For Authors
Contents
Guide for Authors
The Journal of Biology welcomes high-quality original research articles and comprehensive reviews across all disciplines of the biological sciences. Before submitting, authors should ensure their manuscript aligns with the journal’s scope and strictly adheres to our structural guidelines. All submissions must be written in clear, concise English and formatted according to standard IMRaD conventions for original research or structured thematic sections for review papers. Manuscripts must include an abstract summarizing key findings, relevant keywords, complete institutional affiliations for all authors, and properly formatted references.
All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through our online submission portal. Submissions must be accompanied by the required author declarations, including statements on original authorship, potential conflicts of interest, ethical approvals for human or animal studies, and data availability. Authors are encouraged to deposit raw data, code, and supplementary materials in trusted, persistent public repositories prior to submission, providing functional accession numbers or DOIs within the text to ensure complete transparency.
Upon submission, every manuscript undergoes an initial quality check to screen for scope fit, scientific integrity, plagiarism, and ethical compliance. Manuscripts that pass this screening are assigned to an handling editor and routed to qualified independent reviewers for rigorous double-blind peer review. Following final acceptance, authors will be prompted to pay the flat Article Processing Charge (APC) of $500 USD, after which the article will be finalized, proofed, and published immediately online under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
Article Types
Original Research Articles present novel, empirical scientific findings that contribute significant new knowledge to the biological sciences. These papers report on completed research studies and must feature a robust methodology, clear experimental design, and thorough data analysis. Manuscripts generally follow the standard IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) and are evaluated based on their original contribution, scientific rigor, and broader implications for the field.
Review Articles offer a comprehensive, balanced, and critical synthesis of current research developments within a specific subfield of biology. Rather than presenting new empirical data, these papers analyze existing literature to highlight key trends, resolve conflicting findings, identify current knowledge gaps, and propose directions for future study. Review articles serve as authoritative guides for both specialists and broader scientific audiences looking for an up-to-date overview of a given topic.
APC & Fees
To cover the costs of rigorous double-blind peer review, copyediting, typesetting, long-term digital archiving, and immediate open-access dissemination, the Journal of Biology charges a flat Article Processing Charge (APC) of $1000 USD for accepted manuscripts. There are no submission fees, color charges, or page limits, ensuring authors are evaluated strictly on quality and merit. Payment is only requested after a manuscript successfully completes peer review and receives formal editorial acceptance. To support equitable participation in global science, UsawaPress offers full or partial APC waivers for corresponding authors affiliated with institutions in low- and lower-middle-income countries, as well as researchers facing documented financial hardship.