ABBS publishes papers based on original research that are judged, after editorial review, to make a novel and important contribution to the understanding of any area of biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology or cell biology. Manuscripts may be submitted for consideration as regular papers. ABBS also publishes reviews, most of which are by invitation only.

        It is the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief, the Editors, and the Editorial Board to determine the suitability of a manuscript for publication. After receipt of a manuscript by the Administrator, it is checked for suitability and then sent to the Editor-in-Chief who usually assigns it to a member of the Editorial Board. The Board member then invite reviewers and makes a recommendation for acceptance, revision, or declination based on the scientific merit and technical quality of the studies reported and the reviewers' comments and suggestions.

        All Board members and reviewers who review a manuscript remain unknown to the authors. Every manuscript is treated by the editors and reviewers as privileged information, and they are instructed to exclude themselves from review of any manuscript that might involve a conflict of interest or the appearance thereof.

        The primary criteria for judging the acceptability of a manuscript are its novelty and scientific importance. Manuscripts judged lacking in these respects will be declined, even if the experimental work appears technically sound. This policy permits declination of a manuscript solely on the Editorial Board' s judgment that the studies reported are not sufficiently novel or important to merit publication in ABBS.

        As a condition of publication, all authors must transfer copyright to Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Manuscripts submitted under multiple authorship are reviewed on the assumption that all listed authors concur in the submission and that the final version of the manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors.