bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology

The traditional publication process delays dissemination of new research, often by months, sometimes by years. Preprint servers decouple dissemination of research papers from their evaluation and certification by journals, allowing researchers to share work immediately, receive feedback from a much larger audience, and provide evidence of productivity long before formal publication. Launched in 2013 as a non-profit community service, the bioRxiv server brought preprinting to the life sciences and recently posted its 310,000th manuscript. The server now receives around ten million views per month and hosts papers spanning all areas of biology. Initially dominated by evolutionary biology, genetics/genomics and computational biology, bioRxiv has been increasingly populated by papers in neuroscience, cell and developmental biology, and many other fields. bioRxiv and its sister server, medRxiv, also played a critical role during the pandemic, rapidly disseminating new discoveries in immunology, virology and epidemiology related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its effects. Changes in journal and funder policies that encourage preprint posting helped drive adoption, as did the development of bioRxiv technologies that allow authors to transfer papers easily between bioRxiv and journals. A recent user survey found that 30% of authors post their preprints weeks to months before submitting to a journal whereas 55% post around the time of journal submission. Authors are motivated by a desire to share work early; they value the feedback they receive and very rarely experience any negative consequences of preprint posting. Rapid dissemination via bioRxiv is also encouraging new initiatives that experiment with the peer review process and the development of novel approaches to literature filtering and assessment.