brings to the fore a recurring problem of public disclosure in the scientific literature. JMR, as other literature, is a combination of communication and permanent record for the results of scientific inquiry in the international community and is used by this community to foster further progress. Research results often are valuable leads for further research and commercial development. Upon occasion, scientists can be constrained (by obligations to commercial interests which have supported their work and without which the work would not have been done in the first place), to withhold details of their results from research papers. Investigators also may perceive a need to withhold details in order to preserve a competitive edge. While we recognize the need to help protect scientists for rights to their research progress, this must be balanced with the need to make results available for further progress by all scientists in the international community. The value of scientific literature rests with the completeness of its presentation and the resulting ability for all to use the information to gain new knowledge. The success of the latter is truly the mark of success of any scientist's inquiry and its publication.
J M R adheres to a policy of completeness in its literature. We view it as our obligation. Important details of results, such as epitope sequences and crystallographic coordinates of protein structure, require public dissemination. Geysen and his colleagues have adhered to this policy by the timed disclosure of their epitope sequences. Such timed publication of addenda, as opposed to full disclosure in the original research paper, can be approved under exceptional circumstances to protect author rights and obligations. The overall dictum of full disclosure into the public domain is our commitment and cannot be compromised.