BMC Biology is an open access journal publishing outstanding research in all areas of biology, with a publication policy that combines selection for broad interest and importance with a commitment to serving authors well.
Hospitable publishing process. BMC Biology offers rapid evaluation and clear and continuous communication on the progress of your manuscript. Upon submission, our in-house editors work with an Editorial Board of leading international experts and carefully selected reviewers to ensure a high quality and constructive editorial and peer review process.
High visibility. All content is open access immediately on publication. Papers that are published in BMC Biology are featured on our website with article-level metrics and promoted via press releases, blogs and social media.
Flexible formatting. To facilitate the submission process, we are flexible with regard to the format, style and length of initial submissions. If it is more convenient to the authors, manuscripts can be uploaded as a single PDF or a Microsoft Word file with high resolution figures, figure legends and supplemental information included. The cover letter is provided separately during the submission process. Journal-specific formatting is required only once manuscripts reach the later stages of the publication process.
Portable peer review. To reduce time spent on serial submissions and iterative reviewing, BMC Biology offers to consider manuscripts on the basis of reviews received at other journals. We also support transfers of reviews obtained at BMC Biology to other journals, including those outside of BMC and Springer Nature. Learn more from our portable reviews page and Editorial.
Scoop protection. BMC Biology offers "scoop protection", meaning that if other researchers publish similar findings after submission, or post them on a preprint server, this will not be a reason for rejection. However, the submission can still be rejected on other grounds.
bioRxiv transfers. BMC Biology is happy to consider manuscripts that have been, or will be, posted on a preprint server. Authors are able to submit their manuscripts directly from bioRxiv, without having to re-upload files.
Presubmission enquiries. Authors who are seeking editorial input on whether their manuscripts would be appropriate for BMC Biology can send us a presubmission enquiry. Presubmission enquiries should include the title and abstract, and the full manuscript in its current form if possible. Authors of preprints can instead send us the link to their manuscript on the preprint server. Inclusion of a cover letter explaining the significance of the advance and the potential interest to our readership is also encouraged. All presubmission enquiries should be sent by e-mail to bmcbiologyeditorial@biomedcentral.com.