Length by article type
| Article type | Length | Figures | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Article (also Method, Resource) | No strict limits; text and figures should be concise | Usually up to 10 main figures, plus up to 5 Expanded View figures | Unlimited |
| Review | Usually 4,000 to 6,000 words | Up to 4 | Unlimited |
| Perspective | Typically up to 5,000 words | 4 | About 50 |
| Correspondence | Up to 900 words | Minimal | Up to 5 |
Reviews are usually commissioned; proposals of one to two pages are welcome. Method and Resource papers need a structured methods section.
PublicationGod section-length recommendation
Because the journal sets no strict limits, PublicationGod uses its own guidance for this journal: introduction around 800 to 1,000 words and discussion around 1,500 to 2,000 words. These are our recommendations, not journal rules.
Title and abstract
- Title up to 100 characters including spaces, without abbreviations; common gene or protein acronyms are acceptable. No serial titles.
- Abstract: one paragraph of up to 175 words describing all key novel findings, with no citations.
What each section should do
- Introduction: succinct, no subheadings, giving non-experts enough background rather than reviewing the whole field.
- Results: divided by subheadings, following the order of the figures. "Data not shown" is not permitted.
- Discussion: interprets without repeating the Results; speculation must be labeled as such. Shorter article types combine Results and Discussion.
- Data availability: a structured section directly after the Methods.
Submission and revision
- Initial submissions can be in any format, as one PDF or LaTeX file or as DOCX plus figures. A cover letter is needed but not shared with reviewers.
- Revisions are due within three months and need a point-by-point response, the life-science reporting checklist, a Reagents and Tools table and source data for the figures.
- Author contributions are entered with CRediT roles in the submission system.
- Statistics: name the test, give n of independent experiments and exact P values; plot individual data points when n is below 5.
References
- Harvard style (author, year), listed alphabetically. Primary literature is preferred over reviews.
- Datasets can be cited as references tagged [DATASET].
At acceptance
Authors provide a synopsis image (550 × 300 pixels), three to four bullet points with the main findings and a two-sentence blurb of up to 250 characters.
Fees
Open access. See How to publish with us for current fees and funding options.
Draft your manuscript from your own figures
With no strict length limits, the risk is saying too much. PublicationGod drafts results from your confirmed figures and helps keep the introduction and discussion focused.
Start drafting