Journal profile · Biology
Theory in Biosciences
ISSN 1431-7613 · eISSN 1611-7530 · Springer Berlin Heidelberg · GERMANY · Tri-annual · Founded 2000
Theory in Biosciences: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 151 days to acceptance (67 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 20 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Theory in Biosciences is published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg 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 Evolution and Genetic Dynamics, Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation and Philosophy and History of Science, together about 32.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Theory in Biosciences focuses on new concepts in theoretical biology. It also includes analytical and modelling approaches as well as philosophical and historical issues. Central topics are:Artificial LifeBioinformatics with a focus on novel methods, phenomena, and interpretations Bioinspired ModelingComplexity, Robustness, and ResilienceEmbodied CognitionEvolutionary BiologyEvo-DevoGame Theoretic ModelingGeneticsHistory of BiologyLanguage EvolutionMathematical BiologyOrigin of LifePhilosophy of BiologyPopulation Biology Systems BiologyTheoretical EcologyTheoretical Molecular BiologyTheoretical Neuroscience & CognitionThe journal receives a large number of submissions which analyse a biologically motivated system of coupled ordinary differential equations, often with emphasis on stability and sensitivity of solutions and with rather standard tools from dynamical systems theory. Such articles will usually be considered out of scope, if they do not convincingly demonstrate the additional value within the general conceptual profile of the journal.While not all models of interest to the journal are necessarily phrased in mathematical terms, those that are should be analyzed by rigorous methods.Manuscripts should present original work with a strong conceptual background.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biology
Editor-in-chief Guillermo RestrepoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 7, United States 4, France 3, Japan 2, Italy 2 (28 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Evolution and Genetic DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology13.4%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences10.2%
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities9%
- Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology ModelsMedicine7.8%
- Gene Regulatory Network AnalysisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.6%
- Origins and Evolution of LifePhysics and Astronomy6.2%
- Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience4.7%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.3%
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 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 3 |
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 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINECASDBLPCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 2LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.36LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- h-index
- 32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 316OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.76OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.88%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 20LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 108,800Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 760 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 41 | 7 | 10 |
| 2025 | 20 | 4 | 37 |
| 2024 | 24 | 10 | 103 |
| 2023 | 27 | 14 | 219 |
| 2022 | 23 | 8 | 119 |
| 2021 | 28 | 20 | 290 |
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
151 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 97 days – 254 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (67 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 178 days
- Sample
- 67 articles with submission and acceptance dates (67 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 18 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship Policy
Authorship criteria: substantial contribution in one or more categories (study design, research, data analysis, new methods/models, writing). Model summary
Authorship should incorporate and should be restricted to those who have contributed substantially to the work in one or more of the following categories: • Conceived of or designed study • Performed research • Analyzed data • Contributed new methods or models • Wrote the paper Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Theory in Biosciences, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Manuscript must be original, not under consideration elsewhere, and approved by all co-authors and responsible authorities. Model summary
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institute where the work has been carried out.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Tri-annual
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 1431-7613
- Electronic ISSN
- 1611-7530
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Theory in Biosciences
What CAS zone is Theory in Biosciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Theory in Biosciences is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biology / Mathematical & Computational Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Theory in Biosciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 52.
How long does peer review take at Theory in Biosciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 67 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 151 days (interquartile range 97–254 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 Theory in Biosciences?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; 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 Theory in Biosciences based?
Of the 28 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (7), United States (4) and France (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Theory in Biosciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Theory in Biosciences is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, CAS, DBLP and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Theory in Biosciences open access, and what is the APC?
Theory in Biosciences is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-28). Last updated: .