Perspectives in Biology and Medicineis an interdisciplinary journal published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. Our readers include biologists, physicians, students, and scholars in other disciplines who are interested in biology and medicine. We publish essays that place biological and medical topics in broader scientific, social, or humanistic contexts; we also publish book reviews, essay reviews, and letters to the editors. Although some of our essays are invited, we welcome voluntary contributions. Essays should be preceded by an abstract of up to 200 words. While we have no word limit, most of our essays are in the range of 4,000 to 7,000 words. We encourage authors to adopt a personal writing style that preserves the humanity, excitement, and color of the biological and medical sciences. All essays are subject to peer review before publication, and all manuscripts are edited according toThe Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Univ. of Chicago Press). For questions about editorial policy or content of prospective submissions, please contact Alan Schechter, Co-Editor,  at alans@intra.niddk.nih.gov.