Scope and Purpose

Recent revolutionary advancements have established three-dimensional electron microscopy (3DEM) as an essential structural tool for biomedical research. The 3DEM modalities cover different sample volumes and length scales that make them specific for the target investigation. Single particle cryo-EM, awarded with 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, allows 3D structure determination of isolated proteins and macromolecules of biomedical relevance at (near-)atomic resolution and has exciting potential for facilitating drug design. Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) enables in situ 3D visualization of the macromolecules and their interactions in their unperturbed cellular environment at close-to-nanometer resolution. Electron tomography (ET) facilitates the 3D structural analysis of tissues, cells and organelles at a resolution of a few nanometers from samples sub-half-micron thick. Large Volume EM techniques (e.g. SBF/SEM, FIB/SEM, cryo-FIB/SEM) allow ultrastructural analysis of cells and tissues in their native spatial context with unlimited thickness and at an unprecedented nanoscale detail, which make them exceedingly beneficial for biomedical research. Furthermore, these 3DEM techniques can be combined through multiscale integrative/correlative approaches so as to enable a comprehensive description of the ultrastructure and the alterations under pathological conditions.

The computational methods constitute an essential component of these imaging techniques and have played a major role in the current position of 3DEM. Future developments are expected to have a profound impact in tackling the current challenges and further promoting the application of 3DEM to biomedicine and health research.

This special issue on 3DEM aims to present original computational innovations that will contribute to the advancement of the 3DEM modalities and their application to biomedical research. Invited authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts describing new computer methods on topics related to image processing, 3D reconstruction, extraction of information, quantitative interpretation and multiscale/correlative integration.

About the journal

Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine is a well-established journal (Impact Factor 5.428; Q1 in Computer Science, Theory and Methods) that welcomes new computing methods applied in biomedicine and intends to serve from biologists and biochemists to engineers and computer scientists.

This is an Elsevier journal that relies on a subscription model. Thus, there are No publication charges. There also are several open access options, for those authors that are interested.

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computer-methods-and-programs-in-biomedicine/

Important Dates:

Manuscript submissions: 15 may 2021 - 15 december 2021 (extended to 15 february 2022)

Articles will be subjected to peer review. Articles will be published as soon as they are accepted, and they will appear in a regular issue of the journal and also in the virtual special issue on Computational Methods for 3DEM.

Guest Editors:

Dr. Antonio Martinez-Sanchez

University of Oviedo (UniOvi) and Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA),

Email: martinezsantonio _at_ uniovi.es

Dr. Jose-Jesus Fernandez

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA),

Email: JJ.Fernandez _at_csic.es

http://tiny.cc/neuroarch