The National Library of Medicine has paused indexing newly published Scientific Reports papers in MEDLINE and archiving them in PubMed Central while it reevaluates the journal, meaning recent research is not appearing in PubMed. The review became apparent after independent researcher Tom Lahey noticed that the journal’s PubMed article counts had fallen below their usual levels for two consecutive months and contacted the publisher. The latest indexed papers were published September 15. Scientific Reports had 28,593 articles indexed in 2026 by the time of reporting, although its website listed 41,122 papers published that year.
NLM has not explained why it is reviewing the journal or how long the process will take. Its policy says journals may be reevaluated after significant changes, including shifts in annual publishing volume or article types; such reviews typically take seven to 10 months. Scientific Reports’ editor said the journal is working with NLM and expects indexing, including for papers published during the pause, to resume after the review. The publisher cited the journal’s substantial growth since its launch 15 years ago and said it remains committed to quality. Published by Springer Nature, Scientific Reports is the largest journal in PubMed by article count, has more than 11,000 editorial board members, and charges authors a $2,850 publication fee.
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