World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Current Biology
H-index 93

Current Biology

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Molecular Biology 15 133 180 41
Biology and Biochemistry 32 694 843 66

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 2991
Documents by Best Scientists*: 2779
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 104
SCIMAGO H-index: 376
SCIMAGO SJR: 2.707
Impact Factor: 7.5

Overview

Top Research Topics at Current Biology?

The main points discussed in the journal deals with Cell biology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Ecology and Evolutionary biology. It dives deep in exploring the relationship between the study of Cell biology and Biochemistry. As a part of it, discussions in Genetics involve topics like Gene and Genome.

Most of the works presented in the journal deals with Neuroscience but it intersects with the subject of Anatomy.

  • Cell biology (29.59%)
  • Genetics (13.18%)
  • Neuroscience (12.82%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Theory of mind. (3160 citations)
  • Identification of tissue-specific microRNAs from mouse (2880 citations)
  • ROS Function in Redox Signaling and Oxidative Stress (2722 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Current Biology:

The main points discussed in the published articles deal with Cell biology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Molecular biology and Gene. The published articles connects research in Cell biology with the related topics of Biochemistry. Most of the Neuroscience studies addressed in the published papers also intersect with Anatomy.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Gene
  • Internal medicine
  • Ecology

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal focuses largely on the fields of Neuroscience, Cell biology, Evolutionary biology, Ecology and Sensory system. Visual cortex, Optogenetics, Biological neural network, Hippocampus and Cortex (anatomy) are Neuroscience topics of special interest in the journal. The journal addresses concerns in Cell biology which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Cell, Cytoskeleton and Mutant.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Genomes of Pleistocene Siberian Wolves Uncover Multiple Extinct Wolf Lineages. (46 citations)
  • The Function and Evolution of Motile DNA Replication Systems in Ciliates (31 citations)
  • Turning the tide of parachute science. (21 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Current Biology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Nigel Williams (486 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Michael Gross (329 papers) published 18 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
  • Bernard Dixon (49 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Vincent Walsh (45 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Florian Maderspacher (44 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Current Biology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Max Planck Society (720 papers) published 41 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Harvard University (651 papers) published 20 papers at the last edition, 12 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Oxford (563 papers) published 30 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Cambridge (552 papers) published 11 papers at the last edition, 26 less than at the previous edition,
  • University College London (490 papers) published 19 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 5.01% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 20.70% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 10.54% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 20.58% of all publications and 48.18% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in the Field of Research

One major aspect of research in Current Biology is the vast career opportunities it presents for those intrigued by its exciting findings. This journal focuses on a broad range of biology fields, such as cell biology, genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, thereby offering an expansive platform for professionals in different specialities. For instance, there's a significant demand for nutritionists, especially in states like California, where an emphasis on healthy living is more pronounced. Nutritionists utilize the findings of such research to inform their daily working routine, advising clients based on scientific findings. To gain more insight, read through this guide on how to become a nutritionist in California. Additionally, findings of Current biology can be key for those in the environmental conservation field. The data on ecology and evolutionary biology provide insight into environmental conservation strategies, species preservation, and even predictions on ecological changes. Professionals dealing with genetics and genetic disorders also heavily utilize current biology. Those interested in fields working with genetics, such as genetic counselling, can augment their knowledge and skills based on the research presented in this journal. Nonetheless, all these professionals necessitate a solid understanding of the latest breakthroughs and knowledge in their fields, which are provided by Current Biology. Therefore, avid researchers who are also career-driven will find great use for the wealth of information in the journal.

Top Publications

  • Probable Pangolin Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Associated with the COVID-19 Outbreak.

    Tao Zhang;Qunfu Wu;Zhigang Zhang

    (2020)
    1683 Citations
  • The tumor microenvironment.

    Nicole M. Anderson;M. Celeste Simon

    (2020)
    1613 Citations
  • Ferroptosis

    (2020)
    668 Citations
  • A Novel Bat Coronavirus Closely Related to SARS-CoV-2 Contains Natural Insertions at the S1/S2 Cleavage Site of the Spike Protein.

    Hong Zhou;Xing Chen;Tao Hu;Juan Li

    (2020)
    610 Citations
  • A genome-scale phylogeny of the kingdom Fungi.

    Yuanning Li;Jacob L. Steenwyk;Ying Chang;Yan Wang

    (2021)
    354 Citations
  • The origins and potential future of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

    Sarah P. Otto;Troy Day;Julien Arino;Caroline Colijn

    (2021)
    307 Citations
  • Growth–defense trade-offs in plants

    (2022)
    253 Citations
  • Chromatin Organization in Early Land Plants Reveals an Ancestral Association between H3K27me3, Transposons, and Constitutive Heterochromatin

    Sean A. Montgomery;Yasuhiro Tanizawa;Bence Galik;Nan Wang

    (2020)
    245 Citations
  • Trophic Interactions and the Drivers of Microbial Community Assembly

    Matti Gralka;Rachel Szabo;Roman Stocker;Otto X. Cordero

    (2020)
    228 Citations
  • Phylogenomic Evidence for the Monophyly of Bryophytes and the Reductive Evolution of Stomata

    Brogan J. Harris;C. Jill Harrison;Alistair M. Hetherington;Tom A. Williams

    (2020)
    191 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal