The first thing that readers of the hard copy of this journal probably see is the front cover. My hope is that the images on the cover of the journal are both scientifically and aesthetically attractive, and that they might encourage new or casual readers to open the journal and look inside. How do we choose the front covers? When papers are accepted, authors are encouraged to submit suitable cover images to the journal, and every two weeks the journal's excellent production editors send me the selection of cover images that are available for a particular issue. In assessing the pictures I do not look at their legends, nor at the authors of the paper in question. Rather, I rely on my (admittedly questionable) aesthetic sense to choose an image that is attractive and that fits the space available.

I try not to favour any particular organism in choosing an...

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