Journal profile · BIOLOGY
Open Life Sciences
ISSN 2391-5412 · Walter de Gruyter GmbH · POLAND
Open Life Sciences: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.29; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 149 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); 228 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Open Life Sciences is published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH 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 Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research, MicroRNA in disease regulation and Circular RNAs in diseases, together about 21.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology and Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
About this journal Open Life Sciences is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal committed to encompassing a wide array of subjects within the life sciences. It is poised to captivate a diverse readership across the fields of biology, biotechnology, and medicine, including scholars who would like to gain profound insights into the latest scientific breakthroughs, as well as non-scholarly readers, who seek to expand their knowledge and deepen their understanding with reference to the newest discoveries in the field of science.Open Life Sciences assures the top quality of published data through critical peer-review and editorial involvement throughout the entire publication process. Thanks to the Open Access model, it also offers unrestricted access to published articles for all users.The published content includes research articles, review articles, communications, case reports, commentaries, and letters to the Editor.Aims and ScopeThe journal aims to facilitate the communication and collaboration of scientists across different countries.The scope of Open Life Sciences is devoted to scholarly research in all areas of life sciences, and covers topics of:BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES including cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, neuroscience, cancer biology, bioinformatics and computational biology, case reports of rare diseasesPLANT SCIENCES including plant anatomy and physiology, plant genetics and biotechnologyANIMAL SCIENCES including zoology, veterinary sciences, animals in agricultureECOLOGY and ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE including evolutionary biology, populations, ecosystems and landscapes, ecotoxicology, air and soil pollution and control, environmental microbiology, biomass and bioenergy, biodiversity, conservation biology, mari ne ecologyAGRICULTURE including crop production, livestock and poultry breeding and nutritionFOOD SCIENCE and NUTRITION including functional food, food microbiology, food metabolomics, food by-products, food waste managementBIOENGINEERING and BIOTECHNOLOGY including tissue engineering, biomaterials, nanotechnology, bioreactorsOpen Life Sciences also hosts a dedicated Pteridines and Related Topics section, developed in collaboration with the International Society of Pteridinology (http://www.pteridines.org/). Edited by Dr. Johanna M. Gostner (Innsbruck Medical University, Austria) and Dr. Thomas Felder (Paracelsus Medical University, Austria), the section welcomes submissions coveri
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): BIOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Thomas LitmanPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.1%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.2%
- Circular RNAs in diseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.2%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.5%
- Plant tissue culture and regenerationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Essential Oils and Antimicrobial ActivityAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.6%
- Gut microbiota and healthBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
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 | Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, AGRICOLA, OCLC
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
- 2.29LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.53LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.6LetPub ·
- h-index
- 28LetPub ·
- h-index
- 56OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 758OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 220LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,370 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 132 | 132 | 18 |
| 2025 | 228 | 228 | 402 |
| 2024 | 204 | 204 | 822 |
| 2023 | 260 | 260 | 1,642 |
| 2022 | 166 | 166 | 1,377 |
| 2021 | 138 | 138 | 1,636 |
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
149 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 107 days – 201 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 50 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 222 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (404 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 43 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 17 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 | EUR 2,100 | Yes | CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | EUR 2,100 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 2,000 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | EUR 2,100 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics
- Publication ethics Publication Ethics and Editorial Policies
Detailed information on Editorial Policy, Publication Ethics, Instructions for Authors etc. can be found in the Supplementary Materials section.
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
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Country or region
- POLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2391-5412
- 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 ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Open Life Sciences
What CAS zone is Open Life Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Open Life Sciences is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Open Life Sciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.29; CiteScore 3.3, h-index 56.
How long does peer review take at Open Life Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 149 days (interquartile range 107–201 days); authors report an average review time of about 43 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.
Which databases index Open Life Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Open Life Sciences is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Open Life Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
Open Life Sciences is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .