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eLife

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eLife is a not-for-profit, peer-reviewed, open access, science publisher for the biomedical and life sciences. It was established at the end of 2012 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Max Planck Society, and Wellcome Trust, following a workshop held in 2010 at the Janelia Farm Research Campus. Together, these organizations provided the initial funding to support the business and publishing operations.[2] In 2016, the organizations committed US$26 million to continue publication of the journal.[3]

eLife
Image: 250 pixels
DisciplineBiomedicine, life sciences
LanguageEnglish
Edited byDetlef Weigel and Tim Behrens (interim co-Editors-in-Chief)
Publication details
History2012–present
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd[1]
FrequencyContinuous
Yes
LicenseCC-BY 3.0, CC-BY 4.0, and CC0
6.4 (2023)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4eLife
Indexing
CODENELIFA8
ISSN2050-084X
OCLC no.813236730
Links

The most recent editor-in-chief was Michael Eisen (University of California, Berkeley).[4][5] Eisen was fired in October 2023, a controversial decision which led at least five editors to resign in protest.[6] eLife Deputy Editors Detlef Weigel and Tim Behrens were invited by the eLife Board of Directors to serve as co-Editors-in-Chief until the end of 2024.[7]

Editorial decisions are made largely by senior editors and members of the board of reviewing editors, all of whom are active scientists working in fields ranging from human genetics and neuroscience to biophysics, epidemiology, and ecology.[8]

Business model

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eLife is a non-profit organisation, but for long-term sustainability of the service, the journal asks for an article processing charge of US$3,000 for papers accepted for publication.[9] This charge was reduced to US$2,000 in 2022 after the adoption of a new model without accept or reject decisions.[10] Authors with insufficient funding are eligible for a fee waiver.

Abstracting and indexing

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The journal is abstracted and indexed in Medline, BIOSIS Previews,[11] Chemical Abstracts Service,[12] Science Citation Index Expanded,[11] and Scopus.[13] According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2023 impact factor of 6.4.[14] The journal opposes the over-reliance on the impact factor by the scientific community.[15] In October 2024, Web of Science has put its indexation of eLife in Science Citation Index Expanded on hold, citing the journal's recently-adopted publishing model as a reason for the suspension.[16]

In a 2015 interview, Howard Hughes Medical Institute then-President Robert Tjian reflected on eLife and noted, "The other big thing is, we want to kill the journal impact factor. We tried to prevent people who do the impact factors from giving us one. They gave us one anyway a year earlier than they should have. Don't ask me what it is because I truly don't want to know and don't care."[17]

eLife Podcast

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The eLife Podcast is produced by BBC Radio presenter and University of Cambridge consultant virologist Chris Smith of The Naked Scientists.

eLife digests

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Most research articles published in the journal include an "eLife digest", a non-technical summary of the research findings designed for a general audience. Since December 2014, the journal has been sharing a selection of the digests on the blog publishing platform Medium.[18] eLife also publishes commentary articles called "Insights", which are also written in plainer terms than the research article, but focus more on the context of the research.

Reviewing process

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Randy Schekman (the first editor-in-chief[19]) criticized Nature, Science and Cell as "luxury journals" in 2013, comparing their low acceptance levels and high impact factors with high-end "fashion designers" who deliberately inflated demand for their brand due to scarcity. During the peer review process, eLife encourages the reviewers to discuss a manuscript and agree on a common recommendation.[20] At the time, the acceptance rate of eLife was 15.4% (2015).[20]

In June 2018, eLife announced that it would try an innovative peer review model (for some 300 submissions) where the editorial decision to send a manuscript out for review is tantamount to offering publication to that manuscript, thereby putting the authors in control of publication after editorial screening has been passed.[21]

In December 2020, eLife announced a new "publish, then review" model of publishing; from July 2021 the journal will only review manuscripts already available as preprints.[22]

On October 20, 2022, eLife announced, "From next year, eLife is eliminating accept/reject decisions after peer review, instead focusing on public reviews and assessments of preprints."[23][24] All papers invited for peer-review will be published on the eLife website as Reviewed Preprints, accompanied by an eLife assessment and public reviews.[23]

Ben Barres Spotlight Award

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The Ben Barres Spotlight Awards, established by eLife, embody a prestigious recognition that lauds exceptional scientific accomplishments within the fields of biology and medicine, particularly highlighting contributions from historically marginalized spheres. This distinguished award not only spotlights researchers operating within resource-limited domains but also extends its scope to encompass neurodivergent trailblazers, signifying a pioneering stride towards all-encompassing inclusivity.[25] Honoring the legacy of the visionary American neurobiologist Ben Barres, a transgender scientist and impassioned advocate for scientific parity, these awards carry profound significance. Barres, a revered member of eLife's Board of Reviewing Editors, left an enduring imprint that continues to resonate.

The Ben Barres Spotlight Awards have been given each year since 2019. To qualify, applicants must be active researchers engaged in the life or biomedical sciences at a university or another non-commercial research institute. Scientists at all career stages are invited to partake in this esteemed acknowledgment. Since the establishment of the prize, award recipients have astutely harnessed the provided resources to transcend scientific barriers, seize novel research avenues, and catalyze transformative trajectories in their scientific ventures, thus etching an indelible mark on the scientific tapestry.

Controversial decisions

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Following the Oct 20, 2022 announcement of the new reviewing model, some editors (including former editor-in-chief Randy Schekman) complained that the transition to the new model was too fast, and asked for compromise, threatening to resign if their concerns were not met.[26] Other editors expressed support for the new model, and suggested that the complaints came from a small minority.[27]

On October 23, 2023, eLife removed then editor-in-chief Michael Eisen for tweeting a story by The Onion with the headline: "Dying Gazans Criticized For Not Using Last Words To Condemn Hamas." Eisen said "The Onion speaks with more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution put together. I wish there were a @TheOnion university".[28] At least five of eLife's editors resigned and other scientists said they would stop participating in eLife events in solidarity with Eisen. A petition letter was organised to protest against Eisen’s firing. The petition, which was signed by over 2,000 scientists, academics and researchers, said eLife 's action is having a "chilling effect" on freedom of expression in academia.[6]

Other partners

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In April 2017, eLife was one of the founding partners in the Initiative for Open Citations.[29]

See also

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Scholia has a profile for eLife (Q2000008).

References

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  1. ^ "About". eLife.
  2. ^ McGrath, Matt (10 April 2012), Trust pushes for open access to research, BBC
  3. ^ Callaway, Ewen (2016-06-02). "Open-access journal eLife gets £25-million boost". Nature. 534 (7605): 14–15. Bibcode:2016Natur.534...14C. doi:10.1038/534014a. PMID 27251251.
  4. ^ "eLife welcomes Michael Eisen as Editor-in-Chief". eLife. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  5. ^ Boardman-Pretty, Freya (5 November 2011), "Open-access science journal leaves editing to the experts", Times Higher Education
  6. ^ a b "Firing of science journal editor after Gaza post sparks free speech rift". NBC News. 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  7. ^ "Statement of the eLife Board of Directors". Inside eLife. eLife. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Communicating the latest advances in life science and biomedicine", eLife, retrieved 6 October 2015
  9. ^ "Inside eLife: Setting a fee for publication". 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  10. ^ Else, Holly (2022-11-03). "eLife won't reject papers once they are under review — what researchers think". Nature. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-03534-6. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 36329143. S2CID 253302170.
  11. ^ a b "Master Journal List". Intellectual Property & Science. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  12. ^ "CAS Source Index". Chemical Abstracts Service. American Chemical Society. Archived from the original on 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  13. ^ "Content overview". Scopus. Elsevier. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  14. ^ "eLife". 2023 Journal Citation Reports. Web of Science (Science ed.). Thomson Reuters. 2024.
  15. ^ "Communicating the latest advances in life science and biomedicine", eLife, retrieved 26 October 2015
  16. ^ Brainard, Jeffrey (October 24, 2024). "Web of Science index puts eLife 'on hold' because of its radical publishing model". Science. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "Q&A: Outgoing HHMI chief reflects on leading $19 billion biomedical charity". 2015-08-07.
  18. ^ eLife is now on Medium, 2014-12-18, retrieved 2 March 2015
  19. ^ Grens, Kerry (Aug 19, 2018), Randy Schekman to Leave eLife, The Scientist
  20. ^ a b Callaway, Ewen (June 2, 2016). "Open-access journal eLife gets £25-million boost". Nature News. 534 (7605): 14–15. Bibcode:2016Natur.534...14C. doi:10.1038/534014a. PMID 27251251.
  21. ^ Patterson, M.; Schekman, R. (2018). "Scientific Publishing: A new twist on peer review". eLife. 7. doi:10.7554/eLife.36545. PMC 6019064. PMID 29944117.
  22. ^ Eisen, Michael B; Akhmanova, Anna; Behrens, Timothy E; Harper, Diane M; Weigel, Detlef; Zaidi, Mone (December 1, 2020). "Implementing a "publish, then review" model of publishing". eLife. 9: e64910. doi:10.7554/eLife.64910. PMC 7710353. PMID 33258772.
  23. ^ a b "eLife's New Model: Changing the way you share your research". eLife. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  24. ^ Eisen, Michael B; Akhmanova, Anna; Behrens, Timothy E; Diedrichsen, Jörn; Harper, Diane M; Iordanova, Mihaela D; Weigel, Detlef; Zaidi, Mone (2022-10-20). "Peer review without gatekeeping". eLife. 11: e83889. doi:10.7554/eLife.83889. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 9584602. PMID 36263932.
  25. ^ Ben Barres Spotlight Awards, 5 July 2023, eLife
  26. ^ Abbott, Alison (2023-03-17). "Strife at eLife: inside a journal's quest to upend science publishing". Nature. 615 (7954): 780–781. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-00831-6. PMID 36932204. S2CID 257603717. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  27. ^ Urban, Lara; Mehta, Devang (2023-04-11). "eLife: community support for a new publishing model". Nature. 616 (7956). Nature Publishing Group: 249. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  28. ^ "Prominent journal editor fired for endorsing satirical article about Israel-Hamas conflict". Science. 2023-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  29. ^ "Press". Initiative for Open Citations. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
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