I am extremely pleased to write this inaugural editorial for the first issue of Bone Research. The inception for this project occurred last year when I took part in an international meeting on stem cells that brought together world leaders in musculoskeletal research. The excitement generated in these scientific sessions re-emphasized to me that our field was in the midst of an unprecedented explosion of research productivity. New pathways identified from genetic studies are being rapidly translated into pharmaceutical approaches for more efficacious treatment of bone diseases. The more widespread availability of exciting new molecular and imaging tools is contributing directly to this discovery explosion by allowing bone scientists to approach a wider range of questions about mechanisms underlying bone diseases. Importantly, these breakthroughs are being made by a global community of bone scientists who were expressing the desire for peer-reviewed journals that could publish important findings rapidly and without cost barriers to publication or dissemination.

Bone Research provides a unique scientific forum that will capitalize on the wealth of new information in bone biology and facilitate its dissemination to our global community. As a new English-language periodical, Bone Research (BR) focuses on basic and clinical aspects of bone biology, pathophysiology and regeneration, and supports the foremost discoveries resulting from basic investigations and clinical researches related to bone. In the first issue, Bone Research invited several prominent scholars and researchers in this field to contribute reviews on the important progress and new understanding in selected key aspects of bone science. In the following issues, our journal seeks to publish original, high quality, peer-reviewed papers including research articles, reviews, short communications and case reports that will provide comprehensive coverage on all aspects and subspecialties of bone science. Submissions related to studies on the occurrence and development of bone and cartilage, bone metabolism, bone related diseases and bone regeneration together with related biological materials will be particularly encouraged.

To facilitate the dissemination of work published in the Journal, Bone Research is entirely free from publication fees. There are no submission fees, no page or other publication charges, and no subscription fees. Articles will be published on the Journal's web site (http://www.boneresearch.org) immediately upon acceptance and be freely available. This Open Access model will make the work published in Bone Research more widely accessible to international scientists. To ensure the quality of the science we have assembled an outstanding Board of Editors who will be responsible for rapid peer review of all articles.

Bone Research is fortunate to have the support of Sichuan University. Professor Zhou Xue-dong is serving as Editor-in-Chief and the Journal's editorial office, headed by Professor Jie-Fei Shen is located at the university. We are committed to high standards of support for authors using our online ScholarOne manuscript management system. In addition, Bone Research is supported by the International Chinese Hard Tissue Society, which has a long track record of successfully promoting the exchange of bone science globally.

We are particularly pleased to have on our editorial team Thomas L. Clemens and John P. Bilezikian, who will serve as Executive Advisory Editors. Together, they bring an exceptional record of outstanding research and editorial experience in the bone field. I am extremely proud to be a part of this exciting new endeavor and am confident that it will become a highly respected and trusted resource of leading knowledge in bone research. We trust that the information presented in this publication will serve to make further advances in bone science and eagerly look forward to seeing your research in our pages.