eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Noise in Competing Representations Determines the Direction of Memory Biases

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Andrey Chetverikov
   2. Sabrina Hansmann-Roth

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study investigates the mechanisms underlying inter-item biases in visual working memory. By experimentally manipulating the relative noise levels of target and non-target items, the authors report bias patterns that are broadly consistent with predictions of their previously proposed normative demixing theory. However, the supporting evidence remains incomplete, as the manuscript lacks a sufficient description of the underlying theory, key assumptions, and a quantitative link between the model and behavioral data. The manuscript would be substantially strengthened by clearer exposition and stronger tests, including analyses of the full error distributions and comparisons with alternative models, which would increase its potential interest to the cognitive neuroscience and computational cognitive science communities.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Rehabilitation drives functional reorganization of intact corticospinal-supraspinal projections following partial spinal cord injury

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. James Bonanno
   2. Sheel Trivedi
   3. Ciara F O’Brien
   4. Sharna Saha
   5. William BJ Cafferty

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study investigates the neural basis for recovery of complex wheel running behaviour following a unilateral spinal cord injury in mice. By combining behavioural analyses, whole-brain mapping, and tracing techniques, the authors provide incomplete evidence that new cortico-medullary connections can drive effective motor recovery. The paper could be strengthened with manipulations to establish causality, a more fine-grained analysis of the behaviour, and some reorganisation of how the data are presented and discussed.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Central carbon metabolism switching in lytic versus temperate coral reef viral communities

    This article has 32 authors:

    1. Jacob Kelman
    2. Meena Khan
    3. Chibundu Umunna
    4. Russell Brainard
    5. Grace Donohue
    6. Rob Edwards
    7. Natalie A Falta
    8. Emma George
    9. Eleanor Gorham
    10. Juris Grasis
    11. Kevin Green
    12. Andreas Haas
    13. Kimberly Halsey
    14. Eric Hester
    15. Summer Jacob
    16. Aydin Loid Karatas
    17. Yan Wei Lim
    18. Mark Little
    19. Stuart Sandin
    20. Jessie Segnitz
    21. Maya Serota
    22. Natalia Shahwan
    23. Giselle Simmons
    24. Jennifer E Smith
    25. Isha Tripathi
    26. Linda Wegley Kelly
    27. Lauren Woodward
    28. Nickie Yang
    29. Charles Young
    30. Brian Zgliczynski
    31. Forest Rohwer
    32. Ben Knowles

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      The worldwide decline in the health of coral reefs is well documented, and overgrowth by microbial consortia can be a contributing factor. Kelman and colleagues used metagenomic analysis to interrogate potential changes in phage-associated genes predicted to be involved in central carbon metabolism. The study addresses the hypothesis that metabolic genes associated with carbon metabolism that are encoded by viruses reflect the health of the corals. The study contributes a valuable perspective on the potential role of phages in coral health, although limitations of the data and analyses offer an exploratory examination rather than a definitive result. Overall, the evidence supporting the major findings is incomplete, in part because the conceptual model relies on qualitative assumptions rather than empirical data.

    Reviewed by eLife