Genome Biology

Genome Biology is an online partially open access scientific journal that publishes original, peer-reviewed research in genomics. It is published by BioMed Central (BMC), and is currently the BMC journal with the highest impact factor.^[1] Unlike the majority of journals published by BMC, however, it is not entirely free to access: although all research articles are free, editorial and review articles require a subscription.

The particular details of this journal's peer-review policy are described here.^[2] Furthermore, submitters are asked to disclose conflicts of interest.^[3]

The journal is supported in part by advertising.^[4]

Impact factor

According to the publisher (BioMed Central), the journal has a (2012) impact factor of 10.3 as tracked by Thomson Reuters (ISI).^[5]

Contents

According to the editors of Genome Biology, the journal aims to disseminate, discuss, and provide critical review of information in all fields of biology (including molecular biology, cell biology, organism, and population biology that rely on information from genomic research.^[6] Genomic research encompasses the results and analysis of data obtained from fields that include proteomics, comparative biology, sequence analysis, and bioinformatics.

Categories of articles in the journal include:

• Research: These are Peer reviewed research papers
• Method: These are reviews and evaluations of newly developed techniques for studies in genomic research (such as kits and software)
• Commentary/Editorial: These are comments on scientific, political, and medical issues relating to genomic research
• Meeting report: These are summaries of information presented at conferences
• Opinion: These include interviews with researchers

Publication format

Genome Biology is published online only. There is no physical printed version.^[7]

Article accessibility

Accessibility to each article is either free (by open access) or requires a subscription depending on the article's category:

• Research articles: Free
• Methods articles: Free
• All other articles (Opinion, Commentary/Editorial, Meeting reports,etc.): Require a subscription

2011 Subscription rates for North/South America:

• Personal: $153/year^[8]
• Student: $82/year^[9]

Most popular articles

The journal tracks the number of times each article is accessed on its website and uses this information to compile list of its most popular articles by ranking.^[10]

The list of the most popular articles on the journal's website as of November 11, 2011 includes the following Research articles:

• The draft genome and transcriptome of Cannabis sativa (by) Harm van Bakel, Jake M Stout, Atina G Cote, Carling M Tallon, Andrew G Sharpe, Timothy R Hughes, Jonathan E Page. Genome Biology 2011, 12:R102 (20 October 2011)^[11]

• Evaluation of genomic high-throughput sequencing data generated on Illumina HiSeq and Genome Analyzer systems (by) Andre E Minoche, Juliane C Dohm, Heinz Himmelbauer. Genome Biology 2011, 12:R112 (8 November 2011)^[12]

Sources of revenue

In addition to the more traditional forms of revenue- subscription and advertising, the journal charges a fee (to the submitting author/s or institution) for each article in the Research or Method article that is accepted for publishing.^[13] The latter fee is explained by the editors on the journal website to be the cost of processing and publishing of articles in the Research and Method categories which are made freely accessible (by open access) and thus do not generate any revenue.^[14]

References