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edge the rapid growth of this journal, and offer my congratulations upon its reaching Volume 150.

Takashi Sugimura President International Association

of Environmental Mutagen Societies

As well as having had a personal involvement with Mutation Research from its early days, I must acknowledge with gratitude the willingness of the journal to make ICPEMC reports and papers available to all. Mutation Research, more than other journals, has become almost the complete journal, with original papers, reviews, rapid com- munications, letters to the Editor and toxicological data sets. It has contributed immeasurably to the field of environmental mutagenesis and deserves warmest congratulations on achieving its 150th volume.

Bryn A. Bridges Chairman, ICPEMC

Congratulations on the production of Volume 150. As a member of the editorial staff, in one form or another during its conception, eventual birth, growth and maturity, I can take great pride in this outstanding accomplishment. The growth and full flower of the Journal into a series of multi-coloured sections have provided an effective mechanism to sort out the various reviews, reports and communciations.

The Journal is known and respected world-wide and has established a standard of excellence for publication in this rapidly growing field. What it

comes down to is dedication, attention for detail and much hard work over the years by our beloved Chairman of the Board of Managing Editors. There have been problems in adapting to the changing needs of the research community. In Professor Sobels' able hands, the experience that we have had in modifying the format to meet these chang- ing needs and establishing comprehensive criteria for reviews and acceptance of papers have pro- vided a continuous mechanism for improvement. The Journal could not function without the large and capable cadre of dedicated reviewers. Much of the success of the Journal is a testimony to their cooperation, and willingness to provide detailed critique, time and time again.

In summary, my own experience in reaching this stage of achievement in the publication of this Journal has been rich, personally satisfying and joyous!

F.J. de Serres

Dear Frits, I would like to congratulate you and the Edi-

torial Board of Mutation Research for the excel- lent journal that has been so important for the progress in our field. I still remember reading Volume 1 and it is remarkable how much progress has been made over 150 volumes. Keep up the good work. We all appreciate how much effort went into it. Yours,

Bruce N. Ames Department of Biochemistry, University of California,

Berkeley

On Deserving Awe and Envy

We at the Environmental Mutagen Information Center (EMIC) extend our warmest congratula- tions to the Publisher and Editors of Mutation Research - - especially its founding and current Managing Editor, Professor Dr. F.H. Sobels - - on occasion of the publication of the journal's one-

hundred-fiftieth volume. The success and reputa- tion of the journal has elevated it to a position of awe and envy.

Since 1969, EMIC has collected and cataloged the published literature from the field of genetic toxicology. During this time, Mutation Research

has been the journal that has contributed the largest number of publications to the EMIC file. Presently, over 12% of all the papers entered into the EMIC file are from Mutation Research. This figure alone attests to the journal's position of being the Number 1 journal in the field of genetic toxicology. There are other significant factors that have contributed to this distinction since publica- tion of the first volume in 1964. Under the en- thusiastic leadership of Professor Sobels, the jour- nal has changed to meet the needs and demands of the field as well as that of the journal's readership. Aside from being the first journal devoted to genetic toxicology, several innovations have been instituted over the last several years that has main- tained it as the leading journal in the field. For example, it was the first journal to add a section (Genetic Toxicology Testing) exclusively for the publication of test results from routine assay sys- tems using standardized experimental protocols. This journal section also encouraged and provided an outlet for the publication of negative results. In addition, the journal was the first to add a section devoted entirely to the publication of in-depth review articles (Reviews in Genetic Toxicology). It also added a medium (Mutation Research Letters) for the accelerated publication of brief communi-

cations and a forum for the publication of meeting abstracts, symposia papers on subjects related to environmental mutagenesis (Environmental Muta- genesis and Related Subjects). As our experience at EMIC has shown, papers published in the journal are the most cited in the literature and the most often used in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gene-Tox Program.

Many other notable distinctions could be cited, but it is sufficient to say that the journal has earned and deserves its position of awe and envy. Mutation Research is the measuring stick by which many other scientific publications gauge their success. For certain, this distinction of being the Number 1 publication in genetic toxicology will not draw the journal into a state of complacency. Under the continued guidance of Professor Sobels, Mutation Research will continue to evolve to meet the needs of the field and its readership.

John S. Wassom Director, Environmental Mutagen, Carcinogen, and Teratogen Information Program,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory *, P.O. Box Y, Building 9224,

Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (U.S.A.)

* Operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., under contract number DE-AC05-840R21400 with the U.S. De- partment of Energy.