eLife facts for kids

eLife is a special kind of magazine called a scientific journal. It publishes new discoveries in medicine and life sciences. This means it covers topics like how our bodies work and how living things grow.

eLife is different because it is peer-reviewed. This means other expert scientists check the articles before they are published. It is also open access. This means anyone can read the articles for free online.

The journal was started in late 2012. Three big groups helped create it: the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Max Planck Society, and Wellcome Trust. They provided the money to get the journal running.

The main editor, called the editor-in-chief, is Randy Schekman. He works at the University of California, Berkeley. Other senior editors and scientists also help decide which papers get published. These scientists work in many different fields. This includes human genetics, neuroscience (the study of the brain), and epidemiology (the study of diseases).

How eLife Works

Publishing New Discoveries

eLife publishes important new research. When scientists want to share their work, they send it to eLife. The journal then makes sure the research is good and ready to be shared with the world.

Paying for Publication

Since 2017, scientists who want their papers published in eLife need to pay a fee. This fee is USD$2,500 for each paper. This money helps the journal cover its costs.

Finding eLife Articles

You can find eLife articles in many important science databases. These include Medline, Scopus, and Science Citation Index Expanded. Being in these databases helps other scientists find and read the research.

In 2016, eLife had an impact factor of 7.725. An impact factor shows how often articles from a journal are used by other scientists. However, eLife says it does not want to advertise its impact factor. They believe the quality of the research is more important.

Easy-to-Understand Summaries

Most articles in eLife have something called an "eLife digest." This is a short, simple summary of the article. It is written for people who are not scientists. This makes it easier for everyone to understand new discoveries.

Since December 2014, eLife has also shared some of these digests on Medium. This helps even more people learn about the latest science news.

See also

• In Spanish: ELife para niños