molcell-fit
Use when triaging a study before any writing — stress-tests whether it clears Molecular Cell's bar (a deep molecular mechanism proven by orthogonal approaches with physiological relevance) or belongs at a sibling. Use this first to decide Molecular Cell vs Cell vs Cell Reports vs NSMB/EMBO J before investing in framing or figures.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill molcell-fit --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Mechanism & Scope Fit (molcell-fit) ## Why this is skill #1 Molecular Cell triages **most submissions to rejection without external review**. The gate is not "is it correct" and not "is it interesting" — it is **"is the molecular mechanism worked out, proven by independent methods, and shown to matter in a physiological setting."** A striking phenotype with a proposed-but-unproven mechanism is desk-rejected. Run this before writing a word. ## When to trigger - Before drafting, to decide if Molecular Cell is the right Cell Press venue. - When a co-author says "this is a Molecular Cell paper" and you need a sober check. - When choosing among Molecular Cell, Cell, Cell Reports, and the strong field competitors (NSMB, EMBO J, Genes & Dev, Nucleic Acids Research). ## Molecular Cell's home domains Molecular Cell publishes mechanism in a defined set of areas. Confirm your work sits squarely in one: - **Gene expression** — transcription, RNA Pol I/II/III mechanism, splicing, translation. - **Chromatin & epigenetics** — nucleosome dynamics, histone modification, remodelers, 3D genome. - **RNA biology** — ncRNA, RNA modification, RNP assembly, decay, RNA–protein interactions. - **DNA repli
- Why this is skill #1
- When to trigger
- Molecular Cell's home domains
- The "deep mechanism" test
- Mechanistic-depth ladder (weak → strong)
- Fatal pre-review-reject triggers
- Venue routing within Cell Press and beyond
- Output format
- Anti-patterns
What does the molcell-fit skill do?
Use when triaging a study before any writing — stress-tests whether it clears Molecular Cell's bar (a deep molecular mechanism proven by orthogonal approaches with physiological relevance) or belongs at a sibling. Use this first to decide Molecular Cell vs Cell vs Cell Reports vs NSMB/EMBO J before investing in framing or figures.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill molcell-fit --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.