Journal profile
microPublication Biology
ISSN 2578-9430 · Caltech Library · United States
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microPublication Biology: fully open access; APC about USD 350; median 59 days to acceptance (124 articles, last 24 months).
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
microPublication Biology is published by Caltech Library. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies, Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation and Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology, together about 29.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
microPublication Biology is an open-access journal that publishes research in the life sciences. The journal publishes brief scholarly reports on research findings based on data presented in a single multi-panel figure. Article content includes novel findings, new methods, and reagents. Unlike many other journals, negative results, replications that are successful (including being scooped), and replications that are unsuccessful, are also published. Studies can be observational or interventional/mechanistic. Articles are peer-reviewed for the data supporting the conclusions, scientific rigor, clarity of writing, and vetted for adherence to community standards in nomenclature and data reporting. All articles are findable through general indexers such as PubMed, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar. microPublication Biology is also a home for publishing well-designed research conducted by undergraduates, where the single-figure short-article format facilitates educational uses. The journal provides a platform for mentor-guided undergraduate and graduate students to learn, as first-time authors, how to transform their research findings into a scholarly written article. microPublication Biology articles have been used as teaching cases in undergraduate classes for article writing, reviewing, and critical thinking. Additionally, the journal provides a mechanism for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and new faculty to hone their emerging skills in writing research articles and, correspondingly, to expand their publication record. microPublication Biology is advancing scholarly communication by short-circuiting the publication-to-database data incorporation process, placing new findings directly into information discovery space upon publication. The journal collaborates with community-directed databases (e.g., the Alliance of Genome Resources, WormBase, FlyBase, PomBase, ZFIN, etc.); curators define copyediting guidelines that meet community nomenclature standards and reporting, reducing nomenclature errors and alerting the databases to newly identified bioentities. Thus, microPublication Biology, in part, turns the scientific publishing process into a curatorial one.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 8, United Kingdom 1, Japan 1, Germany 1, France 1 (13 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.6%
- Developmental Biology and Gene RegulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.6%
- Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.5%
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchNeuroscience8.5%
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactionsEnvironmental Science8.5%
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeuroscience4.3%
- Cellular Mechanics and InteractionsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy TechniquesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
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.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
- h-index
- 0OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 0OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 25 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 25 | 25 | 0 |
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.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
59 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 32 days – 110 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 3 days (124 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 63 days
- Sample
- 124 articles with submission and acceptance dates (0 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 3 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Open 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.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 350 | Yes | CC BY | |
| LetPub | USD 250 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 250 / USD 350 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- USD 350
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 100 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 1,500 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Not considered
- academic thesis; electronic preprint
Article types accepted7
- data updatesData updatesLength not stated
- materials and reagentsMaterials and ReagentsLength not stated
- methodologyMethodologyLength not stated
- new findingNew finding - novel discoveries, new reagents and/or methodsLength not stated
- null/negative resultNull/negative resultLength not stated
- replication - successfulReplication - successful (including being scooped)Length not stated
- replication - unsuccessfulReplication - unsuccessfulLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use
AI use disclosure Model summary
Contributions by artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies to this study have been described in the Methods
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
microPublication Biology follows the authorship guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All authors share responsibility for the content of the microPublication. Authorship should be limited to those persons that performed the experiment, any analysis, and or write-up. Submitting authors are required to assign authorship contributions using the Contributor Rol…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Scientific Misconduct
microPublication Biology takes allegations of scientific misconduct seriously and will investigate each on a case by case basis when brought to our attention, either by authors or concerned readers. We consult the guidelines provided by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). microPublication Biology reserves the right to contact the auth…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and Licensing
Copyright and licensing Model summary
Authors retain copyright for all submitted content published in articles by microPublication Biology under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. For all accepted submissions, authors agree to their data being delivered…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process
Peer review process Model summary
Each manuscript sent to microPublication Biology undergoes two rounds of peer review, first Academic Peer Review and then Curatorial Peer Review. An article needs to pass both academic and curatorial peer review in order to be accepted for publication. Academic Peer Review microPublication Biology follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidlines in the ‘Recommendati…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism Detection
As part of microPublication Biology's commitment to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record, we employ iThenticate to detect plagiarism upon submission. iThenticate Similarity Reports provide an overall similarity index for each submission and inform editors on text copied from other sources without attribution. Plagiarized content will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Prior publication policy Model summary
We do not consider publication as an academic thesis, electronic preprint, or abstract as a prior publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
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.
Before you submit
Five checks before submitting to microPublication Biology
- 1ScopeRecent output centres on Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies, Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation.Check scope
- 2Article type and formatAbstract: ≤ 100 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 1,500 words; Reference style: Chicago.Author guidelines ↗
- 3English languagePolish grammar and academic style before you submit: it lowers the risk of rejection for language and improves your chances of acceptance.
- 4FeesUSD 350 (DOAJ), waivers availableFee details
- 5Expected review time59 days · Median, submission to acceptance · 124 articles, last 24 months · PubMedReview data
The checks are built from this page's data.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Caltech Library
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2578-9430
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about microPublication Biology
How long does peer review take at microPublication Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 124 articles published between November 2024 and November 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 59 days (interquartile range 32–110 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of microPublication Biology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 100 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 1,500 words; Reference style: Chicago; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of microPublication Biology based?
Of the 13 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (8), United Kingdom (1) and Japan (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index microPublication Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, microPublication Biology is indexed in DOAJ.
Is microPublication Biology open access, and what is the APC?
microPublication Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 350.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, DOAJ, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .