Sciences reviews the research works of early career scientists; provides them with feedback; promotes their works and provides quantitative and qualitative indicators about their reach and influence; and gets media coverage in venues such as the New York Times and National Geographic. It makes every paper accessible to students, colleagues in other fields, and the public through impact statements, plain language summaries such as eLife Digests, and selected expert commentaries such as eLife Insights.

eLife Sciences deals with fundamental and theoretical work, through to translational, applied, and clinical research. It publishes research articles, short reports, editorials, and insights on topics such as biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology, cell biology, computational and systems biology, developmental biology and stem cells, ecology, epidemiology and global health, genes and chromosomes, genomics and evolutionary biology, human biology and medicine, immunology, microbiology and infectious disease, neuroscience, and plant biology. It also offers podcasts and tools and resources.

eLife Sciences was launched in 2011 and its operations are based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is a joint initiative of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society, and the Wellcome Trust.