eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Yoda molecules agonize PIEZO2

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Tharaka D. Wijerathne
   2. Aneesh Chandrasekharan
   3. Aashish Bhatt
   4. Yun L. Luo
   5. Jérôme J. Lacroix

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents an important finding regarding the effect of Yoda molecules on PIEZO2 function, challenging the assumption that they selectively activate PIEZO1. The evidence supporting this claim is solid, but several methodological and conceptual issues need to be addressed. Overall, this work will be of broad interest to researchers working with PIEZO channels across various biological scales.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Characterization of an early-diverging KCNE potassium-channel auxiliary subunit in the jawless vertebrate lamprey

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Go Kasuya
   2. Kaei Ryu
   3. Buntaro Zempo
   4. Emi Kawano-Yamashita
   5. Koichi Nakajo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this manuscript, the authors describe a new member of the KCNE auxiliary subunits of potassium channels from a lamprey. This new subunit represents an early evolutionary member which confers new properties when expressed along with KCNQ channels. The authors present convincing evidence from several experimental approaches. The contents of this manuscript are important and should be relevant to understanding both the mechanism of modulation of KCNQ channels by KCNE subunits and the evolutionary history of these subunits, which this manuscript now extends to the divergence of early vertebrates.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Whisker-based pre-neuronal and peripheral encoding of surface stickiness

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Isis S Wyche
   2. Michaela A O’Neil
   3. Daniel H O’Connor

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study investigates how surface stickiness shapes whisker mechanics and peripheral neural responses during active touch. The biomechanical evidence that surface stickiness alters whisker mechanics and stick-slip dynamics is compelling, supported by a large and high-quality 3D dataset, while the electrophysiological evidence is solid but limited by a small sample size and insufficient validation of the sticky stimuli. The work will be of broad interest to sensory neuroscientists studying active touch.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Single-cell transcriptome-wide Mendelian randomization and colocalization analyses reveal immune-cell-specific mechanisms and actionable drug targets in prostate cancer

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Yanggang Hong
   2. Yi Wang
   3. Yirong Wang
   4. Feng Chen
   5. Jiajun Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a useful compendium of triangulated single-cell eQTLs, Mendelian randomisation and colocalization of genetic signals in prostate cancer datasets. Biological interpretation in the context of the aging prostate gland, the tumour microenvironment and immune cell specificity is incomplete, so this study is a starting point for further study, and would require validation of the resulting putative causal genes.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Cell cycle dependent variation in endocytosis drives phenotypic diversity in M. tuberculosis

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Neeraja Subhash
   2. Sandhya Krishnan Radhakrishnan
   3. Hitakshi Vijay
   4. Neilay Bhalerao
   5. Sahanawaz Molla
   6. Anton Iyer
   7. Shaon Chakrabarti
   8. Varadharajan Sundaramurthy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study explores how macrophage cell-cycle state may influence endocytosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis uptake, and the intracellular stress experienced by bacteria. While the question is interesting and the experimental approach has promise, the evidence for the central claim that endocytic capacity is specifically regulated by cell-cycle stage is incomplete. The main concern is that fluorescence-based sorting and total-fluorescence measurements likely covary with cell size, so the reported phenotypes could reflect biomass accumulation or other cell-cycle-associated changes rather than endocytic capacity as the causal determinant. As a result, whilst the study raises a hypothesis that is of importance, additional controls are required before the proposed mechanism can be considered well supported.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Synthetic torpor in the rat protects the heart from ischaemia-reperfusion injury

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Megan Elley
   2. Ludovico Taddei
   3. Muz Ali Khan
   4. Una Rose Wilcox
   5. Timna Hitrec
   6. Anthony E Pickering
   7. Michael Ambler

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important submission from Ambler and colleagues brings new insights into how torpor conditions may confer resilience in cases of cardioprotection. It has novelty, which can be enhanced by additional in vivo support. The study is backed by solid evidence, and represents a unique interoceptive mechanism of interest.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Electroconvulsive stimulation drives cortical spreading depression dependent immediate early gene expression in mice

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Hugo J Ladret
   2. Leonardo Lupori
   3. Lorenzo Sieni
   4. Eduard Stroukov
   5. Takahiro Kanamori
   6. Sarah Ulrich
   7. Else Schneider
   8. Gunnar Deuring
   9. Annette B Brühl
   10. Georg B Keller

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study addresses a recent discovery by others that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) generates seizure activity and spreading depolarization (SD), reflected in large increases in calcium, which can be followed by imaging calcium fluctuations in neurons. This work is useful. However, the evidence to show that SD, rather than seizures, confers the neuroplastic and other therapeutic effects of ECT is incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Environmental statistics and sensory experience shape patch foraging strategies in Drosophila larvae

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Akhila Mudunuri
   2. Klára Tučková
   3. Ahmed El Hady
   4. Katrin Vogt

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable manuscript investigates how Drosophila larvae make foraging decisions in patchy environments with controlled resource density and valence; using movement tracking in bounded arenas, the authors show that larvae's patch residence time (PRT) differs depending on resource type, environmental context, and prior experience. A drift-diffusion model is used to describe patch-leaving behaviour, suggesting that an integration process may underlie stay-leave decisions during foraging. The strength of the evidence is mostly solid, but the interpretation and use of PRT needs further investigation, as PRT could be a direct effect of resource concentration on locomotion. Explicit reports of PRT statistical tests are needed for rigorous interpretation.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Efficient Working Memory Maintenance via High-Dimensional Rotational Dynamics

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Laura Ritter
   2. Angus Chadwick

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study investigates noise-robust and energy-efficient circuit mechanisms for working memory by optimizing connectivity and reports that the resulting networks exhibit rotational dynamics and better match aspects of PFC population recording. However, the supporting evidence remains incomplete, given the restricted linear, task-specific training and analysis, and limited comparisons with other prominent models. The manuscript would be strengthened by extending the analysis to nonlinear dynamics, providing more rigorous comparisons with alternative models, and establishing a stronger link to prior theoretical and experimental work.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Coordinated beak–tongue mechanics enable dexterous seed manipulation in songbirds

    This article has 7 authors:

    1. Maja Mielke
    2. Falk Mielke
    3. Nicholas W Gladman
    4. Dan A Tatulescu
    5. Anthony Herrel
    6. Coen PH Elemans
    7. Sam Van Wassenbergh

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important study advances our understanding of the biomechanics of seed processing in birds by providing a comprehensive 3D kinematic analysis of coordinated bill and tongue movements across two species with contrasting biting forces. The evidence is convincing, combining high-speed XROMM with Bayesian statistical modeling in a rigorous and technically innovative framework that advances the understanding of avian feeding kinematics. Strengthening the statistical validation of qualitative claims, particularly for tongue-seed velocity relationships, and improving the accessibility of the probabilistic modeling framework would further solidify the conclusions.

    Reviewed by eLife