For most of the history of scientific publications, readers paid
to access research articles through subscriptions; and now they
also have the option of paying one-time fees for downloading
over the web. But having to pay for access limits how many
people can read, use and cite research. By contrast, from its
inception, Journal of Biology has published its research
articles under the open access conditions promoted by its
publisher, BioMed Central. Articles are universally and freely
available online to everyone, to read, download, and pass on to
others, as described in BioMed Central's Open Access Charter
[http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/about/charter webcite]. Now,
Journal of Biology takes an additional step towards the
publishing model adopted by the other journals in BioMed
Central's stable. From July 2004, authors of research articles
that are accepted for publication will be asked to pay an
article-processing charge of US$1,500, to cover the costs
associated with making their article available. Once a