Every summer around late June field observers globally make the same mystical observation among editors and publishers of scientific journals: an unusually high level of tension and uneasiness coupled with emotions full of expectations. For several years there were no real logical and convincing explanations from scientists for this unusual behavior; some thought it's a pure coincidence and most theories failed. However, just very recently it seems that the mystery could finally be unraveled. After peer-review and confirmation by independent observers not involved in the initial study, all investigations demonstrated the close correlation of this unusual behavior with the expected revelation of last year's citation results by the Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics). And this just happened 2 weeks before I started to write up this editorial.

Now, I have the great pleasure to share with you the latest performance results of Cytometry Part A according to Web of Science. Our 2020 Impact Factor increased to 4.355, which is extraordinary and the highest ever reached in the 41 years of history of the journal. As a consequence, we improved our position in the “Biochemical Research Methods” category, and are now among the top 25% (position 18) of 77 journals. The last time we were in Quartile 1 was 10 years ago.

This is the right time to thank the whole team of scientific editors from our editorial board [1] and the peer reviewers for their tireless dedication supporting cytometry with their outstanding expertise to achieve the highest possible quality. My thanks go to Dr. Julia Kostova and her excellent team at John Wiley and Sons. They professionally handled the process of manuscript and journal issue management in the background. The times were not easy but the team helped to smoothly and swiftly adapt to the new situation and implement the necessary changes. Last but not least, a journal would not be anything without the community's contributions, discussions and proposals. Thanks for those to all of you.

There are several factors that could be responsible for the substantial improvement. First of all, it shows that Quantitative Cell Science, the work of our community of cytometrists, and Cytometry Part A are gaining increasing recognition from the broader scientific community. These are good reasons to celebrate our community and I hope you spread the news to your students, colleagues and peers. Both the high Impact Factor and Q1 position are important to further increase our recognition and attract more authors and readers. In many countries the Impact Factor is still a relevant criterion for submitting to a journal, and in other countries, including China, publication in a Q1-journal is mandatory for PhD students and for further promotion.

I do not want to bore you with too many numbers but I would like to share with you just one additional measure, the Immediacy Index 2020. (Immediacy Index is a ratio: citations in 2020 publications to articles published in 2020 in Cytometry Part A divided by the total number of Cytometry Part A publications in 2020.) This value is an indicator of how “cutting-edge” manuscripts in a journal are. On average, since 2003 our Immediacy Index has been 0.81 (range: 0.22–1.22). In 2020 the II rose to 2.01 (position 7/77) meaning that we publish many hot-topic papers – and I can ensure you that these are not only C…-19 but also hard-core cytometry manuscripts. (I swore an oath that I avoid the C…- or the V…-word in this editorial.)

The future looks prosperous… 2021 can be another top year for Cytometry Part A but only with your support. We need your exciting research, suggestions and promotion of the science of cytometry beyond the “Edge of our Plate”.

Oh, and before I forget, we have an exciting collection of articles published in this August 2021 issue. I tied them loosely around the ribbon of cell activation and cell signaling and signal transduction. To give you just a taste:

Sedigheh Sharifzadeh and colleagues (this issue page 784–792) employed the phosphoflow assay [2] to develop a potential point-of-care test for discriminate reactive and clonal (neoplastic) eosinophilia. Their assay is based on determining the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) phosphorylation level on eosinophilic granulocytes from peripheral blood. The authors report correlation of PDGFRA mRNA and PDGFRA phosphorylation level. As Sack and Fricke (this issue page 772–773) outline in their Commentary, adaptation of this assay into clinical routine flow analysis will be not simple but worth the efforts.

Bitar and colleagues (this issue page 774–783) applied a variety of flow cytometry techniques including an assay for pSTAT5A (Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5A) phosphorylation to detect human cytomegalovirus (CMV) specific T lymphocytes in human peripheral blood. Such assays are of value to understand the susceptibility to recurrent opportunistic infections, to quickly identify patients who are at risk of viral replication, and to further improve clinical management of CMV infection. Finally, the authors validated their assay in a clinical environment enabling its use in compliance with the DIN EN ISO 15189 requirements. (Read also the Commentary by Lilleri and Fornara, this issue page 769–771).

Vaughn and Havilland (this issue page 825–831) analyzed discrete steps in early cytotoxic T cell activation and particularly focused on the role of ATP citrate lyase (Acly) in that is involved both in histone acetylation and fatty acid synthesis. The authors demonstrate the central role Acly plays in early antigen activation of cytotoxic T cells and proposes a signaling pathway. Due to the relevance of this work, it was selected for designing the cover image.

I wish you an edifying read of these selected research and more exciting science in this August 2020 issue of Cytometry Part A.