October 31, 2003

Scientists at the U. of California at San Francisco Call for a Boycott of 6 Biology Journals

By ANDREA L. FOSTER

Two scientists at the University of California at San Francisco are urging a worldwide boycott of six molecular-biology journals on the grounds that the publisher, Reed Elsevier, is demanding that the University of California system pay too high a price for electronic access to the publications.

The scientists are Keith Yamamoto, chairman of the department of cellular and molecular pharmacology, and Peter Walter, a professor of biophysics and biochemistry. In a letter circulated this