PLOS Biology Year in Review
2020 was a year to remember for PLOS Biology. We welcomed new editors, updated our journal look, and created even more choice in how researchers publish their findings. Discover journal updates, read a message from our Editor-in-Chief, explore new offerings, and more below.
2,064
Published authors
107
Countries represented by submitting authors
301
Published articles
4,036,107
Article Views
This year, we continued to receive and publish high-quality research across the biological sciences. Read some of our most cited publications from 2020.
Want more top research from the journal? Visit PLOS Biology Top 10% collection for top-cited articles from recent years.
“2020 has recently come to a close and what a year it has been for PLOS Biology — it has been difficult and exciting in equal measure. As we look back at what PLOS Biology has achieved in the midst of the pandemic maelstrom, we first and foremost would like to thank our authors, reviewers, and academic editors for another great year of open science, for entrusting their work to us, and for helping us assess its suitability for publication, all with patience and grace in the most difficult circumstances.
I joined PLOS Biology in March of this year, when we published our vision for the future of the journal as a catalyst of open science, emphasized our aim to serve all of the communities within the Life Sciences, and announced our intent to assess the research questions being asked rather than the nature of the results obtained in an effort to redress the bias against negative results. We also announced the launch of new article types — Pre-Registered Research Articles, Discovery Reports, and Update Articles — to better reflect the discovery process and our first Discovery Report; we look forward to seeing the new articles contribute to their fields and the opportunities they will bring to share research at different stages. We have spent time re-thinking our magazine section to ensure it stays relevant, dynamic, and thought-provoking, and will roll out a new layout in the new year. We also announced our aim to expand into communities that have been historically less well represented at the journal, and have started some of this work, which will continue into 2021 and include an expansion of the editorial board into new or underserved areas.
As we reflect on last year, which was so difficult for so many people, we again thank you for your contributions and look forward excitedly to the future. We wish you a safe and happy 2021 and look forward to working with you again in the new year.”

Nonia Parente, Editor in Chief orcid.org/0000-0002-3666-5683
npariente@plos.org
This year, we welcomed three new editors to our team! Please give a warm welcome to
We also launched a new Meet Your Editor blog series featuring in-depth chats with our current staff editors.
In 2020, PLOS Biology articles were referenced 7,610 times by media outlets around the world. Explore articles that made the news.
Ready to share your study with a wider audience? Help more people read, see, and cite your published research with our Author Media Toolkit
More Ways to Publish
This year, we introduced two new research article types designed for authors looking to share earlier and publish findings as their work progresses.
In November we announced the launch of Community Action Publishing, a new publishing model for PLOS Biology and PLOS Medicine designed to make these selective journals both open to read and open to publish.
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