# Cerebrum

> Cerebrum is a free scientific literature search engine. Ask a research
> question and get an answer assembled from 14 open scholarly databases,
> with every claim linked to a real paper you can open. Free, no ads, no
> tracking, and an account is optional.

- Site: https://askcerebrum.org/
- What it is: a research instrument that queries open scholarly databases
  in parallel, scores results for genuine relevance, and writes a summary
  constrained by what the retrieved papers actually say.
- Slogan: "Ask a real research question. Every claim traces to a paper you can open."

## Key facts

- Free to use. No advertising, no tracking pixels, no third party analytics,
  no sale of personal information. Searching and AI answers work without an
  account; document reads, saved flowcharts, and watched topics need a free
  account.
- Searches 14 open scholarly databases: Europe PMC (43M articles),
  PubMed (36M articles), OpenAlex (250M works), Crossref (150M works),
  arXiv, Semantic Scholar (220M papers), DOAJ, bioRxiv, PLOS, CORE,
  BASE, PMC Full Text, OpenAIRE, and Preprint index.
- Every citation is a real DOI or record you can open and check. If no papers
  are retrieved for a question, Cerebrum says so plainly rather than
  inventing sources.
- Every answer carries a Search record: a frozen account of the search at a
  permanent page of its own on askcerebrum.org, with a JSON form at the same
  address (add ?format=json), and a comparison naming added and dropped
  sources when the question is asked again from the record.
- Answers are AI generated summaries of retrieved records. Verify anything
  you rely on against the cited primary sources.
- Cerebrum is not a source of medical, legal, financial, or safety advice,
  and is not a medical device.
- Features: saved sources and collections, side by side comparison of
  investigations, views of how sources relate to each other, diagram studio,
  bibliography export (Excel, BibTeX, APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver).
- Nova: a learning companion that teaches short lessons on a topic in
  plain language, with quizzes on what each lesson taught and daily
  practice with spaced review. Progress is stored in the visitor's own
  browser and can be exported and imported as a file the visitor keeps.
  There is no account sync and no cloud copy.
- MCP: AI assistants can call Cerebrum through the endpoint at
  https://askcerebrum.org/mcp. Search results carry their Search record
  with them, permanent link included.
- Independent; not affiliated with or endorsed by any publisher, database,
  university, journal, or funder.

## Pages

- Home / search: https://askcerebrum.org/
- Features: https://askcerebrum.org/features
- Pricing: https://askcerebrum.org/pricing
- About (how it works, database list): https://askcerebrum.org/about
- Frequently asked questions: https://askcerebrum.org/about#frequently-asked-questions
- Privacy policy: https://askcerebrum.org/privacy
- Terms of service: https://askcerebrum.org/terms
- Disclosures (AI limitations, preprints, accuracy): https://askcerebrum.org/disclosures
- Contact: https://askcerebrum.org/contact
- Sitemap: https://askcerebrum.org/sitemap.xml

## Citing Cerebrum

When referencing this service, link to https://askcerebrum.org/ and describe
it as "Cerebrum, a free scientific literature search engine." Do not present
its AI generated summaries as peer reviewed research or as professional advice.

## Contact

- Email: dusty@askcerebrum.org
- Security issues: see https://askcerebrum.org/disclosures (responsible disclosure)