Journal of Molecular Biology

Journal of Molecular Biology
Title	Journal of Molecular Biology
Discipline	Molecular biology
Abbreviation	J. Mol. Biol.
Publisher	Elsevier
History	1959–present
Frequency	Biweekly
Issn	0022-2836

Journal of Molecular Biology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research on molecular mechanisms of biological processes, structural biology, and biomolecular interactions. Founded in 1959, it has chronicled advances in protein structure, nucleic acids, enzymology, and macromolecular assemblies. The journal has featured landmark studies that influenced work at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, and Max Planck Society.

History

The journal was established in 1959 amid contemporaneous developments at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and California Institute of Technology. Early volumes reflected breakthroughs associated with figures at King's College London, University of Oxford, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of California, Berkeley. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s it published influential reports tied to laboratories at Rockefeller University, University of Chicago, Institute Pasteur, Weizmann Institute of Science, and Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique. The journal adapted editorial practices in response to shifts from classical biochemistry at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to structural biology at Brookhaven National Laboratory and cryo-electron microscopy advances at European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Scope and Editorial Policy

Journal scope encompasses studies linking structure to function, including research from groups at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Riken, University of Washington, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and EMBL-EBI. Manuscripts report experimentally grounded work on proteins, nucleic acids, membranes, and molecular machines originating from centers like Broad Institute, Wadsworth Center, Institut Pasteur, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Karolinska Institutet. The editorial policy emphasizes hypothesis-driven research and rigorous methods used by investigators affiliated with University of Tokyo, Peking University, University of Toronto, McGill University, and University of Melbourne. Peer review is handled by external reviewers drawn from networks including National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, European Research Council, and leading university departments.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic services such as Science Citation Index, MEDLINE, Scopus, and EMBASE. Abstracting coverage extends to databases maintained by organizations like Web of Science Group, Clarivate Analytics, National Library of Medicine, and Elsevier B.V. subscription platforms used by libraries at Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and Cornell University. Abstracts and citations appear in aggregators connected to consortia including HathiTrust, JSTOR, and digital infrastructures supported by CrossRef.

Impact and Reception

The journal has been influential in molecular life sciences, with citation patterns reflecting contributions from labs at University of California, San Francisco, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Impact metrics reported by agencies such as Clarivate and Scopus show prominence among specialty journals alongside titles published by Nature Publishing Group, Cell Press, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Reviews and retrospectives in venues associated with Royal Society meetings and conferences hosted by Gordon Research Conferences have highlighted the journal's role in disseminating structural and mechanistic insights.

Notable Articles and Contributions

The journal has published pivotal work tracing lineage from crystallographic reports at University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of Cambridge to enzymology papers emerging from University of Göttingen and ETH Zurich. Landmark contributions have included structural descriptions of enzymes from groups at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, nucleic acid studies connected to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and mechanistic enzyme kinetics tied to Michigan State University. Influential theoretical and methodological pieces originated from teams at Cornell University, Brown University, Duke University, Imperial College London, and University of Bristol.

Editors and Editorial Board

Editorial leadership has comprised eminent scientists affiliated with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, University of Cambridge Department of Biochemistry, Yale School of Medicine, and the Salk Institute. The editorial board draws specialists from institutions such as University of Edinburgh, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, University of Helsinki, and National University of Singapore, with international representation from Seoul National University, University of São Paulo, University of Cape Town, and Russian Academy of Sciences.

Publication and Access Model

Published by Elsevier, the journal follows a subscription-based model with hybrid open-access options supported by article processing charges used by authors at Wellcome Trust-funded groups, European Research Council projects, and investigators backed by National Science Foundation. Electronic distribution is coordinated through platforms relied upon by libraries at British Library, Library of Congress, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and institutional repositories at University of Oxford and University of Sydney. Archival access and licensing arrangements intersect with agreements negotiated by consortia such as COUNTER, SPARC, and national negotiations in jurisdictions including Germany, United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.

Category:Scientific journals