Biology of Sex Differences

Call for Papers: Sex Differences in Autoimmune Disease

Biology of Sex Differences is calling for submissions to our Collection on Sex Differences in Autoimmune Disease. Most autoimmune diseases occur predominantly in women. This Collection provides recent data and perspectives on Sex and Gender Differences in Autoimmune Diseases from leaders in the field.

Call for Papers: Eschewing the Binary: Sex and Gender Science in Human and Non-human Animal Research

This Collection in Biology of Sex Differences is an occasion to highlight recent research and emerging perspectives on the interaction of sex and gender as well as to convene a conversation about how the social influences the biological, and in turn, how that interaction affects individuals. 

Call for Papers: Sex/Gender Differences in Social Determinants of Health at Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences

This collection in Biology of Sex Differences invites SCOR(E) Directors to submit articles from their Specialized Centers of Research (Excellence) addressing sex/gender differences in social determinants of health.

Featured Review: Differently different?: A commentary on the emerging social cognitive neuroscience of female autism

Gina Rippon, Published: 13 June 2024

Decades of research have excluded or overlooked females on the autistic spectrum, resulting in the construction of inaccurate and misleading cognitive neuroscience models, and missed opportunities to explore the brain bases of this highly complex condition. A note of warning needs to be sounded about inferences drawn from past research, but if future research addresses this problem of male bias, then a deeper understanding of autism as a whole, as well as in previously overlooked females, will start to emerge.

Cover image: © Pan Macmillan 2025 (UK); © Seal Press 2025 (US)

Featured Editorial: A call for inclusive research, policies, and leadership to close the global women’s health gap

Women comprise approximately half of the world’s population, yet they are often underrepresented and inadequately considered in medical and public health research and in health care delivery in the United States and around the world. Elucidating sex and gender differences in disease and fundamental hormonal drivers of women’s health is instrumental to informing our overall understanding of human health and improving women’s health outcomes across the lifespan. The Society for Women’s Health Research and ECH Alliance–The Global Health Connector hosted a women’s health program as part of the United Nations 79th General Assembly Science Summit. Here, I briefly describe the basis for this convening to address global gender health gaps and reflect on the event’s presentations and discussions to recognize and better integrate women’s unique health needs in the sustainable development goals.

Irene O. Aninye, Society for Women’s Health Research

Image courtesy of the Society for Women’s Health Research

Aims and scope

Biology of Sex Differences is unlike any other scientific journal: articles focus on sex differences in all aspects of an individual or organism. Everything from molecules to behavior and from studies of cellular function to clinical research studies are reported in this journal. Biology of Sex Differences aims to improve understanding of basic biological principles mediating sex differences and foster development of therapeutic and diagnostic tools that are sex-dependent. To the extent that gender influences biological outcomes, this journal also is interested in research addressing gender differences. Articles are expected to report results that directly compare sex/gender differences in the statistical analysis.

Biology of Sex Differences addresses a broad audience of readers. Articles are expected to report and discuss their findings using language that is accessible to non-specialists in the field, please minimize discipline-specific jargon. The Title and Abstract should be understandable to non-specialists. The novelty of the findings should be clear to all readers, non-experts as well as experts. To this end, the use of abbreviations should also be kept to a minimum. We now require a Plain English summary in addition to the Abstract.

Please refer to the “About” page for further details. Note also the changes to ‘Criteria’ that have been made including the requirement for 5 suggested reviewers included in the appropriate field during submission: https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/submission-guidelines

In your cover letter, please note two members of our Editorial Board to review your manuscript , dependent on the relevant expertise. In light of this, please ensure that there are no conflicts of interest.

Biology of Sex Differences is the official journal of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, and a publication of the Society for Women's Health Research.

Watch for new special collections announcements coming soon!