About Journal of Biosemiotic Research
Exploring the sign processes and communication systems that define life - from cellular signaling to cultural evolution
JBSR provides a forum for scholars exploring how sign processes - semiosis - operate as organizing principles in living systems. Whether examining gene regulation as code interpretation, immune recognition as pattern matching, neural representation as symbolic encoding, or ecological networks as communicative webs, biosemiotics offers conceptual tools for understanding life's inherent meaningfulness.
We prioritize work that advances theoretical frameworks, empirical methodologies, and philosophical inquiry into biological semiosis. By fostering dialogue between natural scientists and humanistic scholars, JBSR cultivates a richer understanding of organism-environment relations, evolutionary creativity, and the emergence of subjective experience.
JBSR publishes original research, theoretical essays, reviews, and commentaries addressing the full spectrum of biosemiotic inquiry. Our scope encompasses but is not limited to the following interconnected domains:
Foundational concepts including Peircean semiotics in biology, Uexküll's Umwelt theory, code biology, and sign typologies across biological organization.
Genetic codes, epigenetic signaling, protein-protein communication, intracellular messaging systems, and metabolic semiotics.
Sign processes within organisms - immune recognition, neural coding, hormonal signaling, and homeostatic regulation as semiotic phenomena.
Interspecies communication, ecological meaning-making, niche construction, symbiotic signaling, and landscape semiotics.
Phylogenetic emergence of sign competence, semiotic thresholds, evolutionary transitions in communication, and cultural inheritance systems.
Perception, categorization, memory, learning as sign interpretation; embodied cognition; phenomenology of meaning in nervous systems.
Animal communication systems, behavioral semiotics, signal evolution, and interspecies understanding.
Plant communication, root signaling, volatile organic compound messaging, and plant intelligence debates.
Integration of biosemiotics with extended evolutionary synthesis, niche construction theory, and developmental systems theory.
Empirical studies testing biosemiotic hypotheses through controlled experiments, field observations, or computational modeling.
Mathematical, computational, and diagrammatic representations of sign processes in biological systems.
Human evolution through a biosemiotic lens - language origins, symbolic thought, material culture, and social semiotics.
Open Access & Global Reach
All JBSR articles are published under Creative Commons licenses, ensuring your research is freely accessible to scholars, students, and practitioners worldwide. Our open-access model maximizes visibility, citation potential, and interdisciplinary impact - crucial for a field connecting diverse research communities.
Rigorous Peer Review
Manuscripts undergo expert evaluation by specialists in biosemiotics, theoretical biology, philosophy of biology, and related disciplines. Our reviewers assess conceptual clarity, methodological rigor, originality, and contribution to biosemiotic discourse while providing constructive feedback.
- Interdisciplinary Dialogue: Engage with a community spanning biology, philosophy, linguistics, cognitive science, and ecology - fostering cross-pollination of ideas.
- Rapid Publication: Efficient editorial workflows ensure timely peer review and prompt online publication upon acceptance.
- Scholarly Recognition: Establish your work within the emerging field of biosemiotics, gaining visibility among theorists and empirical researchers alike.
- Archival Permanence: JBSR articles are archived in institutional repositories, ensuring long-term discoverability and preservation.
- Flexible Article Formats: We accept research articles, theoretical essays, reviews, commentaries, and methodological papers - accommodating diverse modes of scholarly inquiry.
JBSR welcomes submissions from researchers at all career stages and institutional affiliations. Authors should prepare manuscripts according to our Instructions for Authors, which detail formatting requirements, citation styles, and ethical standards.
- Review the journal scope and author guidelines to ensure manuscript alignment.
- Prepare your manuscript including structured abstract (if applicable), keywords, main text, references, and supplementary materials.
- Submit via our online submission portal.
- Upon receipt, manuscripts are assessed for scope fit and methodological soundness before peer review assignment.
- Authors receive timely decisions with reviewer feedback and guidance for revisions.
Manuscripts typically include an introduction establishing theoretical context, methodology (for empirical work), analysis or argumentation, and discussion situating findings within biosemiotic scholarship. Authors should clearly articulate how their work advances understanding of sign processes in living systems.
To sustain high-quality peer review, editing, and open-access infrastructure, JBSR charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) upon manuscript acceptance. These fees support editorial operations, digital archiving, and discoverability services. Authors from institutions with limited funding may contact the editorial office to discuss financial accommodations.
JBSR is more than a publication venue - it is a nexus for scholars committed to understanding life through the lens of sign processes and communication. By publishing with us, you contribute to an emerging paradigm that reframes biological phenomena as inherently meaningful, context-dependent, and interpretive.
Whether your work investigates molecular codes, neural representations, ecosystem dynamics, or philosophical foundations of biosemiotics, JBSR provides a rigorous platform for disseminating your insights to a global, interdisciplinary audience.
Advance Biosemiotic Scholarship
Submit your research exploring sign-mediated processes in living systems. Join scholars worldwide who are redefining our understanding of biological meaning-making.
