Cell

Cell's impact factor obsession fuels a publish-or-perish culture in biology where researchers spend years chasing aesthetic preferences instead of asking genuinely important questions. In 2025, its rejection rate hit 92%, 10% higher than Nature's rate, and papers take an average of 18 months to review—twice as long as the typical biology journal. This forces scientists to prioritize stylized figures over robust data, driving a 15% rise in questionable research practices.