PCCP is delighted to announce the latest high-profile themed issue, in the biophysics and biophysical chemistry research areas. This issue, titled "Water in Biological Systems", will be Guest Edited by Seong Keun Kim (Seoul National University, Korea), Jean-Pierre Schermann (Université Paris 13, France), and Taekjip Ha (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA). It is our pleasure to invite you to submit to this themed issue. 

The issue is the next in a series of themed issues in the fields of biophysics and biophysical chemistry, which will be published in PCCP throughout 2010. 

The aim of this issue is to address the remarkably diverse roles of water in biological systems ranging from simple oligomeric units of nucleic acids and peptides to full proteins and even larger entities such as organelles and cells. Water often acts as a mere solvation medium, but sometimes forms an integral part of biological structures, and even plays the role of an active agent that governs the intricate balance in thermodynamics and kinetics of biological systems. We believe that this series of themed issues will serve to foster links between the biophysics and biophysical chemistry research communities and will have a valuable and lasting impact in this broad field. 

Deadline for Submission: 22 February 2010 

Submissions, either communications or full papers, should be high-quality manuscripts of original, unpublished research, containing important new physical insight. All submissions will be subject to rigorous peer review to meet the usual high standards of PCCP. 

Manuscripts can be submitted using the ReSourCe web submissions service or as an email attachment to the PCCP Editorial Office. Please indicate on submission that your manuscript is intended for this themed issue.