Author Guidelines

Al-Hayat Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) welcomes high-quality submissions in all areas of biological sciences. Authors must follow the guidelines below to ensure consistency and smooth editorial processing.

1. Manuscript Preparation

1.1 General Formatting

  • Use Times New Roman, 12-point size for all text.

  • Use Symbol font for mathematical symbols (in text and figures).

  • Line spacing: set to double spacing (2.0) throughout the manuscript.

  • Justification: use full justification (or left alignment if preferred).

  • Do NOT underline text. Use italics, bold, or bold italics if emphasis is needed.

  • Leave one line space between:

    • Paragraphs

    • Main sections

    • Section titles and the paragraph that follows

  • Leave only one space after each full stop (period).

1.2 Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts should include the following sections in order:

  1. Title Page

  2. Abstract and Keywords

  3. Introduction

  4. Materials and Methods

  5. Results

  6. Discussion

  7. Conclusion

  8. Acknowledgments (optional)

  9. Conflict of Interest

  10. References

1.3 In-Text Citations (Numbered System)

  • All references must be cited numerically inside the text, using square brackets, e.g., [1], [2–4].

  • Citation numbers must appear in order of appearance in the manuscript.

  • Each number corresponds to a full reference in the reference list.

Example:
Oxidative stress plays a major role in disease progression [3,7].

1.4 Reference List Format

Required Reference Style: APA (Journal Article Format)

AJBS requires that all references follow APA style formatting, adapted to a numbered reference list.

Authors must format references as APA journal article entries, such as:

  1. Stanley, S. L. (2003). Amoebiasis. Lancet, 361(9362), 1025–1034. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12830-9

  2. Guillén, N. (2023). Pathogenicity and virulence of Entamoeba histolytica, the agent of amoebiasis. Virulence, 14(1), 2158656. https://doi.org/10.1080/21505594.2022.2158656

  3. Ralston, K. S., & Petri, W. A. (2011). Tissue destruction and invasion by Entamoeba histolytica. Trends in Parasitology, 27(6), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2011.02.006

  4. Mondal, D., Petri, W. A., Sack, R. B., Kirkpatrick, B. D., & Haque, R. (2006). Entamoeba histolytica-associated diarrheal illness is negatively associated with the growth of preschool children. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 193(12), 1760–1764.

  5. Korpe, P. S., Haque, R., Gilchrist, C., Valencia, C., Niu, F., Lu, M., et al. (2013). Natural history of cryptosporidiosis in a longitudinal study of slum-dwelling Bangladeshi children. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 7(12), e2564.

Important Requirements

  • Arrange references numerically, not alphabetically.

  • Ensure every citation in the text appears in the reference list and vice versa.

  • For DOIs, always use the URL DOI format:
    https://doi.org/xxxxx

1.5 Tables and Figures

  • Number tables and figures consecutively (Table 1, Figure 1, etc.).

  • Include clear titles, legends, and labels.

  • Use Times New Roman 12 pt inside tables; Symbol for scientific symbols.

  • Figures must be high-resolution (300 dpi or higher).

1.6 Ethical Requirements

  • Human and animal studies must include ethics approval.

  • Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest and funding sources.

1.7 Submission

  • Submit manuscripts in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) only.

  • The manuscript must be original and not under review elsewhere.

  • Authors may be asked to provide a plagiarism report (Turnitin).