ArticlePLoS biology2021
Creating clear and informative image-based figures for scientific publications.
Article in PLoS biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence and practices of immunofluorescent cell image processing: a systematic review.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Engaging figures.Nature methods · 2026Article
- Accommodating color vision deficiencies in biomedical publications.Anatomy & cell biology · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial Abundant Heat Soluble (MAHS) Protein Expression Modulates Metabolic Dynamics in Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Neurosteroid (3α,5α)3-hydroxypregnan-20-one enhancement of anti-inflammatory chemokine CX3CL1 exhibits sex, brain region, and cellular specificity in alcohol-preferring rats.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Color Graphics: Can Everyone See Them?Cellular and molecular gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Article
- Reflect: reporting guidelines for preclinical, translational and clinical fluorescence molecular imaging studies.Npj imaging · 2025Article
- Best practices in plant fluorescence imaging and reporting: A primer.The Plant cell · 2025Review
- Practical considerations for data exploration in quantitative cell biology.Journal of cell science · 2025Article
- Use of Stacked Proportional Bar Graphs ("Grotta Bars") in Observational Neurology Research: A Meta-Research Study.Neurology · 2025Article
- Contextual Analysis of Scientific Publications for Advancing Writing Skills (CASPArS): Self-Learning for Science Writing Using Top Scientists' Literature.Journal of chemical education · 2025Article
- The crucial role of bioimage analysts in scientific research and publication.Journal of cell science · 2024Article
- Identifying images in the biology literature that are problematic for people with a color-vision deficiency.eLife · 2024Article
- INNBC DApp, a decentralized application to permanently store biomedical data on a modern, proof-of-stake (POS), blockchain such as BNB Smart Chain.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Article
- Shortcut citations in the methods section: Frequency, problems, and strategies for responsible reuse.PLoS biology · 2024Review
- Community-developed checklists for publishing images and image analyses.Nature methods · 2024Review
- Ten simple rules for designing graphical abstracts.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Editorial viewpoints of scientific publishing for early-career research scientists.BMC proceedings · 2024Review
- Editorial: Histochemistry and Cell Biology implements new submission guidelines for image presentation and image analysis.Histochemistry and cell biology · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Scientists routinely use images to display data. Readers often examine figures first; therefore, it is important that figures are accessible to a broad audience. Many resources discuss fraudulent image manipulation and technical specifications for image acquisition; however, data on the legibility and interpretability of images are scarce. We systematically examined these factors in non-blot images published in the top 15 journals in 3 fields; plant sciences, cell biology, and physiology (n = 580 papers). Common problems included missing scale bars, misplaced or poorly marked insets, images or labels that were not accessible to colorblind readers, and insufficient explanations of colors, labels, annotations, or the species and tissue or object depicted in the image. Papers that met all good practice criteria examined for all image-based figures were uncommon (physiology 16%, cell biology 12%, plant sciences 2%). We present detailed descriptions and visual examples to help scientists avoid common pitfalls when publishing images. Our recommendations address image magnification, scale information, insets, annotation, and color and may encourage discussion about quality standards for bioimage publishing.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.