Nucleus
- ISSN-L
- 1949-1034
- ISSN
- 1949-1042
- OpenAlex ID
- S200139231
- APC list price
- $1,993
In 2025, Nucleus had an OJR of 1.24: its 2022–2024 papers received 1.2 times the world-average citations for comparable papers. Its Impact factor (2-year) was 5.73. Both figures are calculated from OpenAlex data.
Nucleus is Q2 in OpenJournalRank’s 2025 Molecular Biology ranking (#364 of 1,152 eligible journals). These are OJR quartiles, calculated independently of SCImago, Scopus and JCR quartiles.
OpenAlex-listed APC: US$1,993 (source snapshot September 23, 2026). Check current charges with the journal.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method. For 2025 it counts non-self citations to the articles, reviews and conference papers a journal published in 2022–2024. Ranks and quartiles order journals by OJR within the subfield, the field and all journals.
1.24
Q2#364 of 1,152
The Impact factor (2-year) counts citations made in 2025 to the articles, reviews and conference papers a journal published in the two previous years (2023–2024), divided by the number of those papers. Self-citations count; citations from repository-hosted works do not. It is not normalized by field. Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor™ uses the same basic formula but gives different numbers, and this site does not show it. Clarivate also counts citations to editorials, news and letters while dividing only by articles and reviews. OpenAlex sets document types automatically. The citing data differ: OpenAlex links references for most but not all works, and we leave out repository-hosted citing works. Publication years and snapshot dates also differ. Because of these differences, our value can be higher or lower than the JIF for a given journal, so don’t compare the two directly.
5.73
+6.7% change from 2024
from 5.37 in 2024
Why is it different?
- Journals usually quote Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor™ (JIF).
- Same idea: citations this year to papers from the past two years, divided by those papers.
- The JIF also counts citations to editorials, news and letters but divides only by research papers. We count citations to research papers only.
- Different citation data (OpenAlex, not Web of Science) and timing.
So the two numbers can differ, in either direction, and the size of the difference has not been established. Compare ours with other journals here, not with the JIF.
Full explanation →OJR compares non-self citations to classified citable papers with the world-average expectation for their subfields, publication years and types.
Computed by OpenJournalRank from the OpenAlex snapshot of September 23, 2026; 472,521,793 citations counted across this release.
Looking for Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor™? Check the Master Journal List
OJR rank in each category · 2025
The badge is the quartile; Q1 is the top quarter of ranked journals. Each track runs from the bottom of the category (left) to the top (right), shaded by quartile. The bold marker is this journal and the thin tick the category median. The outlined box is the likely rank range: the 95% interval from re-drawing the journal’s papers 1,000 times. “Spans Q1–Q2” means that range crosses a quartile boundary.
#404 of 1,367
Top 30%likely #224–#635 · spans Q1–Q2
Ranking categories are derived from OpenAlex paper classifications and may differ from a journal’s stated scope.
At a glance
Quartile history in every category and the key figures for 2025, drawn as small charts.
Quartile by year
Each cell is the journal’s quartile among ranked journals in that category and year, by OJR. Q1 is the top quarter. Years run 2000–2025; tap or hover a cell for the exact rank.
2025Subfield · Molecular BiologyQ2Rank 364 of 1,152Top 32%
Each track runs from the bottom of the category (left) to the top (right), shaded by quartile. The bold marker is this journal, the outlined box its likely rank range and the thin tick the category median.
Top 32%in Molecular Biology
Citations made in 2025 to papers from 2023–2024, divided by the number of those papers, next to the same value a year earlier.
5.73+6.7%
Everything the journal published in 2025, split into articles, reviews and other items such as editorials. The line shows the last ten years.
18
Citations made in 2025 to papers from 2022–2024, divided by the number of those papers. Includes self-citations. The line shows the last ten years.
5.7
The median number of 2025 citations per paper from 2022–2024, next to the mean (cites per document). A mean far above the median means a few papers draw most of the citations.
4.0
Share of the journal’s 2022–2024 papers that are among the most cited 10% for their subfield, year and type. The marker at 10% is the world baseline.
17.1%
Share of 2025 citations to the journal’s 2022–2024 papers that come from the journal itself. The tick on the ring marks the field median.
3.8%
Share of documents published in 2025 that are free to read, across all document types.
100%
Share of documents published in 2025 with authors in two or more countries.
28%
All-time OpenAlex values at the snapshot date, not limited to the ranking window. The h-index is the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each; the i10-index counts papers with at least 10 citations.
75h-index
Over the years
Impact factor (2-year)
Show the data as a table
| Year | Impact factor (2-year) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.73 |
| 2024 | 5.37 |
| 2023 | 3.32 |
| 2022 | 3.72 |
| 2021 | 4.22 |
| 2020 | 4.22 |
| 2019 | 3.20 |
| 2018 | 2.62 |
| 2017 | 2.62 |
| 2016 | 3.16 |
| 2015 | 3.16 |
| 2014 | 3.27 |
| 2013 | 3.37 |
| 2012 | 2.74 |
| 2011 | 1.73 |
| 2010 | — |
OJR
Show the data as a table
| Year | OJR | Field median |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.24 | 0.87 |
| 2024 | 1.19 | 0.85 |
| 2023 | 0.76 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 0.73 | 0.89 |
| 2021 | 0.95 | 0.90 |
| 2020 | 0.84 | 0.91 |
| 2019 | 0.91 | 0.91 |
| 2018 | 0.90 | 0.92 |
| 2017 | 0.96 | 0.93 |
| 2016 | 1.02 | 0.96 |
| 2015 | 1.08 | 0.97 |
| 2014 | 1.11 | 0.99 |
| 2013 | 0.98 | 0.99 |
| 2012 | 0.92 | 1.02 |
| 2011 | 0.67 | 1.03 |
| 2010 | — | 0.98 |
Documents by type
Show the data as a table
| Year | Articles | Reviews | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 2024 | 35 | 0 | 5 |
| 2023 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 22 | 0 | 4 |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 | 8 |
| 2018 | 27 | 0 | 7 |
| 2017 | 49 | 0 | 21 |
| 2016 | 49 | 0 | 19 |
| 2015 | 54 | 0 | 10 |
| 2014 | 65 | 0 | 5 |
| 2013 | 58 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 | 73 | 0 | 5 |
| 2011 | 81 | 0 | 3 |
| 2010 | 91 | 0 | 1 |
Citations to the previous three years
Show the data as a table
| Year | From other sources | Self-citations |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 430 | 17 |
| 2024 | 244 | 15 |
| 2023 | 149 | 4 |
| 2022 | 147 | 7 |
| 2021 | 271 | 8 |
| 2020 | 321 | 11 |
| 2019 | 403 | 5 |
| 2018 | 430 | 17 |
| 2017 | 485 | 23 |
| 2016 | 535 | 19 |
| 2015 | 609 | 19 |
| 2014 | 688 | 36 |
| 2013 | 693 | 43 |
| 2012 | 440 | 29 |
| 2011 | 148 | 9 |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 |
Share in the top 10% of their field
Show the data as a table
| Year | Top 10% share |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 17.1% |
| 2024 | 9.5% |
| 2023 | 10.6% |
| 2022 | 3.4% |
| 2021 | 6.5% |
| 2020 | 8.1% |
| 2019 | 8.1% |
| 2018 | 6.7% |
| 2017 | 7.9% |
| 2016 | 11.1% |
| 2015 | 11.2% |
| 2014 | 11.1% |
| 2013 | 10.3% |
| 2012 | 8.6% |
| 2011 | 4.1% |
| 2010 | — |
Collaboration and open access
Show the data as a table
| Year | International collaboration | Open access |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 27.8% | 100.0% |
| 2024 | 20.0% | 100.0% |
| 2023 | 12.0% | 100.0% |
| 2022 | 25.0% | 100.0% |
| 2021 | 37.5% | 100.0% |
| 2020 | 42.3% | 100.0% |
| 2019 | 45.5% | 100.0% |
| 2018 | 23.5% | 100.0% |
| 2017 | 25.7% | 100.0% |
| 2016 | 23.5% | 100.0% |
| 2015 | 43.8% | 100.0% |
| 2014 | 47.1% | 100.0% |
| 2013 | 29.0% | 100.0% |
| 2012 | 44.9% | 100.0% |
| 2011 | 19.0% | 98.8% |
| 2010 | 22.8% | 98.9% |
In context
How Nucleus compares with the journals of its comparison group: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Windows are 2022–2024 (retractions 2015–2024).
Each group is the journal’s field, or its domain when the field has too few eligible journals. On each value track the shaded band is the middle half of the group and the tick its median. The percentile under it is a mid-rank position out of 100: journals with a lower value count fully and tied journals count half, so ties share a mid-rank. Colour marks only retractions, cost and an unusual self-citation share; other differences carry no quality judgement.
- This journal
- Median
- Middle half of field
Integrity and cost
Retracted papers per 1,000
Papers marked retracted per 1,000 citable papers at the OpenAlex snapshot date; this does not show the reasons for retraction or assess a journal’s practices.
The comparison is the pooled rate across 1,059 field journals (all their retracted papers divided by all their papers), so there is no percentile.
0 retracted of 300 papers; field rate pooled across 1,059 journals
Listed APC (USD)
The article processing charge OpenAlex lists for the source; zero means a listed charge of $0.
Middle half of the field: $2,480–$4,090; median $3,300; n = 943 field journals.
Field percentile: 17/100 among 943 eligible journals
17/100Journal self-citation share
Share of citations to window papers that come from the same journal; a high share can reflect a narrow specialty and is not evidence of misconduct.
Middle half of the field: 0.8%–4.1%; median 1.9%; n = 1,206 field journals.
Field percentile: 73/100 among 1,206 eligible journals
73/100Openness and reach
Open access share
Share of window papers marked open access among papers with known OA status.
Middle half of the field: 43.8%–100.0%; median 100.0%; n = 1,367 field journals.
Field percentile: 75/100 among 1,367 eligible journals
75/100International collaboration share
Share of window papers with at least two distinct affiliation countries among papers with a known country.
Middle half of the field: 17.4%–31.6%; median 24.4%; n = 1,335 field journals.
Field percentile: 28/100 among 1,335 eligible journals
28/100Output growth
Change in citable paper counts between two adjacent three-year windows; it does not show changes in research quality or explain why output changed.
Middle half of the field: -25.9%–+22.3%; median -6.4%; n = 1,233 field journals.
Field percentile: 90/100 among 1,233 eligible journals
90/100Document mix
Review share
Reviews as a share of all citable window papers.
Middle half of the field: 0.0%–1.7%; median 0.3%; n = 1,367 field journals.
Field percentile: 21/100 among 1,367 eligible journals
21/100Articles-only OJR
OJR for classified window articles only, using the same baseline cells as the overall score.
Middle half of the field: 0.53–1.35; median 0.87; n = 1,336 field journals.
Field percentile: 70/100 among 1,336 eligible journals
70/100Citation distribution
Uncited share
Share of window papers receiving no non-self citations in the indicator year.
Middle half of the field: 13.1%–36.3%; median 22.7%; n = 1,367 field journals.
Field percentile: 31/100 among 1,367 eligible journals
31/100Citation concentration
Share of non-self citations received by the journal’s most-cited 10% of window papers.
Middle half of the field: 37.8%–49.2%; median 42.1%; n = 1,363 field journals.
Field percentile: 36/100 among 1,363 eligible journals
36/100Similar journals
Journals ranked nearest to this one in Molecular Biology by OJR, 2025.
- #359Journal of Molecular Cell BiologyQ2OJR 1.25
- #360Cellular SignallingQ2OJR 1.25
- #361LifeQ2OJR 1.25
- #362Molecular PharmaceuticsQ2OJR 1.25
- #363Expert Opinion on Therapeutic PatentsQ2OJR 1.25
- #364Nucleus (This journal)Q2OJR 1.24
- #365Experimental and Molecular PathologyQ2OJR 1.24
- #366Microbial PathogenesisQ2OJR 1.24
- #367Progress in Biophysics and Molecular BiologyQ2OJR 1.23
- #368Annual Review of MicrobiologyQ2OJR 1.23
- #369Interdisciplinary Sciences Computational Life SciencesQ2OJR 1.22
Detailed breakdown
The figures behind the charts, written out in full.
The two headline numbers
OJR is OpenJournalRank’s index, computed with the NCI3 method. It divides the non-self citations that papers published in 2022–2024 received in 2025 by the citations expected for papers of the same subfield, publication year and type worldwide. For 2022–2024, papers in this journal received 1.2 times the citations expected worldwide for comparable papers.
The Impact factor (2-year) is simpler: citations made in 2025 to the papers published in 2023 and 2024, divided by the number of those papers. For this journal it was 5.73, up from 5.37 in 2024 (+6.7%). It counts self-citations and is not adjusted for field, so a value of 5 means something different in economics and in molecular biology.
This value is computed from OpenAlex and is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor™. The two use different citation sources and different rules for which items count, so the numbers will not match. Across all core journals, 84.3% of articles and reviews published in 2025 have at least one matched reference in OpenAlex (87.1% in 2024). This is a corpus-wide share: it does not measure how complete any one journal’s reference lists are, and no value on this page is adjusted for it.
In context, in full
Descriptive comparisons with eligible journals ranked in 2025.
| Measure | This journal | Field or domain | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journal self-citation shareShare of citations to window papers that come from the same journal; a high share can reflect a narrow specialty and is not evidence of misconduct. | 3.8%17 self-citations of 447 citations | Field median: 1.9%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 73/100 among 1,206 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals73/100 |
| Retracted papers per 1,000Papers marked retracted per 1,000 citable papers at the OpenAlex snapshot date; this does not show the reasons for retraction or assess a journal’s practices. | No retracted papers among 300 (field: 4.798 per 1,000) | Field pooled rate: 4.798 per 1,000Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | No percentile comparison |
| Output growthChange in citable paper counts between two adjacent three-year windows; it does not show changes in research quality or explain why output changed. | +81.4%78 papers in the later window; 43 in the earlier window | Field median: -6.4%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 90/100 among 1,233 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals90/100 |
| Open access shareShare of window papers marked open access among papers with known OA status. | 100.0%78 of 78 papers with known metadata | Field median: 100.0%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 75/100 among 1,367 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals75/100 |
| Listed APC (USD)The article processing charge OpenAlex lists for the source; zero means a listed charge of $0. | $1,993 | Field median: $3,300Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 17/100 among 943 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals17/100 |
| International collaboration shareShare of window papers with at least two distinct affiliation countries among papers with a known country. | 18.2%14 of 77 papers with known metadata | Field median: 24.4%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 28/100 among 1,335 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals28/100 |
| Review shareReviews as a share of all citable window papers. | 0.0%0 reviews among 78 window papers | Field median: 0.3%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 21/100 among 1,367 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals21/100 |
| Articles-only OJRNormalized citation impact of classified window articles, using the same baseline cells as the overall OJR. | 1.2478 classified articles; all papers: 1.24 | Field median: 0.87Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 70/100 among 1,336 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals70/100 |
| Uncited shareShare of window papers receiving no non-self citations in the indicator year. | 15.4%12 uncited among 78 window papers | Field median: 22.7%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 31/100 among 1,367 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals31/100 |
| Citation concentrationShare of non-self citations received by the journal’s most-cited 10% of window papers. | 39.8%171 of 430 non-self citations; top 8 of 78 papers | Field median: 42.1%Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | percentile 36/100 among 1,363 eligible Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology journals36/100 |
Ties share a mid-rank percentile. A higher value carries no quality judgement. How field comparisons work
How this score was computed
Citations made in 2025 to articles, reviews and conference papers published in 2022–2024. Actual and Expected include only papers with a subfield.
- Actual (non-self citations)
- 430
- Expected (world-average expectation)
- 345.513528
- OJR standard error
- 0.1843
- Most-cited paper's share of citations
- 11.6%
- Citable papers in 2022–2024
- 78
- Classification coverage
- 100.0%
- Share of citable papers with a subfield
- Citations without a known source
- 0.2%
- Share of Actual from citing works without a known source
- Reference coverage in 2025
- 84.3%
- Corpus-wide share of core-journal articles and reviews with at least one matched reference
OJR = Actual ÷ Expected
430 ÷ 345.513528 ≈ 1.24
Displayed values are rounded; OJR uses the unrounded expectation.
Impact factor (2-year), 2025 = 344 ÷ 60 = 5.73
Publication window 2023–2024; includes journal self-citations.
What it publishes
In 2022–2024, the journal published 78 citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers).
Among papers with a subfield: 81% in Molecular Biology, 4% in Cancer Research, 4% in Cell Biology, 3% in Plant Science, and 1% in Biophysics.
Subjects follow OpenAlex’s primary-subfield classification, which may differ from a journal’s stated scope.
Among papers with a known author affiliation country: United States (57%), Germany (10%), China (8%), France (6%), and United Kingdom (6%). Author affiliations span 23 countries in this window. A paper counts toward each country it lists, so shares can total more than 100%.
Open-access status among papers with a known status: gold (100%).