Instruction for Authors

As of January 1, 2020, Comptes Rendus Biologies no longer accepts unsolicited submissions. Only articles requested by the Editorial Board will be published.

Preparation of the manuscript
- Submission elements
- Article template and general instructions
Composition recommendations
Open Data Policy
Copyright
Ethical Code
Printing

Preparation of the manuscript

Authors can submit their manuscript in Word, OpenOffice or TeX (TeX is preferred wherever possible).

Submission elements

All LaTeX submissions must include at least 3 elements:

The full text of the article (including a short abstract and 5 to 7 keywords), in TeX format (source file) ;
The full text of the article (including a short abstract and 5 to 7 keywords), in PDF format (compiled file);
The bibliography of the article in BIB format.

Word or OpenOffice submissions must include 2 elements:

The full text of the article (including a short abstract and 5 to 7 keywords), in Word / OpenOffice format (source file) ;
The full text of the article (including a short abstract and 5 to 7 keywords), in PDF format (compiled file).

In addition to these mandatory files, please remember to include :

Any additional material (also to be provided in several files: TeX or Word source file, PDF compilation, and BIB bibliography for TeX material if applicable) ;
Source files of all your illustrations (see below);
And, in general, all the source files needed to compile the text of your article.

If you have forgotten any files during your initial submission:

If the missing files are numerous and/or significantly change the content of the submission, please abandon the initial submission and make a new submission;
Otherwise, please open a discussion in OJS with the editor, attaching the file(s) and asking the editor to add them.

Article template and general instructions

Word Formats

Please provide your text file in the native format of the software used to create it (.docx for recent versions of Word, .doc for older versions);
The text must be presented in a single column;
Make sure that the layout of the text is as simple as possible;
Please number the lines of your document before exporting it in PDF¹;
Note that most formatting codes will be removed and replaced when the article is processed. In particular, do not use the word processing options to justify the text or to separate words with dashes. However, do use bold, italics, subscripts, superscripts, etc.;
Note that source files for illustrations and tables will be required whether or not you incorporate them into the text.

LaTeX Formats

Authors are asked to use the journal's LaTeX class file and bibtex style.

To write your article, please use preferably TeX, Plain Tex or LaTeX, or possibly AMS-Tex or TeXTURE. Macros must be provided with TeX files (avoid DVI format).

Composition recommendations

Language and length

Articles are not limited in length and can be as flexible as required (number of figures, associated data, etc.).

Articles will be made fully available to the public in French and English, via a dedicated interface directly linked to the Comptes Rendus Biologies website.

The submitted article may, as desired:

Include both English and French versions, both written by the authors (preferred, feel free to use automatic proofreaders like DeepL if necessary);
Include only one of the two versions, English or French, in which case the translated version will be written by the journal's secretariat using automatic translation software. This original version will be indexed in Pubmed.

In both cases, please provide a title, an abstract and keywords in French and in English (translation from English to French can be done by the journal's secretariat upon request).

Mandatory elements

Bibliographical information

This information is intended to ensure that your article is properly referenced (in databases and in future citations by other texts). It must include :

A short but explicit title (please use colons ":" only to separate your title from any subtitle);
The names of all the authors:
- giving their full first names,
- including an asterisk after the name of the author to whom correspondence and proofs should be sent;
Contact details for all authors:
- professional e-mail address (it is essential to provide all these addresses in order to validate the submission of your manuscript),
- affiliation at the time of submission of the manuscript (if necessary, remember to have these affiliations checked by your supervisory institution before your article is sent to our layout department),
- full professional postal address for corresponding author only;
An abstract for your article, no longer than 250 words;
3 to 7 kewords describing the subject of your article, so that it can be better indexed in international databases. Please use American spelling in English, and avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts ("and" or "of", for example, should be avoided).

Please note that all this information must appear in the files submitted by the author and be entered (for the most part) in the journal's editorial software. In the event of discrepancies between the two sources, only the information entered in the editorial software will be taken into account.

Full text of the article

The body text of your article must be :

double-spaced ;
with numbered lines and pages;
organised in clearly defined sections, numbered in Roman numerals and with their own headings:
any sub-sections must also be numbered, explaining how they are arranged in the document: 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc.), 1.2, 1.3, etc.
use this numbering for your internal cross-references (e.g. "see section 1.2.4") ;
including figures, illustrations, graphs and tables where you want them to appear in your article, each accompanied by a caption (see below).

Your article must include certain sections:

Declaration of interests: if you have no conflict of interest to declare, please include the following statement: "The authors do not work for, advise, own shares in, or receive funds from any organisation that could benefit from this article, and have declared no affiliation other than their research organisations" ;
References: list of all bibliographical references included in your text (see below), excluding any other information (bibliographical or otherwise).

Optional elements

Bibliographic information

Funding: indicate here, for each author concerned, the information relating to the funding specifically responsible for the results obtained (calls for projects and grants in particular), taking care to comply with the requirements of your funding body (e.g.: "This work has been supported by the European Research Council, as part of the Horizon Europe research programme - Grant Agreement n°[yyyy]. If the funding comes from a global grant (other than the funds allocated by the parent organisation in the ordinary course of research), simply indicate the name of the institute or organisation that provided the funding.
Note: specify here whether your article is submitted at the invitation of the editorial committee, or if it is the result of a specific event (symposium, prize-giving ceremony, etc.).

Special sections in the text

Acknowledgements: list here the people who provided you with help during your research (e.g. advice on your work, provision of data, spelling/typing correction, etc.). These acknowledgements should not be included on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise, but collected in a separate section at the end of the article, before the references. They are distinct from specific funding information, which must appear in the bibliographic information.
Dedication: a one-sentence dedication of the article may be included in a separate paragraph after the "Acknowledgements" section.
Notes (endnotes or footnotes): present in the form of notes (numbered consecutively throughout the article) any additional information you would like readers to know, in particular to comment on certain references in the body of the text. Bibliographical information and the Declaration of interests, Acknowledgements, Dedication and References sections should not include notes of this type.

References

All articles submitted for publication in Comptes Rendus Biologies must be supported by reliable scientific sources. Manuscripts without bibliographical references will be rejected without evaluation.

In the body of the text

The sources underlying your article must all be mentioned in the body of your article, regardless of :

when they were written or published;
their target audience (general public, amateurs, professionals, scientific community, etc.);
their type (web page, journal article, book, conference proceedings, encyclopedia entry, dataset, image, source code, manuscript, archive document, etc.);
the language in which they were written;
their publication status (preprint, published article, etc.):
- if the cited document has not yet been accepted for publication, please cite the publicly available preprint,
- if the cited document has several versions (e.g. arXiv manuscripts, datasets, etc.), please specify which version you consulted at the time of writing,
- if your article is intended for inclusion in a special issue of Comptes Rendus, please wait until all your bibliographical references have been accepted for publication before citing them.

Please also mention the exact source of figures and illustrations (if not originals). For any photograph or image reproduction, please mention the original archive or publication, in addition to the source of the image itself.

Instructions for presenting references in the body of the text:

Indicate the surname(s) of the author(s) in right square brackets, followed by the year of publication. If your reference has more than 3 authors, indicate only the first, followed by et al. e.g. [Cossart et al. 2020] ;
If you wish to cite several references at the same time, separate them with a semicolon and present them in alphabetical order of authors. E.g. [Cossart 2020; Weissenbach, 2018];
If you cite several references by the same author published in the same year, assign a letter to each reference to distinguish them. E.g.: [Cossart, 2020a; Cossart, 2020b] ;
If necessary, specify the exact pagination of the passage/figure referred to, bearing in mind that the overall pagination of the journal article or book chapter cited will appear in the final bibliography. E.g.: [Cossart, 2021, p. 283] ;
If you wish to add a bibliographical comment to your reference, present it in the form of a footnote or endnote.

Final bibliography

All your article's primary and secondary sources must be included in a single final bibliography (not organized into subsets).

Your bibliography should be limited to the references mentioned throughout the text: any additional comments may appear in your manuscript as footnotes or endnotes, but not in the bibliography itself.

-> Click here for more information and examples of how to format your references in your final bibliography.

-> Click here to download our bibliographic style (CSL file, for Zotero and other tools).

Mathematical or chemical equations and formulas

Please:

Submit mathematical equations as editable text, not images;
Submit simple formulas, in-line, with normal text whenever possible;
Use solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y ;
Present variables in italics;
Indicate the powers of e by exp.;
Number consecutively all equations that are to be displayed separately from the text (if explicitly mentioned in the text);
Place exponents and subscripts carefully (so write x₁ and not x1);
Avoid ambiguous expressions such as 1/2x : write either 1/(2 x) or (1/2) x ;
Always designate a given quantity by the same symbol in the same font;
Respect common typographical practices: for example, mathematical or physical quantities, such as the x-axis or a mass m, are in italics. For example, x + 1 can be distinguished from x + l, and the logarithm ln from the product of l and n.

Illustrations

General points

Please:

Label all your illustrations as figures and/or diagrams;
Number your illustrations in Arabic numerals, in the order they appear in the article;
Use consistent units and symbols between all illustrations and with the text;
Use consistent lettering and dimensions for all original illustrations;
Use Helvetica as the preferred font (if not available, use Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol or similar fonts) for text appearing in figures;
Provide as much as possible your illustrations resized according to their final size (ideally 75 mm wide, 160 mm as an exception);
Make sure that none of your illustrations exceed A4 size (210 x 297 mm);
If you also provide illustrations as separate files, please send them in the best possible resolution and choose image formats (JPEG, PNG, EPS, ChemDraw, Adobe Illustrator... - note that EPS format is not suitable for images containing text). When enlarged to 400%, your illustrations should not become blurred or pixelated;
Ensure that photographs and halftones have good contrast;
Make sure that the characters integrated in your illustrations remain legible even after reducing the size of the illustrations by 70%;
Integrate the fonts used directly into your illustrations if the design software you use allows it;
Provide captions for your illustrations separately;
Specify the exact source of your illustrations if they are not original works (citing the original work and any secondary works in which you have consulted reproductions, if necessary);
Check that your illustrations are all cited in the body of the text.

Please use only royalty-free illustrations in your manuscript. Please use only royalty-free illustrations in your manuscript. If you wish to re-use an illustration protected by copyright (which may be the case for all images found on the internet using a search engine), please find out who the copyright holders are and obtain written authorisation to re-use it under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license (see below).

Formats

Each illustration (figure, scheme, diagram...) must be provided:

Separately;
in its own file not exceeding 50 Mb (contact us in case of problem);
in image format (TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, ChemDraw, Adobe Illustrator...) - note that EPS format is not suitable for files containing text;
in high resolution (minimum 400 dpi).

Figures in text format (Word, PowerPoint...) cannot be used and will not be considered in the submission.

Tables

Please:

Use only one grid for each individual table, not one grid for each row;
Align columns using tabs (not spaces) if your table does not have a grid;
Number your tables in Arab numerals, in the order they appear in the article;
Avoid vertical lines within tables;
Accompany each table with a caption.

Conventions and abbreviations

They should be defined in brackets after their first mention in the text. Internationally accepted units and nomenclature must be used (ISO 31 and ISO 1000). Standard units of measurement and chemical symbols for elements may be used without definition in the manuscript.

Open data policy

Source files

Authors wishing to publish in Comptes Rendus Biologies are requested to provide all the files necessary for the formatting of their article in the most interoperable formats possible, in order to facilitate the work of the editors.

In order to encourage the free circulation of scientific knowledge, authors are strongly encouraged to accept the publication by Comptes Rendus Biologies of these source files, together with the editorialized files. The dissemination of figures, in particular, especially when made available in an interoperable format and in high quality resolution, is a strong commitment to more open and robust science.

Underlying Data

Research data includes all "materials in digital form, other than scientific publications, that are collected or produced in the course of scientific research activities and used as evidence in the research process, or that are commonly accepted by the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings and results" (source: EU Directive 2019/1024).

Authors wishing to publish in the Comptes Rendus Biologies are encouraged to make all data related to the research work they describe in their manuscripts, and in particular the data directly underlying the submitted articles, freely available.

To do so, Comptes Rendus Biologies strongly recommends that authors deposit their data in warehouses, i.e. databases specifically dedicated to the permanent preservation, enrichment and valorization of the materials they host. Datasets deposited in repositories are scientific productions that can be cited (in particular when they have a permanent identifier such as DOI), in the same way as a traditional publication.

It is recommended that authors release their data without embargo or after the shortest possible delay, in a way that allows their reuse, with an explicit link between the data and the underlying publication (reciprocal mention of the DOI). The journal encourages the provision of data under open licenses that allow their free reuse. Authors must use the licenses recommended by the repository where the data were deposited.

Reviewers of submitted articles may at any time request from authors the data underlying the results described. Failure to provide this data will result in the rejection of the submission.

NB: Research data should be as open as possible, but as closed as necessary. The Academy of Sciences and the editorial team of Comptes Rendus Biologies cannot be held responsible for any failure to respect the rights associated with the exploitation or dissemination of the data underlying the articles published by the journal. Authors are invited to inquire about any intellectual or industrial property issues that may arise with their data.

Data Repositories

To select a trusted repository appropriate for your data type or disciplinary area, consult the re3data directory. Check that the chosen repository meets quality criteria.

These include:

Dryad, a life sciences data repository, supported by the California Digital Library. Data deposit is moderated (quality control of metadata). For any help in using the repository, contact us.
Zenodo, a multidisciplinary data warehouse, supported by CERN and the European Commission. The data deposit is not moderated.

Supplementary material

Authors who wish to publish in the Comptes Rendus Biologies may attach to the full text of their submission additional files or material, independent of the body of the article but essential to its understanding. As this material is subject to the peer review process, it must be included and clearly marked as "Supporting Information for Electronic Publication" when the article is submitted. To ensure that your material is directly usable, please make sure that each file does not exceed 50 MB.

However, for reasons of technical constraints, valuation, preservation and reuse, authors are strongly advised to deposit this additional material in dedicated repositories, rather than publishing it as an appendix to the articles.

Copyright

Rights policy

By publishing in Comptes Rendus Biologies, authors grant the journal the right of first publication and distribution of the final published version (version of records or version of reference). This right is materialized by the signature of a contract of transfer of rights.

All articles in Comptes Rendus Biologies (including content published prior to 2020) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits the journal to use and reproduce the articles and to create derivative works in any medium and format, including for commercial purposes.

Authors retain full intellectual property rights, and are free to enter into additional, separate contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive dissemination of the journal's version of their article (e.g., deposit in an open archive or publication in a book), subject to acknowledging the original publication of the article in Comptes Rendus Biologies.

Include in your manuscript elements already published elsewhere

If your manuscript reuses elements already published elsewhere (in a previous article, on a website, in a report, etc.), it is highly likely that these elements are protected by specific copyrights, even if you are the author yourself. We would therefore ask you to obtain all the necessary authorizations for the reuse of these copyrighted elements in Comptes Rendus, from all the rights holders (co-authors, commercial publisher, database owner, etc.), and in particular by asking whether you have the right to:

Reproduce the item as is? If so, under what conditions?
NB: all Creative Commons licenses authorize the reproduction of the elements they cover, but they sometimes impose specific conditions on this reuse.
Modify the element (cropping, color retouching, translation of terms, deletion of a series of data, etc.)? If so, under what conditions?
NB: Creative Commons licenses that include the acronym "ND - No Derivative work" prohibit any modification of the licensed item.

Frequently asked questions

The elements I want to reproduce in my article are open-access. Can I reuse them freely? No, open access to scientific content (e.g. journals available without subscription) does not mean that it can be freely reused. In the absence of an explicit mention authorizing you to reuse content, you are NOT authorized to reuse it, except with the written agreement of all rights holders (co-authors, commercial publisher, etc.).
If I write an article for your journal, does this amount to personal use of a copyrighted item? No, writing an article for publication does not fall into the "personal use" category authorized by some right holders.
What business model is used to publish your journal? Comptes Rendus is published as a diamond open access journal, free of charge for readers (no subscription required) and authors (no publication fees). This corresponds to a non-commercial use, authorized by all Creative Commons licenses that include the acronym "NC".
Under what license is your journal published? Comptes Rendus is published under a Creative Commons Attribution - International, CC-BY 4.0 license.
Is the publisher a for-profit organization? No. The Académie des Sciences is a non-profit public institution under French law.
How many copies of your journal are distributed / how many visits does the website receive per year / how many downloads does the journal receive? Comptes Rendus is published exclusively in electronic format, and no hard copies are made available to the public. For information on the number of visits or downloads per year, please contact the editorial office, bearing in mind that this number may change from year to year and that we cannot set a limit.
For how long do I need to request reproduction rights (and possibly modification rights) for the copyrighted work I wish to include in my article? We hope to keep the Comptes Rendus published as long as possible, so you need to obtain perpetual rights.
Can the journal pay for any rights to reuse protected works? No. As part of its commitment to the most open and reusable science possible, Comptes Rendus will not take any action on behalf of authors, and will not assume any rights payments.
Is the publisher a member of the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM)? No, the Académie des Sciences is not a member of STM.

For further assistance on these intellectual property issues, please contact the research support units of the institutions to which you belong. It is not the role of the Académie des Sciences to take these steps on behalf of authors.

Reuse of articles in their submitted and accepted versions

Submitted version (author's manuscript or preprint): any author who wishes to publish in Comptes Rendus Biologies is authorized to pre-publish his manuscript on a pre-publication server such as bioRxiv, in an open archive such as HAL, or on any other website such as a laboratory website. The manuscript must be clearly identified as not yet peer-reviewed or accepted for publication, and not containing any modifications requested later.

If the author's manuscript is subsequently accepted for publication and then published by Comptes Rendus Biologies, the authors must indicate these changes in editorial status, provide a link to the journal and include in the manuscript record the DOI assigned to the final published version.

Accepted version (accepted author manuscript or postprint): any author whose manuscript has been accepted for publication in Comptes Rendus Chimie may publish the final version of his or her unedited text on a pre-publication server such as bioRxiv, in an open archive such as HAL, or on any other website such as a laboratory website. The manuscript must be clearly identified as having been peer-reviewed, corrected following their requests and accepted in principle by the journal, with a link to the journal's website.

After publication by the Comptes Rendus Biologies, the article description should be modified to include the final DOI assigned to the final published version.

Published version (PDF editor or version of records): the CC BY 4.0 license under which the articles of Comptes Rendus Biologiesare distributed authorizes its authors to deposit the published version of their work in an open archive such as HAL, or on any other website such as a laboratory website, provided that the DOI of the published article is included in the article's descriptive notice.

NB : for a deposit in HAL, you can select the option "I have checked that this publisher belongs to those which authorize the submission of the “file editors” on an open archive".

Choose a platform of self-archiving

To choose the preprint server, open archive or portal best suited to disseminate your author manuscripts, feel free to consult the Open Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR), a service of JISC.

If you have any questions about the dissemination of your work, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Ethical Code

By submitting an article to Comptes Rendus Biologies, authors agree to abide by the journal's Code of Ethics and Good Practices.

Print on demand

If you would like to order hard copies of annual volumes or thematic issues of the Comptes Rendus Biologies, click here to get more information.

1. In the Word layout tab, click on the Line numbers button, then select the Continuous option. For more information, please refer to the software publisher's instructions.