The ten most common reasons for original research manuscripts not being considered by MHR

1. The mechanistic or explanatory dimension is completely lacking (the study purely relies on associations or correlations without offering molecular, cellular, or tissue-based explanations for the observed phenomena).
2. Results are cursory or preliminary e.g., they fit on one page and/or have a sample size of 1.
3. Obvious statistical or technical flaws e.g., lack of a control group or lack of reagent validation.
4. Oncology studies on reproductive tissues when the study does not concern reproduction – only the origin of the tissue (e.g., ovarian cancer, cervical cancer or breast cancer).
5. Experiments conducted on cell lines only, leaving the question open as to the physiological or in vivo relevance of the results.
6. Exploratory study of genetic variants (mutated/pathogenic alleles), diagnostic markers or biomarkers, without advancing our understanding of reproductive mechanisms.
7. GWAS without any validation of association by independent method(s) (we can accept in vitro or in silico tests, but complete lack of any validation is not acceptable).
8. A sole focus on technology (e.g., testing of technical procedures on the quality of gametes).  A demonstration of how the technology can advance the (pre)clinical practice or provide new biological insight must be provided.
9. Lack of a firm conclusion (the study makes plausible suggestions but fails to provide conclusive empirical evidence).
10. Use of poorly defined chemical compounds or mixtures thereof, since the reproducibility of the study is undermined.