equations in nature biotech papers?

comingme · 01-02-2013, 03:17 PM

Does anyone know if nature biotech papers allow equations in results section? Is there any example literature?

Thank you!

timydaley · 01-08-2013, 01:18 PM

I think that they do, but I do not think it is advisable. You should write with your audience in mind. A quote from Stephen Hawking in A Brief History of Time comes to mind, "For every equation in the book the readership would be halved…" You should explain the ideas without going to deep into the math. Take a look at some math-heavy Nature Methods papers for ideas on how to do this.

Simon Anders · 01-09-2013, 01:23 AM

Sorry to strongly disagree here: If it is a topic that can best be explained with mathematical formulae, use them. We are not writing for laypersons but for professionals. Of course, you should not expect your reader to know postgraduate-level mathematics if you write in a biology journal, but if your reader already feels scared by seeing a fraction bar, a logarithm or other high-school level mathematics, that should not be your problem.

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01-02-2013, 03:17 PM	#1
comingme Junior Member Location: houston Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 9	equations in nature biotech papers? Does anyone know if nature biotech papers allow equations in results section? Is there any example literature? Thank you!

01-08-2013, 01:18 PM	#2
timydaley Member Location: Los Angeles Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 26	I think that they do, but I do not think it is advisable. You should write with your audience in mind. A quote from Stephen Hawking in A Brief History of Time comes to mind, "For every equation in the book the readership would be halved…" You should explain the ideas without going to deep into the math. Take a look at some math-heavy Nature Methods papers for ideas on how to do this.

01-09-2013, 01:23 AM	#3
Simon Anders Senior Member Location: Heidelberg, Germany Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 994	Sorry to strongly disagree here: If it is a topic that can best be explained with mathematical formulae, use them. We are not writing for laypersons but for professionals. Of course, you should not expect your reader to know postgraduate-level mathematics if you write in a biology journal, but if your reader already feels scared by seeing a fraction bar, a logarithm or other high-school level mathematics, that should not be your problem.