Indonesian Journal of Life Sciences (IJLS) is a multidisciplinary journal publishing original research/ review articles across the whole spectrum of sciences in topics such as:

Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Genetics, Pharmaceutical Science and Pharmacology, Food Science and Nutrition.

We welcome submissions from all the above-mentioned fields, provided they are novel and can make a great impact.

By submitting to IJLS, authors attest that:

1. The submission is an original work, free from plagiarism (text, data, and figures).
2. The submission has not been published previously in English or any other language, nor is it under consideration by another journal.
3. The submission has been approved by all co-authors and relevant authorities (e.g. an institution or sponsor).
4. The manuscript has been (to the best of the authors’ abilities) written in good English (British or American English spelling, not a mixture of both) and is free of grammatical errors. It has been checked with a proofreading tool (e.g. Grammarly) and, if possible, proofed by a language editor.

These submission guidelines will help you prepare your submission to reduce its processing time greatly. As per the initial submission, we require the manuscript to conform to the document structure below so reviewers can assess the paper based on its scientific merits.

Our 3-steps Submission Process

1. Before the submission – be familiar with the following things
   • Focus and scope – ensure that your submission’s topic is within our scope (learn more)
   • Article type specifications – understand the type of articles you want to submit (research article or review paper)
   • Editorial policies make sure that you read and agree to our editorial policies (learn more)
   • Language editing service – ascertain that your submission is readable and error-free 
   • Publication ethics and malpractice Statement – learn about our ethics agreement (learn more)
2. Ready to submit – understand the policies and the process of submission in the IJLS website
   
   • Author(s) information and required documents
   • General formatting guidelines
   • Ready to submit (click here for the guidelines)
3. Manuscript selection – be informed of the following review process

Article Type Specifications

• Original research article

Research articles should report on original primary research and are expected to present a major advance (total words up to ~3500 words, excluding references).

• Review article

Reviews should describe and provide substantial coverage of mature subjects, evaluations of progress in specified areas, and/or critical assessments of emerging technologies, highlight future directions (total words 5,000-10,000; excluding abstract references)

Language Editing Service

The article must be written in English. Authors whose first language is not English (and many times even those for whom it is) will greatly increase the chance of their article being published if a language editor or native speaker checks it before its submission. A well-written manuscript enables editors and reviewers to assess the content of the manuscript accurately, thus accelerating the reviewing process. It also ensures that the scientific merit of the research can be fully conveyed to readers. If you need help with writing in English, you should consider:

• Asking a fellow worker who is a native English speaker to check your manuscript for clarity
• Using a proofreading tool (e.g. Grammarly)
• Using a professional language editing service

References List Preparation

• Use a citation manager, such as Mendeley, Endnote, or Zotero
• The in-text citation should be hyperlinked to the reference list
• The reference list should be hyperlinked to the page of the cited journal
• Make sure 80% of the references are primary research articles, not secondary (review) articles
• Closely follow APA Editorial Style throughout your list of references. There should be a one-to-one correspondence between the sources cited/quoted and the ones referenced. List the sources alphabetically by author's last names (from A to Z) and then chronologically (from past to present) for more sources by the same author. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified--based on the alphabetical sorting of the titles of the works--by the letters 'a, 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication.

Required documents

Here is a list of required documents to send:

• Main file section: manuscript file (in docx format). Please refer to general formatting guidelines for details.
• Supplementary section: cover letter (in pdf format), figure files, references file (in BibTeX format;.bib), and other additional files.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Technologies

The Indonesian Journal of Life Sciences (IJLS) recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies may be used to support scientific research and manuscript preparation. Such tools must be used responsibly, transparently, and under appropriate human supervision.

AI and Authorship 

AI tools, including generative AI systems, large language models, and chatbots, cannot be listed as authors, co-authors, or contributors. Authorship requires human accountability for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and ethical conduct of the work.

All listed authors remain fully responsible for the content of the manuscript, including any material produced, revised, translated, processed, or analyzed with the assistance of AI.

Acceptable Uses of AI

AI tools may be used for supporting activities such as:

• improving grammar, spelling, and readability;

• reorganizing text written by the authors;

• translating author-written material;

• assisting in the development of an initial outline;

• assisting with computer code;

• supporting data processing or analysis; and

• other clearly defined supporting tasks.

AI must not replace the authors' scientific judgment, critical thinking, interpretation of results, or responsibility for the final manuscript.

Basic spelling checkers, reference managers, formatting tools, and non-generative grammar-correction tools do not normally require disclosure.

Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or other substantial AI-assisted technologies when these tools have been used during research, data analysis, manuscript preparation, image production, or interpretation.

The disclosure should include, where applicable:

1. the name of the AI tool;

2. the provider or developer;

3. the model or version used;

4. the date or period of use;

5. the purpose for which the AI tool was used; and

6. how the authors reviewed, verified, and revised the AI-generated or AI-assisted output.

The disclosure must be included in the cover letter and in a separate section of the manuscript titled “Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies.”

Example declaration:

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name and version of AI tool] for [state the purpose, such as language editing, code assistance, or data analysis]. The authors reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the final manuscript.

When no generative AI or substantial AI-assisted technology was used, authors may state:

The authors declare that no generative AI or substantial AI-assisted technology was used in the preparation of this manuscript.

AI as Part of the Research Method

When an AI system forms part of the research methodology, its use must be described clearly in the Methods section with sufficient information for readers, reviewers, and editors to understand how the system was used and, where possible, reproduce the process.

Relevant information may include:

• the name and provider of the AI system;

• the model and version used;

• the date the system was accessed;

• the data entered into the system;

• preprocessing procedures;

• relevant prompts, settings, or parameters;

• validation and human-review procedures;

• known limitations and potential sources of bias; and

• the role of the AI system in producing or interpreting the results.

Long prompts, code, or technical details may be included in supplementary material or deposited in an appropriate repository, provided that doing so does not violate ethical, legal, privacy, or confidentiality requirements.

Verification of References and AI-Assisted Content

Authors are responsible for verifying all AI-assisted content before submission. Facts, calculations, interpretations, quotations, and references must be checked carefully.

AI-generated content must not be treated as an authoritative scientific source unless the AI system itself is the subject of the research. Authors must read and cite the original sources supporting their statements.

All references must be genuine, accurate, relevant, and consistent with the journal's reference style. Fabricated, unverifiable, or misleading references may result in rejection or further investigation.

AI-Generated or AI-Modified Images

AI-generated or AI-modified images, figures, audio, or video must not be presented as genuine research evidence.

AI tools must not be used to add, remove, conceal, fabricate, or selectively alter features in research images in ways that could mislead readers.

AI-generated or AI-modified material may only be considered when its use is directly relevant to the research question or methodology, is clearly disclosed, does not misrepresent the original data, and complies with applicable legal and ethical requirements.

Illustrative AI-generated images may be considered at the Editor's discretion and must be clearly identified as AI-generated.

Confidentiality and Personal Data

Authors must not enter confidential, personal, sensitive, proprietary, or unpublished information into an AI system unless they are authorized to do so and appropriate privacy, confidentiality, ethical, institutional, and data-protection safeguards are in place.

Authors must ensure that the use of AI is consistent with applicable ethical approvals and participant consent.

Responsibility and Publication Ethics

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted work. Inappropriate or undisclosed use of AI may constitute a breach of publication ethics and may result in editorial action in accordance with IJLS policies.