Journal profile · CELL BIOLOGY
Nucleus
ISSN 1949-1034 · eISSN 1949-1042 · Landes Bioscience · UNITED STATES
Nucleus: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.85; JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,630; median 114 days to acceptance (45 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 71% (journal website); 18 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Nucleus is published by Landes Bioscience and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are RNA Research and Splicing, Nuclear Structure and Function and Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics, together about 58.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Nucleus is a fully open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, original research that advances the understanding of the cell nucleus. The journal provides a platform for interdisciplinary studies exploring nuclear structure, function, and dynamics across molecular, cellular, and systems levels. At its core, Nucleus is a journal shaped by and for the nuclear biology community. We are committed to supporting researchers working across diverse disciplines who share a common interest in the nucleus and its central role in cellular regulation. By fostering collaboration and dialogue, Nucleus aims to strengthen the global network of scientists driving innovation in this field. In addition to publishing cutting-edge research, Nucleus actively encourages the submission of methods papers, technical advances, and smaller-scale studies that may not constitute a full research article but offer practical value to the community. We recognize the importance of incremental findings, protocol refinements, and data-driven observations that support reproducibility and accelerate discovery. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Nuclear structure and dynamics 3D and 4D genomics Subnuclear organelles Chromatin organization Nuclear transport DNA replication and damage repair Gene expression and RNA processing Nuclear signaling and development Nuclear proteomics Lipidomics and metabolomics Nuclear mechanics and biophysics Omics-based analyses of nuclear functions will only be considered if they provide novel mechanistic insight. Nucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article Commentary, Meeting Report, Rapid communication Nucleus is an Open Access international journal publishing high-quality, original research. The journal operates a single-anonymized peer review policy.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): CELL BIOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Dan StarrPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology20.9%
- Nuclear Structure and FunctionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology19.2%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology18.7%
- DNA Repair MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.8%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Chromosomal and Genetic VariationsAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.4%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.1%
- RNA regulation and diseaseBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPMCEmbasePublisher website
Other: Biological Abstracts (Online), BIOSIS Previews, EBSCOhost
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.85LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 8.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.55LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 2.55Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.07Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 34LetPub ·
- h-index
- 76OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 579OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 6.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 16LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 263,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 808 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 27 | 27 | 21 |
| 2025 | 18 | 18 | 68 |
| 2024 | 40 | 40 | 425 |
| 2023 | 25 | 25 | 571 |
| 2022 | 20 | 20 | 472 |
| 2021 | 8 | 8 | 162 |
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 Crossref · to
114 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 88 days – 159 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (45 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 139 days
- Sample
- 45 articles with submission and acceptance dates (54 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 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 71%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review 2025
- 41 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 19 weeksDOAJ ·
- 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.
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 2,630 / GBP 2,100 / EUR 2,520 / AUD 3,655 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 1,625 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 2,110 / USD 2,195 / GBP 1,756 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted10
- article commentaryNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- data notesNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- editorialNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- letter to the editorNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- meeting reportNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- methodsNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- rapid communicationNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- registered reportsNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- research articleNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
- review articleNucleus accepts the following article types: Research Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Editorial, Data notes, Registered reports, Methods, Article…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
open access Model summary
Nucleus is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership of your article Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
single-anonymized peer review Model summary
The journal operates a single-anonymized peer review policy.
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Landes Bioscience
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1949-1034
- Electronic ISSN
- 1949-1042
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 17, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- 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 ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Nucleus
What CAS zone is Nucleus in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Nucleus is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Cell Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Nucleus?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.85; CiteScore 8.2, h-index 76.
How long does peer review take at Nucleus?
Based on the dates recorded on 45 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 114 days (interquartile range 88–159 days); authors report an average review time of about 13 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 71% (2025). 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 JCR quartile is Nucleus in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Biology.
Which databases index Nucleus?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Nucleus is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PMC and Embase; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Nucleus open access, and what is the APC?
Nucleus is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,630.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .