehensive and systematic approach. The publication of the first issue of the Natural Science Review was the first step towards a more open and free international scientific communication both within and outside the Institute.