Manuscripts should be written in concise and correct English, at a level that is accessible to the broad readership of JMCB. JMCB publishes various types of manuscripts. Please prepare the electronic files including the main text, figures, supplementary material, graphical abstract, etc. according to the formatting guidelines for each type listed as below.
Articles are original research papers that represent a substantial advance in understanding of an important research question and have immediate, far-reaching implications.
For an original article, the total words for the main text (including references, figure legends, and tables) are expected to be no more than 8000. Please use a common word-processing package (such as Microsoft Word) for the main text. The main text should be organized in the following order:
Up to 8 figures and/or tables may be contained in an original article. All the figures (line drawings, histograms, and photographs) should be referred to in the main text (as Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 1A, Figure 2B...) but should not be embedded within the text. Figures could be submitted in one of the following formats: JPEG (.jpg), TIFF (.tif), Photoshop Document (.psd), Portable Document File (.pdf), Powerpoint (.ppt), Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or Encapsulated Postscript (.eps). The minimum resolution for the figures is 300 dpi (dots per inch) for tone or color and 1200 dpi for line art, at approximately the correct size for publication. Standard figure widths are 90 mm (single column) and 180 mm (double column). The full depth of the page is 240 mm. Please use Arial fonts for the creation of figures. Any lettering should be approximately in proportion to the overall dimensions of the figure. We can only accept one file per figure, and thus please do not submit separate panels on several pages. Micrographs should be provided with a scale bar.
Data that are integral to the manuscript but impractical to include in the printed journal may be presented as Supplementary material. All supplementary items, including figures, tables, videos, extended text (Materials and methods, References, etc.) should have titles and legends that briefly describe the data shown. Please cite each supplementary item in the main text at least once. They will be linked to the online article published on JMCB website. Supplementary figures and tables could be embedded within the text in one file in order to reduce the size and make it easy to download. Large datasets and videos should be submitted separately. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all provided materials are correct and complete, as these files will not undergo further editing and proof before published online.
In addition to the above electronic files, authors are also encouraged to prepare a featured image that summarizes the focus and main findings of the article and enables the viewer to understand what the work is about. It could be the key ‘results’ image from the article itself or a specially designed figure that captures the key takeaway message. The featured image is displayed online only (see example). JMCB also uses the featured image to promote articles via email content, social media, newsletters, and online search results. For articles submitted without a featured image, the editors may contact the authors for this content after acceptance. Featured image follow the similar formatting guidelines as Figures.
Reviews should be recognized as scholarly by specialists in the field being covered, but should also be written with a view to informing readers who are not specialized in that particular field, and therefore be presented using simple prose. Please avoid excessive jargon and technical detail. Reviews should capture the broad developments and implications of recent work. The opening paragraph should make clear the general thrust of the review and provide a clear sense of why the review is now particularly appropriate. The concluding paragraph should provide the readers with an idea of how the field may develop or future problems to overcome, but should not summarize articles. Usually a Review does not include sections like ‘Results’, ‘Materials and methods’, ‘Discussion’, etc.
Reviews should include an abstract of less than 200 words and cite no more than 150 references. The total words for the main text (including references, figure legends, and tables) are expected to be no more than 10000, and figures/tables more than 5 can be set as the Supplementary material.
Letters to the Editor are short experimental papers that may present as little as a single experiment or observation and should constitute interesting data, combined with a discussion of what the data might mean or an explanation of why the data contradicts current paradigms. There is no abstract and no subsections on introduction, results, or discussion. Nevertheless, the beginning paragraphs should present concise but sufficient background information that would allow the readers to appreciate the rationale of the work and put the study in a proper perspective.
Generally, the information on routine materials and methods is not included in the main text or even needed. When such information is unique and important to the study, it could be included in supplementary material. The total words for the main text (including references, figure legend, and table) are expected to be no more than 1500, with less than 10 references, and figures/tables more than 1 can be set as the Supplementary material.
Application Notes are short experimental papers focusing on novel techniques, approaches, disease models, or analytical methods with application potential. Application Notes follow the similar formatting guidelines as Letters to the Editor, without 'Dear Editor' at the beginning of the main text.
Perspectives provide views from scientists with high reputation in the field on the developments and implications of key findings in the proper context of the field. Each Perspective is expected to be contributed by no more than 3 authors. The Perspective has an abstract of fewer than 200 words to outline the main message. Subheadings can be included where necessary to break up the main text. But there is no strict hierarchical organization as required in a Review. Similarly, there are no subsections on introduction, results, or discussion.
Generally, the total words for the main text (including references, figure legends, and tables) are expected to be no more than 3000, with less than 30 references and 3 figures/tables. Additional detailed description on the topic, references, figures, and tables should be submitted as the Supplementary material.
Highlights comment on recent advances, which were reported by JMCB (and other breaking papers) in a certain field. A Highlight piece is intended for general readership, and thus it should be readily accessible to the non-expert audience without a need to look into additional literatures. ‘
Each Highlight should be contributed by no more than 3 authors. There is no abstract or subsection. Generally, the total words for the main text (including references and figure legend) are expected to be no more than 1000, with less than 10 references and 1 figure.
Research Advances are to discuss more about the authors' own findings in one or several papers recently published by top-impact journals in the field. Intended for expert audience who would like to explore the whole story, a Research Advance is expected to raise several possibilities to lead future research directions, e.g. some unproven hypothesis and the future work prospect. Research Advances follow the similar formatting guidelines as Highlights.
Retrospect essays are authored by respected and recognized researchers in a certain field to share with general audience the personal experiences, major events of the field, and stories behind those achievements.
Retrospect follow the similar formatting guidelines as Highlights, but may include up to 3 figures.
Meeting reports are short descriptions of key scientific progress presented and discussed at a conference that author(s) have attended. A meeting report is written by one or several attendees who aim to record the major talks during the conference. It is a summary of the latest advances in the field, but does not contain any detailed original data.
Meeting Reports follow the similar formatting guidelines as Highlights.