Editorial: Perspectives Writing Award

PERSPECTIVES IN BIOLOGT AND MEDICINE Volume 18 · Number 1 · Autumn 1974 EDITORIAL: PERSPECTIVES WRITING AWARD The success thisjournal has achieved in the 17 years since its founding must be ascribed in large measure to its attempt to fill a void in the intellectual lives of biologists and physicians. Dwight Ingle and his colleagues on the advisory and editorial boards felt the need for a medium devoted to the articulate expression of biomedical concepts. The accelerated pace of research developments had generated the feeling in many that, in keeping up with the fields which were required for their professional lives, they were leaving behind much that would have interested them. Biology and medicine were going in different directions, and specialists were becomingjust specialists. Short research reports and reviews, which were little more than annotated bibliographies, were becoming the style. A sense of proportion and historical perspective was difficult to achieve. Without the help of public opinion polls, we can assume with some assurance that this void or need was felt primarily by those men and women of Dwight's generation who had created and/or lived through the early phase of this era of rapid development of facts. Similarly, most of our authors have arrived someplace and in their essays are taking time to look around. This is probably as it should be. However, we think we are missing the perspective of younger writers. In a move to encourage their participation, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine will offer a writing award of $500 for the best qualifying essay submitted in competition by an author 35 years old or younger. All competing submissions will be considered for publication on the basis of present editorial board standards. Rules governing the competition are detailed on page 147 of this issue.—R. L. L. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Autumn 1974 | 1 ...