PNAS Nexus Skills

Use before any writing — as the first gate — to stress-test whether a result fits PNAS Nexus — high-quality, broadly significant, multidisciplinary research across biological/health/medical, physical sciences & engineering, and social & political sciences — and to make the realistic call between PNAS Nexus, flagship PNAS, and a field journal, including the PNAS-to-PNAS-Nexus transfer route.

Use to build PNAS Nexus's Data and Code Availability — mandatory public-repository deposition of all materials, data, code, and protocols upon publication, retention of raw unprocessed images, accession numbers/DOIs, the [dataset] citation tag, and a compliant availability statement. "Available on request" alone is not sufficient, and failure can be grounds for rejection or retraction.

Use to finalize PNAS Nexus display items — count figures and tables against the graphical-element budget, size to journal column widths, set legible fonts, show-the-data with n and defined error bars, scale bars, colorblind-safe palettes, legend structure, and image integrity (raw, unprocessed images must be retained). Enforces figure rigor before submission.

Use to choose the PNAS Nexus article type, structure the main text, and hold the page-based length budget — Research Report / Brief Report / Perspective / Review / Registered Report — keep Materials and Methods in the main text, and select the required research-area classification at submission.

Use to write the PNAS Nexus abstract — a single self-contained paragraph of up to 250 words, with no headings, quantified and accessible to a broad scientific audience. Distinguishes the abstract (what/how/found, for scientists) from the 50–120-word Significance Statement (why-it-matters, for everyone). Late-stage polish.

Use to get PNAS Nexus references right — note that PNAS Nexus accepts references in any readable style at submission (unlike flagship PNAS's strict numbered-by-appearance), so the job is internal consistency, completeness, resolvable in-text citations, and the [dataset] tag for data/software. Prepare a single consistent (preferably numbered) style for production; confirm the final style on acceptance.

Use after PNAS Nexus reviews arrive to triage the decision, prioritize experiments, and draft a point-by-point response that is respectful, evidence-led, and honest about limits. Covers the case where reviews were carried over from a PNAS transfer. Do not run before the main text is actually revised.

Use when deciding which pnasnexus-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing a manuscript from scope/significance test through reviewer rebuttal for PNAS Nexus (the fully open-access sibling journal of PNAS, published by Oxford University Press for the U.S. National Academy of Sciences). Routes — it does not replace — the specialized skills.

Use to settle PNAS Nexus's open-access decisions — confirm the gold-OA model and the article processing charge (APC), check eligibility for waivers/discounts (low-/middle-income countries, Read & Publish, membership) and funder compliance, and choose the license (CC BY vs CC BY-NC). This is PNAS Nexus's signature pre-submission decision; it replaces flagship PNAS's Direct/Contributed track choice (PNAS Nexus has no such track).

Use to enforce PNAS Nexus's statistics and reproducibility reporting — n and replication, test choice and assumptions, effect sizes with uncertainty, multiple-comparison control, randomization/blinding, sample-size justification, and reproducible code. Also covers whether a Registered Report (Stage 1/2) is the right route for confirmatory work.

Use as the final preflight before submitting to PNAS Nexus — a complete checklist across fit, open access/APC/license, article type & length, Significance Statement, abstract, classification, figures, statistics, data/code, references, and required files. Covers the PNAS-transfer case and bundles a checklist and cover-letter template. Emits GO/NO-GO.

Use to write the PNAS Nexus Significance Statement — between 50 and 120 words, in plain language for a broad scientific audience, explaining why the work matters. Required for Research Reports and Stage 2 Registered Reports. Distinct from the abstract. One of the highest-value PNAS Nexus front-matter artifacts.