iScience

iScience is a peer-reviewed journal from Cell Press that provides a platform for original research in the life, physical, earth, sustainability, and health sciences. We aim to fuel interdisciplinary thinking and consider research with significant contribution to a relevant field combined with robust results and underlying methodology. To support transparency in scientific investigation, we consider replication studies and papers describing negative results, provided they offer clear value to the research community. The advances appearing in iScience include both fundamental and applied investigations across this interdisciplinary range of topic areas. At iScience, our mission is to provide a fast-paced peer-review process with exceptional author service. With the strong international reputation of Cell Press behind it, publication in iScience will help your work garner the attention and recognition it merits. Out of scope for iScience iScience will no longer consider articles in the following areas:Mendelian Randomization studies without performing two-sample MR analysis, sensitivity analysis, genome-wide significance of the selected SNP, replication analysis in independent cohorts, test for potential confounders, reported study power, and strong experimental validation using original cohorts.Datamining studies using single datasets without experimental validation in original or external cohorts and strong originality, novelty and advance.Single center retrospective studies, except for rare conditions or special populations with strong originality, novelty and advance.Case reports or case-controlled reports.Machine-learning or artificial intelligence methods without benchmarking against similar methods and demonstrated superior performance.Studies investigating natural extracts of any origin without standardization and identification of the active components.Studies investigating the effects of complementary medicine approaches without very strong mechanistic insights and novelty.Network pharmacology studies without extensive experimental validation in physiologically relevant models.Studies implicating the involvement of oxidative stress in biological processes without strong mechanistic insights.Studies investigating biomarkers without external cohort validation in original cohorts or large datasets, and strong originality, novelty and advance.Studies proposing biomarkers, nomograms or decision algorithms in health/life sciences without external cohort validation and strong originality, novelty and advance.Bibliometric analysis of any topic.Qualitative surveys in Health Sciences, or surveys with non-representative number of respondents.Studies generally about increasing tourism, or about tourism trends (unless rooted in scientific insight).Studies generally about productivity improvement in business, education, law, or economics, without rooting in new modelling (with data and code shared) and/or scientific insight.Studies generally about the stock market or predicting trends, without rooting in new modelling (with data and code shared) and/or scientific insight.Research which does not represent an advancement toward improving the conditions of non-human life, heritage, natural resources utilization, and the environment.Studies of complex environmental or social systems which only rely on statistical projections or correlations.

From the journal's Aims & Scope

Research area (LetPub): Multidisciplinary-Multidisciplinary

Editorial board by country: 29 in mainland China (about 18%); most named United States 52, Mainland China 29, Australia 10, United Kingdom 9, India 7 (165 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CAS Journal Ranking

Database indexing

SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub

International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub

Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.

Impact

Impact factor

4.42LetPub · 2026-09-13

Impact factor (publisher)

4.5Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CiteScore 2026-06

7.4LetPub · 2026-09-13

CiteScore (publisher)

7.4Publisher website · 2026-10-01

SJR 2026-06

1.36LetPub · 2026-09-13

SNIP 2026-06

1.06LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

141OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

i10-index

7,432OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

2-year mean citedness

4.72OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

Self-citation rate

2.2%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Share of gold OA articles

99.9%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Volume

Articles per year

2,626LetPub · 2026-09-13

Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.

Other sources

Average review time (community reports)

about 6 weeksLetPub · 2026-09-13

Submission to first decision

6 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Submission to acceptance

166 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Submission to publication (journal-reported)

about 27 weeksDOAJ · 2026-10-25

Peer review

Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ

Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.

• APC information ↗DOAJ
• Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
• Open access statement ↗DOAJ
• License & copyright ↗DOAJ

The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.

Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.

Publisher

Elsevier

Country or region

UNITED STATES

Language

English

ISSN

2589-0042

Official links

• Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
• Submission system ↗Publisher website
• Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
• Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
• Special issues ↗Publisher website
• APC information ↗DOAJ
• Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
• Open access statement ↗DOAJ
• License & copyright ↗DOAJ
• Peer review process ↗DOAJ
• Editorial board ↗DOAJ