Research Articles

Research Articles should be fully documented reports of original research and are always peer reviewed. They should be written in as concise a style as possible but should still be accessible to the broad readership of JEB. The total length of the article should not exceed 8000 words, with no more than four page equivalents of figures and tables (page area is 235 mm x 183 mm). Additional items (figures, tables, movies, datasets) may be published online at the discretion of the editor and referees (a strict limit of 5 Mb of supplementary material exists per article). Manuscripts should be divided into the following sections: Title page, Summary, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion, List of symbols and abbreviations, Appendix, Acknowledgements, References, Figure legends. Tables should be provided in a separate file.

Methods & Techniques

Methods & Techniques are short (max. 2500 words, with two page equivalents of figures and tables), peer-reviewed articles reporting innovative methodological advances or significant modifications to recognized methods of data collection and analysis. Where possible, the use of the method should be demonstrated by applying it to real physiological data, but it is not necessary to apply the method to test an hypothesis. Methods should be described in enough detail to allow others to replicate and verify the protocol and must show a significant improvement on previous techniques. All methodology should be given within the Materials and methods section, although additional figures, tables and movies may be published online as supplementary material (there is a strict limit of 5 Mb per article). Mathematical calculations should be placed in an Appendix if they are likely to interrupt the flow of the manuscript. Manuscripts should be divided into the following sections: Title page, Summary, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results and discussion, Appendix, Acknowledgements, References, Figure legends.

Reviews

Reviews in JEB are peer-reviewed, predominantly commissioned, articles that aim to provide a timely, insightful and accessible overview of a particular field or aspect of experimental biology research. Longer reviews of ~8000 words provide a broad overview of a subject, by bringing together data from different fields and organisms, while shorter reviews of ~3500–4500 words can be more focused on a particular topic. Although authors are free to express their opinions in a review, they are asked to provide counterbalancing viewpoints where appropriate and to ensure that opinion and fact are clearly distinguishable.

Authors wishing to submit an unsolicited Review should first contact the kathryn{at}biologists.com

Commentaries

Commentaries are commissioned, non-exhaustive review-type peer-reviewed articles that are aimed at students and non-specialist readers with the aim of informing and inspiring those with a limited background in a subject. Commentaries can also be a venue for new and challenging ideas and are often more opinionated than Review articles. Commentaries are between 1500 and 4500 words long with no more than 50 references.

Authors wishing to submit an unsolicited Commentary should first contact the kathryn{at}biologists.com

JEB Classics

Written by current-day experts in the field, JEB Classics articles feature a historic publication from JEB and discuss the impact of this paper on the field of biology and on the author's own work. All JEB Classics are commissioned by the News & Views Editor.

If you would like to nominate a paper for consideration in the JEB Classics section, please contact the kathryn{at}biologists.com

Book Reviews

Book reviews are always commissioned, but suggestions are welcome. Please contact the kathryn{at}biologists.com

Correspondence

Should a reader have cogent criticisms of a paper published in JEB, the journal will consider publishing an item of correspondence. These should be no more than 1000 words long and should contain no more than 10 references. Display items are not allowed. The authors of the original paper(s) discussed in a correspondence are given the final right to reply, and any such response is published together with the correspondence. The journal reserves the right to edit items of correspondence. To submit a correspondence to the journal, please contact the michaela{at}biologists.com with a brief description of the article.

Inside JEB

Inside JEB highlights the key developments in JEB. Written by science journalists, the short reports give the inside view of the science published in the journal.

Outside JEB

Outside JEB is a monthly feature that reports the most exciting developments in experimental biology. These short articles are selected and written by a team of active research scientists.