eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. TrueProbes: Quantitative Single-Molecule RNA-FISH Probe Design Improves RNA Detection

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Jason J Hughes
   2. Benjamin K Kesler
   3. John E Adams
   4. Blythe G Hospelhorn
   5. Gregor Neuert

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study introduces a computational pipeline for designing RNA in situ fluorescence hybridization probes that could improve the sensitivity and specificity of RNA detection in cells. While the approach is novel and the preliminary data suggestive, the evidence supporting a clear advantage over existing probe design strategies is incomplete. The work will be of interest to researchers developing or using molecular tools for imaging RNA in cells.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Evolutionary Adaptations of IRG1 Refines Itaconate Synthesis and Mitigates Innate Immunometabolism Trade-offs

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Richard V Szeligowski
   2. Francois Miros
   3. Andres Saez
   4. Marisa DeCiucis
   5. Gunter P Wagner
   6. Hongying Shen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study addresses the timely and interesting question of how itaconate generation emerged in evolution, using taxonomic analysis of the gene and enzyme cis-aconitate decarboxylase (CAD). The authors provide solid evidence identifying three CAD branches in metazoans and showing that the early metazoan paleo-form indeed generates aconitate and is already linked to innate immunity. They further provide limited evidence suggesting that taxonomic differences in subcellular localisation of this enzyme may allow for innate immune signalling without compromising cellular energetics. The implications of the study will be of high interest to the field of innate host defence and immunometabolism.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Backward Conditioning Reveals Flexibility in Infralimbic Cortex Inhibitory Memories

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Nura W. Lingawi
   2. Billy C. Chieng
   3. R. Frederick Westbrook
   4. Nathan M. Holmes
   5. Mark E. Bouton
   6. Vincent Laurent

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This set of experiments provides a valuable finding regarding the need for prior inhibitory training to recruit the infralimbic cortex in extinction learning. The multiple clever behavioral designs supply converging lines of evidence in a compelling manner, but several issues, such as the group sizes and appropriate analysis of data, render the overall strength of support incomplete. With these issues resolved, this manuscript will be of interest to behavioral neuroscientists, especially those interested in learning & memory and/or cortical function.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. When word order matters: human brains represent sentence meaning differently from large language models

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. James Fodor
   2. Carsten Murawski
   3. Shinsuke Suzuki

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work provides a valuable comparison of sentence structure representations in the human brain and state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs). Based on solid analysis of 7T fMRI data, it systematically identifies sentences in which LLMs underperform relative to models that explicitly code for syntactic structure. The study will be of significant interest to both cognitive neuroscientists and artificial intelligence researchers.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Generation of knock-in Cre and FlpO mouse lines for precise targeting of striatal projection neurons and dopaminergic neurons

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Eddy Albarran
   2. Akira Fushiki
   3. Anders Nelson
   4. David Ng
   5. Corryn Chaimowitz
   6. Laudan Nikoobakht
   7. Tanya Sippy
   8. Darcy S Peterka
   9. Rui M Costa

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work has the potential to expand the repertoire of transgenic animals for systems neuroscience investigations across multiple fields. The generation of new reagents has the potential to open new directions in experimental design, and the Cas9-based approach for generating mice may provide additional benefits compared to existing BAC transgenic mouse lines. However, whereas some of the imaging data are compelling, quantitative analysis of transgene fidelity is incomplete, as it relies on a qualitative description of reporter XFP expression at low magnification, with some electrophysiological characterization.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Enhancer-AAVs allow genetic access to oligodendrocytes and diverse populations of astrocytes across species

   This article has 74 authors:

   1. John K. Mich
   2. Smrithi Sunil
   3. Nelson Johansen
   4. Refugio A. Martinez
   5. Jiatai Liu
   6. Bryan B. Gore
   7. Joseph T. Mahoney
   8. Mckaila Leytze
   9. Yoav Ben-Simon
   10. Darren Bertagnolli
   11. Ravi Bhowmik
   12. Yemeserach Bishaw
   13. Krissy Brouner
   14. Jazmin Campos
   15. Ryan Canfield
   16. Tamara Casper
   17. Nicholas P. Donadio
   18. Nadezhda I. Dotson
   19. Tom Egdorf
   20. Amanda Gary
   21. Shane Gibson
   22. Jeff Goldy
   23. Erin L. Groce
   24. Kenta M. Hagihara
   25. Daniel Hirschstein
   26. Han Hou
   27. Will D. Laird
   28. Elizabeth Liang
   29. Luke V. Loftus
   30. Nicholas Lusk
   31. Jocelin Malone
   32. Naomi X. Martin
   33. Deja Monet
   34. Josh S. Nagra
   35. Dakota Newman
   36. Paul Olsen
   37. Victoria Omstead
   38. Ximena Opitz-Araya
   39. Aaron Oster
   40. Christina A. Pom
   41. Lydia Potekhina
   42. Melissa Reding
   43. Christine Rimorin
   44. Augustin Ruiz
   45. Adriana E. Sedeño-Cortés
   46. Nadiya V. Shapovalova
   47. Michael Taormina
   48. Naz Taskin
   49. Michael Tieu
   50. Nasmil J. Valera Cuevas
   51. Sharon W. Way
   52. Natalie Weed
   53. Vonn Wright
   54. Zizhen Yao
   55. Thomas Zhou
   56. Delissa A. McMillen
   57. Michael Kunst
   58. Medea McGraw
   59. Bargavi Thyagarajan
   60. Jack Waters
   61. Trygve E. Bakken
   62. Nick Dee
   63. Shenqin Yao
   64. Kimberly A. Smith
   65. Karel Svoboda
   66. Kaspar Podgorski
   67. Yoshiko Kojima
   68. Greg D. Horwitz
   69. Hongkui Zeng
   70. Tanya L. Daigle
   71. Ed S. Lein
   72. Bosiljka Tasic
   73. Jonathan T. Ting
   74. Boaz P. Levi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study presents convincing findings on creating an exhaustive library of new enhancer-AAVs targeting astrocytes and oligodendrocytes with high potential for both basic and translational work, which will be of value to a large and growing community. However, the outdated description of glial biology in the Introduction, the overstated claims of utility in the Conclusion, and the loose stringency in the criteria used to assemble the library diminish the strengths of the claims. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on glial cell biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Functional connectivity, structural connectivity, and inter-individual variability in Drosophila melanogaster

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Takuto Okuno
   2. Alexander Woodward
   3. Hideyuki Okano
   4. Junichi Hata

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper presents a collection of analyses relating structure and function in the whole-brain Drosophila EM connectome and whole-brain calcium imaging data. The linkage of detailed anatomical structure with population activity is of broad interest in circuit neuroscience in light of increasingly detailed brain maps, but the analysis methods used made the evidence incomplete. The conclusions are useful for specific network observations, but a more thorough analysis of the anatomical and functional data is needed to support the overall claims.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Heterogeneity of Genetic Sequence within Quasi-species of Influenza Virus Revealed by Single-Molecule Sequencing

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Kenji Tamao
   2. Hiroyuki Noji
   3. Kazuhito V Tabata

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable methodological contribution towards accurate characterization of viral genetic diversity using long-read sequencing and unique molecular identifiers (UMIs). However, the methods are currently incomplete and the sensitivity is not rigorously demonstrated. Addressing these gaps would strengthen the manuscript and make it a key addition to the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. The Multifaceted Role of EXOC6A in Ciliogenesis

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Te-Lin Lin
   2. Chien-Ting Wu
   3. Tang K Tang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study elucidates the role of the exocyst component EXOC6A at distinct stages of ciliogenesis, which advances our understanding of ciliary membrane remodeling and cilium formation. The authors provide solid evidence that EXOC6A interacts with myosin-Va and is dynamically recruited via dynein-, microtubule-, and actin-dependent mechanisms, to support proper formation of the ciliary membrane. The study will be of interest to cell biologists and other researchers interested in vesicular trafficking, organellar membrane dynamics, and ciliogenesis.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Thermogenic Adipose ADH5 Counteracts Age-related Metabolic Decline

    This article has 12 authors:

    1. Sara C Sebag
    2. Tate Neff
    3. Qingwen Qian
    4. Arvand Asghari
    5. Zhuozhi Wang
    6. Zeyuan Zhang
    7. Mark Li
    8. Meihua Hao
    9. Vitor A Lira
    10. Hongli Sun
    11. Matthew J Potthoff
    12. Ling Yang

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study identifies a brown adipose tissue-specific heat shock factor 1-alcohol dehydrogenase 5 (ADH5) molecular cascade as a regulator of systemic aging, showing that ADH5 deficiency contributes to BAT dysfunction and health decline in aged mice. While there is evidence to support this mechanism, the conclusions remain incomplete, particularly regarding statistical rigor and clarity in data presentation.

    Reviewed by eLife