BioRxiv
preprint service
bioRxiv (pronounced "bio-archive") is an open access preprint repository for the biological sciences co-founded by John Inglis and Richard Sever in November 2013. It was hosted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) until March 11, 2025, when ownership transferred to the newly formed non-profit openRxiv, dedicated to bioRxiv and medRxiv.
As preprints, papers hosted on bioRxiv are not peer-reviewed (though submissions may be undergoing peer review and peer reviews from other sources may be posted alongside preprints). However, all submissions undergo a basic scrutinization process, which includes safeguarding checks, an automated plagiarism screening and an assessment of appropriateness. Moreover, readers may post comments. The latest study indicates that the content of bioRxiv preprints rarely changes after submission to journals and subsequent peer review (in the case of accepted papers); however, the automatic process of linking preprints with their published versions might lead to the omission of a substantial number of cases.
It has been measured that two-thirds of the papers posted in bioRxiv are later published in peer-reviewed journals. BioRxiv, and its sister site, medRxiv, have been major sources for the dissemination of COVID-19 research.
History
BioRxiv was inspired by and intends to complement the arXiv repository, which mostly focuses on mathematics, physics and connected disciplines, launched in 1991 by Paul Ginsparg (who also serves on the bioRxiv advisory board). It received support from both the CSHL and the Lourie Foundation.
The public source identifies “BioRxiv” as preprint service. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around BioRxiv, preprint and service.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “BioRxiv”, the useful work is to connect “preprint service” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19835482. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013, 2025 and 1991.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “BioRxiv”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow BioRxiv primary sources, BioRxiv archive and BioRxiv research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “BioRxiv”?
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This entry incorporates text from “BioRxiv” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.