{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T08:51:54Z","timestamp":1789548714543,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770768000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770768000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["mBio"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>The bioRxiv and medRxiv preprint servers brought preprinting to the life sciences and played a critical role in disseminating COVID research during the pandemic. Here, I reflect on the birth of bioRxiv and medRxiv and the crucial role so many members of the community played, our experience during the pandemic, and the launch of the new non-profit organization set up to oversee the servers. The pandemic was a stress test for bioRxiv and medRxiv that demonstrated their value and robustness. Under the umbrella of openRxiv, they are now poised to become long-term infrastructure underpinning a new publishing ecosystem.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/mbio.02989-25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T14:01:09Z","timestamp":1768226469000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Story behind the Science: Preprints of pandemic potential\u2014how bioRxiv and medRxiv brought preprints to the life sciences"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6478-931X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Richard","family":"Sever","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"openRxiv Corporation","place":["Davis, USA"]},{"name":"Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory","place":["New York, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"235","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15252\/embj.201695531"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pbio.3000273"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(97)11096-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","unstructured":"Topol E Krumholz H. 2015. Don\u2019t delay news of medical breakthroughs. Available from: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/09\/18\/opinion\/dont-delay-news-of-medical-breakthroughs.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.319.7224.1515"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Chen T Rui J Wang Q Zhao Z Cui J-A Yin L. 2020. A mathematical model for simulating the transmission of Wuhan novel coronavirus. bioRxiv. doi:10.1101\/2020.01.19.911669","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.01.19.911669"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Walls AC Park Y-J Tortorici MA Wall A McGuire AT Veesler D. 2020. Structure function and antigenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. bioRxiv. 2020.02.19.956581. doi:10.1101\/2020.02.19.956581","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.02.19.956581"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Horby P Lim WS Emberson J Mafham M Bell J Linsell L Staplin N Brightling C Ustianowski A Elmahi E et al.. 2020. Effect of dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 \u2013 preliminary report. medRxiv. 2020.06.22.20137273. doi:10.1101\/2020.06.22.20137273","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.06.22.20137273"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Dragotakes Q Johnson PW Buras MR Carter RE Joyner MJ Bloch E Gebo KA Hanley DF Henderson JP Pirofski L Shoham S Senefeld JW Tobian AA Wiggins CC Wright RS Paneth NS Sullivan DJ Casadevall A. 2024. Estimates of actual and potential lives saved in the United States from the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma. medRxiv. doi:10.1101\/2024.05.16.24307505","DOI":"10.1101\/2024.05.16.24307505"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.1002563"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","unstructured":"Sever R Inglis JR Bloom TR Rawlinson C Krumholz HM Ross JS. 2021. Pandemic preprints\u2014a duty of responsible stewardship. Available from: https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/04\/27\/pandemic-preprints-a-duty-of-responsible-stewardship\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","unstructured":"Sever R Inglis JR. 2021. In defense of preprints. Available from: https:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/opinion-in-defense-of-preprints-69399"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/03007995.2022.2030597"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","unstructured":"Quake S. 2017. Stanford Medicine Big Data | Precision Health 2017. Available from: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zt9hlbet2Lk"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pbio.3002234"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41568-024-00718-2"}],"container-title":["mBio"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1128\/mbio.02989-25","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1128\/mbio.02989-25","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T14:03:45Z","timestamp":1770818625000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/10.1128\/mbio.02989-25"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Arturo","family":"Casadevall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]]},"references-count":16,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1128\/mbio.02989-25"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/mbio.02989-25","relation":{},"ISSN":["2150-7511"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2150-7511","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-01-12","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e02989-25"}}