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Brilliance has an obligation not only to create but also to communicate.
J.R. Platt
Instructions to Authors
You are submitting a manuscript for publication in the Journal
of Experimental Biosciences; Dr. Beason is the Editor-in-Chief,
and Dr. Caprette is an Associate Editor. It is a condition
of publication that manuscripts must be written in clear,
grammatical English (see McMillan, pp. 126-160 (3rd ed.)
or 167-205 (4th ed.)).
Your drafts as well as your final paper are expected to conform
to the following specifications.
Style and Organization
- Text must be typed in a font size of 12 points;
use either Times or Times New Roman
- Print on 8.5 x 11 paper; do NOT submit electronically
in PDF format or e-mail
- Use double spacing throughout; do NOT use a two
column layout
Special Note: you may use "single spacing" for the text associated with figure legends and table headings and footnotes.
- Use one-inch margins
- Do NOT use "double-sided" pages
- Arrange sections in the following order and start each
section on a NEW page (do not "number" the sections):
- Title page with each of the following
on separate lines:
- title of paper
- author
(give your name ONLY as the author)
- team members (list as "TEAM:" followed by names)
- complete
name(s) of institution(s)
- submission date (use correct format for recording
date)
- Honor code pledge: "On my honor,
I have neither given nor received any unauthorized
aid on this paper" [full
signature]
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods (can incorporate materials into methods)
- Results with Figures and Tables
("place" Tables and Figures within
the text just after you refer to them -- NOTE: journal
editors usually do this task; I want you to include figures
and table within the Results section because it's easier
to read your paper)
- Discussion (followed by Acknowledgements)
- References (must cite following the format in Protein Expression & Purification)
- Number ALL pages consecutively, including abstract,
references, tables, figures and figure legends; the title
page is page 1 (this page is NOT numbered) and the abstract
is page 2, and so on...
- Put your complete name (LAST name 1st)
at either the TOP RIGHT or TOP LEFT corner of EACH page
(except for the Title Page)
- Abbreviations must be given in ( ) immediately
AFTER the complete citation of the term within the text [e.g., adenosine deaminase (ADA)] . The
abbreviations of some important biochemical compounds,
e.g., ATP, NADH, DNA, and amino acids in proteins, need
not be defined.
Section Details
- Title (also see McMillan, pp. 52-55 (3rd ed.) or 69-72 (4th ed.))
*should be short and as informative as possible
*should NOT contain non-standard acronyms or abbreviations
*should NOT exceed two printed lines
- Abstract (also see McMillan, pp. 55-59 (3rd ed.) or 72-76 (4th ed.))
*is a SINGLE PARAGRAPH
*should succinctly and clearly describe the major findings reported in the manuscript--must contain SPECIFIC data
*must NOT exceed 250 words
*should NOT contain non-standard acronyms or abbreviations
*must STAND ALONE
*should NOT contain references
- Introduction (also see McMillan, pp. 59-61 (3rd ed.) or 76-78 (4th ed.))
*presents the purpose of the studies reported and their relationship to earlier work in the field
*should NOT be an exhaustive REVIEW of the literature
*generally, should NOT exceed TWO typed pages
- Materials and Methods (also see McMillan, pp. 61-66 (3rd ed.) or 78-83 (4th ed.))
*brief description but in sufficient detail to permit a reader to repeat the experiments without extensive reference to published studies
*truly new procedures should be described in detail
*well-established procedures, such as protein determination methods, should be cited ONLY by literature reference
procedures for measuring enzyme activity should be described in sufficient detail to permit a reader to repeat the experiments without extensive reference to published studies; for previously published assay methods, briefly describe the application of the method and cite the original report
*names of chemical or organic substances should follow the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUBMB Joint Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN); see IUBMB Nomenclature Home Page
- Results (also see McMillan, pp. 66-71 (3rd ed.) or 83-89 (4th ed.))
*give a straightforward report of the data
*only include data pertinent to overall GOAL of your study
*do NOT compare your findings with published studies
*do NOT discuss whether your findings are consistent with predictions
*do NOT speculate about your findings or their implications
*must include TEXT that DESCRIBES the data
*present results in figures and tables--use ( ) when referring to them in the text
*some results not requiring documentation can be given solely in the text
*if you use someone else's data, must state SOURCE of data
in the paper [cite it at the end of the figure legend and inside
the period: e.g., (Beason 2008).]
*number tables and figures with Arabic numerals in order of appearance
NOTE: tables and figures must STAND ALONE!
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS = ONE TABLE AND TWO FIGURES; you must include a purification table
- Discussion (also see McMillan, pp. 71-75 (3rd ed.) or 89-94 (4th ed.))
*concise (usually LESS than FOUR typed pages)
*focuses on the interpretation of the
results rather than a repetition of the Results section
- References (also see McMillan,
pp. 107-125 (3rd ed.) or 5-32, 149-153 (4th ed.))
*cited in the text by number rather than author and date; put the number for the reference in [ ] at the end of the appropriate sentence
*arrange the reference list in the order cited in the text
*references for journals and books should be in the following styles:
[1] R. Jayalakshmi, K. Sumathy, H. Balaram, Purification and characterization of recombinant Plasmodium falciparum adenylosuccinate synthetase expressed in Escherichia coli, Protein Express. Purif. 25 (2002) 66-72.
[2] R. Hesketh, The Oncogene FactsBook, Academic Press, San Diego, 1995.
[3] G.R. Mettam, L.B. Adams, How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.) Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc.,
New York, 1999, pp. 281-304.
NOTE: full titles of papers must be given; ALL of the authors' names must be given
***Do not use TEXTBOOKS as references for your
paper***
BASIC knowledge found in 2 or more textbooks does not have to be cited.
Additional Guidelines for Tables and Figures
Tables (also see McMillan, pp. 30-50 (3rd ed.) or 45-67 (4th ed.))
- must have a short explanatory title
- each column MUST have a heading with the appropriate units
- necessary abbreviations should be defined under the table
- you must have a MINIMUM of ONE TABLE in your
paper
Figures (also see McMillan, pp. 30-50 (3rd ed.) or 45-67 (4th ed.))
- must have a descriptive title
- the legend must contain sufficient detail to make the figure easily understood
**identify symbols and curves in the legend, not on the figure - appropriately sized numbers, letters, and symbols should be used; the image will be reduced.
- orient the figure appropriately on the page (we read pages vertically, not horizontally)
- numbers, letters, and symbols used in multi-paneled figures must be consistent
- the abscissa and ordinate must be clearly labeled with appropriately sized type, and units of measurement must be given
- figures drawn by hand are NOT acceptable
- you must have a MINIMUM of TWO FIGURES in your
paper
SPECIAL NOTE: Digital image acquisition and processing tools make manipulation and idealization of raw images an easy task.
Copyright, Acknowledgements,
and Intended Use
Created by B. Beason (bbeason@rice.edu), Rice University, 17 March 2006
Updated 2 May 2013