Some research areas covered by the journal include cell biology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, morphogenesis, and immunology.

[1] Its founding editor-in-chief was English biologist James F. Danielli, who remained editor until his death in 1984.

[2] The journal is published by Elsevier and, as of 2021[update], the editors-in-chief are Denise Kirschner (University of Michigan Medical School), Mark Chaplain (University of St. Andrews), and Akira Sawaki (Aichi Cancer Center, Nagoya).

Lewis Wolpert served as editor-in-chief for more than 55 years.

[4] The following are the most highly cited articles (more than 2,000 citations at April 2021) that have been published in the journal: