As he prepares to step down as the Editor-in-Chief of eLife, Randy Schekman reflects on the origins of the journal, the eLife approach to peer review, and current challenges in scientific publishing.

Journals can benefit from listening to graduate students, postdocs and newly-independent group leaders.

An analysis of more than 70,000 journal articles, including 5405 that were first released as a preprint on bioRxiv, shows that articles with a preprint received 49% more attention and 36% more citations than articles without one.

After summarizing over 2,400 articles in plain language, the eLife Features team shares what it has learnt about writing and editing for a broad audience.

Tackling unconscious bias is a major challenge for journals and the rest of the scientific community.

There are many reasons for submitting your best work to eLife, especially if you are an early career researcher.

As Eve Marder stands down as a Deputy Editor of eLife, she reflects on the need for journals to change and respond to their environment.

Journals are exploring new approaches to peer review in order to reduce bias, increase transparency and respond to author preferences.