Content types
The guide for authors and the editorial policies, including the guide for referees, are available in PDF format.
PRIMARY RESEARCH FORMATS
A Brief Communication reports a concise study of high quality, broad interest and immediate importance. This format may not exceed 3 printed journal pages. Brief Communications begin with a brief unreferenced abstract (3 sentences, no more than 70 words). The main text is typically 1,200-1,600 words (not including abstract, figure legends or references) and contains no headings. Brief Communications normally have no more than 2 display items (schemes, figures and/or tables), although this may be flexible at the discretion of the editor, provided the page limit is observed. References are limited to 15. Article titles are omitted from the reference list. Experimental methods should be provided as Supplementary Methods. If statistical testing was used to analyze the data, the Supplementary Methods must contain a section on statistical analysis.
Brief Communications include received/accepted dates. They may be accompanied by supplementary information. Brief Communications are peer reviewed, and authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication.
An Article is a substantial novel research study of high quality and general interest to the chemical biology community. Articles are generally 4-10 printed journal pages. The main text (not including abstract, Methods, references and figure legends) is limited to 4,000-5,000 words. The abstract is no more than 150 words (10 lines in print) and may not contain references. Articles have up to 8 display items (schemes, figures and/or tables). An introduction (without heading) is followed by sections headed Results, Discussion and Methods. The Results and Methods should be divided by topical subheadings; the Discussion should be succinct and may not contain subheadings. The Methods section in the main text is limited to 1,000 words; additional experimental protocols should be placed in Supplementary Methods. If statistical testing was used to analyze the data, the Methods section must contain a subsection on statistical analysis. References are limited to 50.
Articles include received/accepted dates. They may be accompanied by supplementary information. Articles are peer reviewed, and authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication.
Top of pageOTHER FORMATS
Correspondence provides readers with a venue to comment on papers published in a previous issue of the journal or to discuss issues relevant to chemical biology. A Correspondence is never more than one printed page and typically is 250-500 words and is limited to one display item and 10 references. Article titles are omitted from the reference list. Titles for correspondence are supplied by the editors.
In cases where a correspondence is critical of a previous research paper, the authors are given the opportunity to publish a brief reply. Refutations are always peer reviewed, but do not include received/accepted dates. Other types of Correspondence may be peer reviewed at the editors' discretion. Authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication.
Commentary articles focus on policy, science and society or purely scientific issues related to chemical biology. They should be of immediate interest to a broad readership and should be written in an accessible, nontechnical style. Commentaries are approximately 2,000-3,000 words and typically occupy 3-4 printed journal pages. These pieces generally contain 2-3 display items (schemes, figures, tables and/or boxes) and up to 25 references. Article titles are omitted from the reference list. Commentaries may not contain primary research data, although they may present 'sociological' data (funding trends, demographics, bibliographic data, etc.).
Commentary authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication. Commentaries may be peer reviewed at the editor's discretion and do not include received/accepted dates.
Book Reviews present reviews of current books of interest to the chemical biology community. Suggestions for appropriate books are welcome, but book reviews are by prior arrangement only. Book reviews are generally limited to one printed journal page.
Authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication. Book reviews are not peer reviewed do not include received/accepted dates.
Meeting Reports present highlights of scientific meetings that are of interest to chemical biologists. Meeting reports are approximately 2,000-3,000 words and usually occupy 3-4 printed journal pages. These pieces generally contain 2-3 display items (schemes, figures, tables and/or boxes) and up to 25 references. Article titles are omitted from the reference list. Suggestions for appropriate meetings are welcome, but meeting reports are by prior arrangement only.
Authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication. Meeting reports are not peer reviewed and do not include received/accepted dates.
News and Views are by prior arrangement only. They may be linked to articles in Nature Chemical Biology, or they may focus on papers of exceptional significance that are published elsewhere. Although unsolicited contributions will not normally be considered, prospective authors may propose topics. News and Views are not peer reviewed, but undergo editing in consultation with the editorial team. Authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication.
A Review is an authoritative, balanced and scholarly survey of recent developments in a research field. Although reviews should be recognized as scholarly by specialists in the field, they should be written with a view to informing nonspecialist readers. Thus, reviews should be presented using simple prose, avoiding excessive jargon and technical detail. Reviews typically occupy 8-10 pages in the printed journal and begin with a 150-word abstract written for a general audience. The main text is approximately 4,000-5,000 words. Reviews typically include 6-8 display items (schemes, figures, tables and/or boxes). Because references are limited to 100, citations should be selective. In the case of particularly important studies (≤ 10% of all the references), we encourage authors to provide short annotations explaining why these are key contributions. The scope of a Review should be broad enough that it is not dominated by the work of a single laboratory, and particularly not by the authors' own work. Unpublished primary research data are not permitted in Reviews.
Review authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication. Reviews do not include received/accepted dates. Reviews are always peer reviewed to ensure factual accuracy, appropriate citations and scholarly balance, and they are edited in consultation with the editorial team.
Perspectives are a second format for scholarly reviews and discussions of the primary research literature. Perspectives differ from Reviews and Commentaries in that they frequently present a focused review of a rapidly moving area of science. They also may advocate a controversial position or present a speculative hypothesis. Two reviews advocating opposite sides in a research controversy are normally published as Perspectives. Perspectives are usually 6-8 printed journal pages. Perspectives include a 150-word abstract written for a general audience, a main text of 3,000-4,000 words and 4-6 display items (schemes, figures, tables and/or boxes). References are limited to 75. Unpublished primary research data are not permitted in Perspectives.
Perspective authors must provide a competing financial interests statement before publication. Perspectives do not include received/accepted dates. Perspectives are always peer reviewed to ensure factual accuracy and appropriate citations, and they are edited in consultation with the editor.
