A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

his issue marks the beginning of Cellular and TMolecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology volume 3. In the 2 years of publication thus far, the journal has made great progress and increasingly is recognized as a rigorous forum that presents groundbreaking research in cell biology, immunology, physiology, microbiology, genetics, and neurobiology of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology has also focused on author and reader service. Efforts in this regard include the average 21 days to first decision interval for manuscripts reviewed externally, which represent the majority of submitted manuscripts, and low publication fees. Other efforts that increase the accessibility of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology include editorials that accompany many original articles as well as the journal’s open-access model. Beginning with this issue, Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology is featuring graphical abstracts. The proportion of articles that include graphical abstracts will increase until they accompany the majority of original contributions. As with other journals that have begun using graphical abstracts, the goals of these figures will be to communicate the main points of the study in an accessible and concise format. Graphical abstracts will be displayed next to the title and text synopsis of each article in the table of contents at CMGHjournal.org, and will be included within the article alongside the synopsis and abstract. To aid authors, a template for generating graphical abstracts is now available at CMGHjournal.org. Well-prepared graphical abstracts should be selfexplanatory and include limited text. One powerful principle in generating outstanding graphical abstracts is “less is more,” and I encourage authors to remove as much extraneous information as possible. In general, only 1 panel should be shown. To the extent possible, Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology illustrators will work with authors to make the abstracts as effective as possible. We at Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology hope the graphical abstracts will enhance your reading experience and look forward to feedback as this initiative progresses.