Preprint revolution or evolution? – Editorial by Reinier Prosée and Katherine Brown

Who would think that preprints would usher in lasting change in the research ecosystem? In the recent Editorial in Biology Open “Staying ahead of the curve: a decade of preprints in biology”, Prosée and Brown cast a retrospective look at the emergence of the preprint phenomenon in biological research and the advocating role that The Company of Biologists took in this process.  

Did you know that preprints came into biology quite some time after they were introduced in the physical sciences? Or that bioRxiv, launched in 2013 and now the most popular preprint server in biology, was one of several others, like PeerJ or F1000Research? 

Preprinted manuscripts can have multiple advantages, like free access to new scientific results or their quicker dissemination, which proved particularly useful during the COVID pandemics, and which is also important for the progress of early career researchers in the fast-paced scientific world. However, these advantages would remain unrealised if preprints were not integrated into the current academic publishing infrastructure. The Company of Biologists was among the first 17 publisher who supported Review Commons, an EMBO and ASAPbio initiative. This initiative offersda high-quality peer review on preprinted manuscripts, and these peer reviews are used by the publishers as a starting point for their publishing decision.  

The increased popularity of biological preprints called for measures that would help researchers navigate this growing literature. In 2016, The Company of Biologists started to collate and review developmental biology preprints on its community site, the Node. In 2018, the preLights was born, a community site specifically dedicated to highlighting preprinted works on a broad range of biological subjects. While there are other platforms that overview biological preprints, preLights is unique in creating a network of early-career researchers and supporting them to connect with peers while engaging with the most cutting-edge research.  

To learn more about the history of preprints in biology, have a look at the Editorial on Biology Open. And if you are keen to promote the preprinting culture, consider joining our community of preLighters!