About the Journal

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Fair Play
Elimination of Libel and Copyright Infringement
Elimination of the Plagiarism
Editors Responsibilities
Authors Responsibilities
Reviewers Responsibilities

The Journal publishes articles in all fields of modern biology, including biochemistry and genetics, zoology and botany, animal and plant physiology, mycology, microbiology, soil science, ecology, cryobiology, etc., as well as materials about events in scientific life and descriptions of original methods and devices in the field of biology.

The goal of the Journal is to cover research results in different fields of biology, to review and analyze the experience of setting and solving theoretical and practical problems in Ukrainian and foreign biological studies, and to display methodological searches within modern biology.

The mission of the Journal is to contribute to the development of a wide range of modern research approaches in the field of biological disciplines, to present results of theoretical and experimental studies within the Ukrainian academic space, as well as in the international arena. The Journal seeks to promote the development of biological research in the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, to support the integration of university scientists into the Ukrainian and international scientific community.

The Scope of the Journal:

Cell and Molecular Biology: cell signaling and communication pathways, membrane dynamics and organelle biogenesis, cytoskeletal architecture, mechanisms of cell adhesion, apoptosis, autophagy, necrosis, stem cell biology, cell cycle and division, chromosomal organization, transposable elements, nuclear architecture, and nucleocytoplasmic transport.

Biochemistry and Genetics: gene expression regulation including transcription, splicing, RNA stability, translation, RNA interference, and circadian rhythms; DNA recombination, repair, and replication; epigenetic mechanisms; protein structure-function relationships, post-translational modifications, and metabolism of nucleic acids and proteins.

Microbiology, Mycology, and Virology: antimicrobial resistance, microbial genetics, host–pathogen interactions, cellular microbiology, infectious diseases, microbial biofilms and microbiomes, archaeal biology, fungal physiology and taxonomy, viruses and virus–host dynamics, and unicellular parasites.

Zoology, Botany, and Physiology: morphology, taxonomy, and ecology of invertebrate and vertebrate animals; physiology of humans and animals; structure, function, and adaptation of plants; mechanisms of plant growth and development; and environmental influences on organismal physiology.

Ecology and Soil Biology: ecosystem structure and function, biodiversity conservation, monitoring of protected areas, urban ecology, biological and chemical indicators of soil health, and soil biota dynamics under natural and anthropogenic pressure.

Cryobiology: cellular and molecular responses to low-temperature stress, cryopreservation techniques, physiological adaptations to freezing conditions, and cryoprotectant development.

Biotechnology and Research Methodology: biotechnological applications in physiology and genetics, visualization and microscopy techniques, proteomics and systems biology, bioinformatics approaches, and the development and optimization of experimental devices and protocols.

The Journal is recommended for teachers, researchers, graduate students and students specializing in biology or adjacent fields of science.

The articles in Ukrainian and English, positively estimated by reviewers are published.

The Journal has been registered by the order of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 1643 of 28.12.2019, and included in the list of scientific specialized editions of Ukraine (category “B”, specialty: 091).

ISSN 2075-5457 (print), ISSN 2220-9697 (online)

Publisher / Founder: V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University

Assigning a Digital Object Identifier (DOI): DOI: 10.26565/2075-5457

Peer Review Process

Basic Rules

A paper review is realised in a form of double-blind peer review (neither author nor reviewer knows about each other).
Articles are published after receiving positive reviews from two reviewers.
Correspondence of the papers with the scientific specialization of the journal shall be determined by the Editor-in-chief (or Deputy Chief Editor) who appoints two reviewers for each article. Reviewers estimate the possibility of the paper publication and recommend to make corrections if necessary. Members of the editorial board of the journal – specialists in the subject to which the submitted manuscript belongs are involved in the review, as well as researchers of corresponding departments and laboratories of the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, and also researchers from other institutions whose interests coincide with the topic of the work. Duration of review – up to two months.
Editor-in-chief, Deputy Chief Editor and Executive Secretary have the right to add the own comments to the expert remarks. If the reviewers' evaluation of a certain article differ, the Editorial board makes a special decision: to accept/reject those articles or to assign new reviewers.
Rejected papers may not be considered again, except in the case of their radical processing and resubmission.
The Editorial board does not discuss the reasons of manuscript rejection with authors.

Review procedure

After receiving the manuscript, the editorial board within two days informs the author about acceptance of the article for consideration.
The Editorial office sends manuscripts to reviewers and receives text reviews from them.
The Editorial office makes a list of reviewers’ remarks and sends it to the author.
The revised paper shall be submitted for consideration of the previous experts. Along with the revised version of the manuscript, the author should send a response letter – a list of comments and questions of the reviewers and all changes made to the manuscript. Reconsideration of the paper lasts up to two months.
If the conclusions of the reviewers are positive, this is one of the key reasons to accept the paper for publication.
If the paper is rejected, the editorial office informs the author by e-mail about the reasons for the refusal.

Publication Frequency

The journal is semi-annual.

Open Access Policy

This Journal practices a policy of immediate open access to published content, supporting the principles of the free dissemination of scientific information (Open Access) and the global exchange of knowledge for the sake of general social progress.

Authorship and AI tools

Authors should not list AI-assisted technologies, such as LLMs, chatbots, or image creators, as authors or co-authors. AI tools used in research or manuscript preparation must be transparently disclosed in the cover letter, acknowledgments, and methods section. Authors are responsible for accuracy, avoiding plagiarism, and guarding against AI-induced bias. Editors may reject manuscripts for inappropriate AI use, and reviewers must refrain from AI-generated reviews to maintain confidentiality.

AI-generated images and other multimedia are not allowed in our journal without explicit permission from the editors. Exceptions may be considered for content in manuscript directly related to AI or machine learning, subject to evaluation on an individual basis.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Relationships between authors, editors and reviewers in our journal are based on academic benevolence, objectivity of ratings and priority of scientific quality. We are following the principles of Code of Conduct for Editors as defined by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE), in particular

Fair Play

Manuscripts shall be evaluated for their scientific quality, regardless of the author’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality or political opinions.

Elimination of Libel and Copyright Infringement

Our Journal rejects any material that breaks legal requirements regarding libel and copyright infringement.

Elimination of the Plagiarism

We check all submitted materials for plagiarism with the help of StrikePlagiarism.com.

If plagiarism is detected, the manuscript is rejected.

Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to reproduce illustrations, tables, and figures taken from other authors and/or sources. Permission must be placed at the foot of each figure.

Investigation and Handling of Allegations of Research Misconduct

The editorial board of the journal takes all reasonable measures to prevent the publication of materials involving violations of academic integrity. Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, and inappropriate attribution or exclusion of authorship.

The journal does not tolerate or knowingly permit any form of research misconduct by authors, reviewers, or editors. If any form of misconduct is discovered during the peer review process or after publication, the editors are committed to acting in accordance with the COPE guidelines
or equivalent international standards.

Allegations of research misconduct may be submitted by any party. All such reports will be treated confidentially. If the misconduct is confirmed, possible outcomes include retraction of the article, publication of a correction or editorial statement, and notification of the author's affiliated institution.

Publication Ethics

The journal adheres to the principles of publication ethics as recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and maintains a clear and transparent policy regarding the key components of scholarly publishing.

Authorship and Contributions: An author is defined as someone who meets all of the following criteria: made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the study; participated in drafting the manuscript or in its critical revision for intellectual content; approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all individuals who meet the criteria for authorship are listed as authors, and that no individuals who do not qualify are included. The corresponding author must also confirm that all co-authors have seen and approved the final manuscript and have agreed to its submission.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., those providing technical support, data collection assistance, language editing, or general supervision) should be acknowledged appropriately either in an “Acknowledgements” section or in a footnote on the title page. Authors must obtain permission from all individuals mentioned in the acknowledgements.
Authors are also required to provide accurate information about their institutional affiliations, academic degrees, and specific contributions to the manuscript. The journal reserves the right to request a description of each author's role according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) model to ensure transparency of contributions.
Complaints and Appeals: Authors and readers have the right to submit complaints or appeals regarding editorial decisions, the peer review process, or published content. All such submissions will be reviewed independently, confidentially, and impartially. The editorial board may reconsider a manuscript or appoint an independent reviewer if necessary.
Conflict of Interest: All participants in the publishing process (authors, reviewers, and editors) must disclose any potential or actual conflicts of interest that could influence the objectivity of the review or publication process. A statement regarding conflicts of interest will be included in the article when relevant.
Data Sharing and Reproducibility: The journal encourages open access to the data underpinning published research. Where feasible, authors should provide links to public data repositories or otherwise ensure that underlying data are accessible to allow for verification, reanalysis, and reproducibility of results.
Ethical Oversight: All research involving humans or animals must comply with relevant international ethical standards and must include a statement confirming ethical approval by a recognized ethics committee or institutional review board.
Intellectual Property: Manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere. All reused materials (including figures, tables, or extended quotations) must be properly cited with clear permission or copyright attribution where necessary. Breaches of copyright or duplicate submission will result in rejection or retraction.
Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections: After publication, the editorial team may receive reports of errors, inaccuracies, or ethical concerns. In such cases, corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions may be issued. The journal supports constructive post-publication commentary where appropriate.

Editors Responsibilities

The Editor-in-chief shall be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and consults with other editors or reviewers about the decision to publish.

Editors

have full authority to reject or accept the article, guided by objective scientific criteria and the conclusions of reviewers;
guarantee the quality of materials that they publish or approve for publication;
contribute to the correction of errors found or reject materials in the event that such correction is impossible for one reason or another;
should identify any conflicts of interest;
should ensure the confidentiality of information relating to submitted manuscripts;
undertake to defend the freedom of scientific expression

If editors have suspicions about the authenticity, originality or ethical correctness of submitted paper, its publication is postponed until all doubts are eliminated. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in editors' own research without the express written consent of the author.

Authors Responsibilities

Authors must:

ensure that they have written truly original works;
have significant contribution to the research (if a paper has several authors);
guarantee obtained permission for use of copyrighted materials;
certify that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere;
identify all sources used in the creation of their manuscript;
disclose in their manuscript any substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the assessment of their manuscript.

Information obtained by authors privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. By submitting an article to the editorial board, the authors agree that (in the case of publication in the paper version of the Journal) their text will be automatically published in the online version of the Journal (under open access).

Ethical Standards and Bioethics

Authors must ensure that research involving humans or animals complies with international ethical standards. For human studies, authors must confirm that the research was approved by an appropriate ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA, 2013). For animal research, compliance with institutional and national guidelines, such as Directive 2010/63/EU on animal welfare (EU law), must be stated. A statement on ethical approval, including the name of the committee and approval number, should be included in the manuscript.

The journal adheres to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors are expected to follow COPE’s Core Practices and to be able to provide evidence of ethical approval and informed consent upon editorial request.

Preprint Policy

The journal accepts submissions of manuscripts previously posted on recognized preprint servers such as bioRxiv, medRxiv, arXiv, etc. Authors must disclose any preprint version at the time of submission and provide a DOI or permanent link. Citing preprints in submitted manuscripts is allowed, but such citations should be clearly marked as [Preprint].

Preprints are not considered prior publication and do not affect the editorial decision. If accepted, authors are encouraged to link the final published version to the original preprint record.

Patient Consent and Confidentiality

If a manuscript includes identifiable patient data, photographs, or clinical details, authors must obtain written informed consent for publication from each individual (or their legal guardian). This applies even if identifying features (e.g., eyes) are masked, as full anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Consent forms may follow institutional templates or adhere to recognized standards such as the Nature Publishing Group consent form (or equivalent).

Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that informed consent has been obtained. Identifiable personal information must not be published unless essential to the research and explicit consent is provided. When consent is not obtainable and the information is anonymized, authors must ensure the risk of identification is minimal.

Exceptions: Consent is generally not required for anonymized diagnostic images such as X-rays, ultrasounds, and pathology slides, unless they contain identifying features. If reusing previously published images, authors must ensure the original publication obtained the relevant consent.

Biosecurity

The journal recognizes the dual-use nature of some biological research. Editors reserve the right to seek expert advice during peer review for submissions that raise biosecurity or biosafety concerns, such as research involving pathogens, toxins, or techniques that could potentially be misused. Final editorial decisions in such cases rest with the Editor-in-Chief. For guidance, authors may consult relevant international documents, such as the NSABB's Dual Use Research of Concern policy (NIH NSABB).

Data Protection and Participant Rights

Research participants have a right to control how their personal, identifiable data are used and published. Authors must obtain informed consent before publishing personal data, interview transcripts, genetic profiles, or photographs, especially in studies involving vulnerable populations (e.g., minors, refugees, or patients).

Identifying details—such as names, birth dates, biometrics (e.g., facial features, fingerprints), and voice patterns—should only be published with explicit written permission. If any doubt exists regarding anonymization, consent must be obtained. Authors should follow data protection laws such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (GDPR Info) when handling sensitive data.

If consent is not required due to anonymization, authors must describe in the manuscript how de-identification was achieved. For genetic or biometric data, explicit participant consent for publication is always required. All personal data must be handled with transparency and integrity, and the editorial team may request documentation as needed.

Reviewers Responsibilities

Reviewers must:

notify Editorial staff of any conflicts of interests that may determine their findings;
protect the confidentiality of information relating to the manuscript;
be objective and constructive in their reviews.

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in reviewers' own research without the express written consent of the author.

Archiving

Open Journal Systems supports the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) system to ensure a secure and permanent archive for journal content. The LOCKSS Program is an open-source, based at Stanford University Libraries. It provides libraries and publishers open source digital preservation tools to preserve and provide access to persistent and authoritative digital content.

See LOCKSS Publisher Manifest page.

We also use Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine to store the archive of our journal.

Indexing

1. WorldCat

2. Google Scholar

3. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory

4. Web of Science (Zoological Record)

5. BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine)

6. DOAJ