eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Highly sensitive in vivo detection of dynamic changes in enkephalins following acute stress

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Marwa O Mikati
   2. Petra Erdmann-Gilmore
   3. Rose Connors
   4. Sineadh M Conway
   5. Jim Malone
   6. Justin Woods
   7. Robert W Sprung
   8. R Reid Townsend
   9. Ream Al-Hasani

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors adapt a previously-established method that permits detection of in vivo extracellular levels of two distinct enkephalin opioid peptides in response to stressful experiences in mice. The present study highlights the potential of measuring actual peptides by microdialysis-LC-MS. They use this approach in conjunction with fiber photometric calcium imaging to correlate enkephalin neuron activity and enkephalin release in response to repeated stress, providing convincing evidence that this improved approach can provide new insights into opioid signaling in-vivo. This important study provides a means to understand various behavioral states controlled by endogenous opioids and the nucleus accumbens, including hedonic and stress responses, in health and disease. This work will be of broad interest to the neuroscientific community.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Strong isolation by distance and evidence of population microstructure reflect ongoing Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Zanzibar

   This article has 23 authors:

   1. Sean V Connelly
   2. Nicholas F Brazeau
   3. Mwinyi Msellem
   4. Billy E Ngasala
   5. Ozkan Aydemir
   6. Varun Goel
   7. Karamoko Niaré
   8. David J Giesbrecht
   9. Zachary R Popkin-Hall
   10. Chris Hennelly
   11. Zackary Park
   12. Ann M Moormann
   13. John M Ong'echa
   14. Robert Verity
   15. Safia Mohammed
   16. Shija J Shija
   17. Lwidiko E Mhamilawa
   18. Ulrika Morris
   19. Andreas Mårtensson
   20. Jessica T Lin
   21. Anders Björkman
   22. Jonathan J Juliano
   23. Jeffrey A Bailey

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Connelly and colleagues provide convincing genetic evidence that importation from mainland Tanzania is a major source of Plasmodium falciparum lineages currently circulating in Zanzibar. This study also reveals ongoing local malaria transmission and occasional near-clonal outbreaks in Zanzibar. Overall, the manuscript effectively highlights the role of human movements in maintaining residual malaria transmission in an area targeted for intensive control interventions over the past decades and provides clear and valuable information for epidemiologists and public health professionals.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Novel cyclic homogeneous oscillation detection method for high accuracy and specific characterization of neural dynamics

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Hohyun Cho
   2. Markus Adamek
   3. Jon T Willie
   4. Peter Brunner

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Building on previous toolboxes to distinguish 1/f noise from oscillatory activity, this study introduces an important advancement in neural signal analysis to identify oscillatory activity in electrophysiological data that refines the accuracy of identifying non-sinusoidal neural oscillations. Extensive validation, using synthetic and various empirical data, provides convincing evidence for the accuracy of the method and outlines practical implications for relevant scientific problems in the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Effects of nicotine compared to placebo gum on sensitivity to pain and mediating effects of peak alpha frequency

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Samantha K Millard
   2. Alan KI Chiang
   3. Peter Humburg
   4. Nahian Chowdhury
   5. Raafay Rehan
   6. Andrew J Furman
   7. Ali Mazaheri
   8. Siobhan M Schabrun
   9. David A Seminowicz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this useful study, Millard et al. assessed the effects of nicotine on pain sensitivity and peak alpha frequency (PAF). The evidence shown is incomplete to support the key claim that nicotine modulates PAF or pain sensitivity, considering the effect sizes observed. This raises the question of whether the chosen experimental intervention was the most suitable approach for investigating their research question. Nonetheless, the work can be incorporated into the literature investigating the relationship between nicotine and pain, and could be of broad interest to pain researchers.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Physiological roles of endocytosis and presynaptic scaffold in vesicle replenishment at fast and slow central synapses

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Satyajit Mahapatra
   2. Tomoyuki Takahashi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Following synaptic vesicle fusion events at release sites, vesicle remnants will need to be cleared in order to allow new rounds of vesicle docking and fusion. This fundamental study of Mahapatra and Takahashi examines the role of release site clearance in synaptic transmission during repetitive activity in two types of central synapses, the giant calyx of Held and hippocampal CA1 synapses. The study uses pharmacological approaches to interfere with release site clearance by blocking membrane retrieval (endocytosis). The results also show how pharmacological inhibition of scaffold proteins affects short-term plasticity. The data presented make a compelling case for fast endocytosis as necessary for rapid site clearance and vesicle recruitment to active zones. The data reveal an unexpected, fast role for local site clearance in counteracting synaptic depression.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. ThermoMaze behavioral paradigm for assessing immobility-related brain events in rodents

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Mihály Vöröslakos
   2. Yunchang Zhang
   3. Kathryn McClain
   4. Roman Huszár
   5. Aryeh Rothstein
   6. György Buzsáki

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The ThermoMaze represents a valuable tool to control the rest/exploration states of an animal. The data, collected and analyzed using solid and validated methodology, demonstrate its use in addressing previously elusive questions. This will facilitate future work with more in-depth analysis of place cell activity to further support for some of the claims.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. A spatial-attentional mechanism underlies action-related distortions of time judgment

   This article has 1 author:

   1. Liyu Cao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important paper examined how attention affects temporal binding. Through a combination of careful experimental designs and computational modelling, this study provides solid evidence highlighting the role of attention in shaping temporal binding. Overall, the present findings will be of interest to cognitive scientists studying phenomena related to time perception, temporal binding, and spatial attention.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. A Plasmodium falciparum MORC protein complex modulates epigenetic control of gene expression through interaction with heterochromatin

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Maneesh Kumar Singh
   2. Victoria Ann Bonnell
   3. Israel Tojal Da Silva
   4. Verônica Feijoli Santiago
   5. Miriam Santos Moraes
   6. Jack Adderley
   7. Christian Doerig
   8. Giuseppe Palmisano
   9. Manuel Llinas
   10. Celia RS Garcia

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides valuable insights into how chromatin-bound PfMORC controls gene expression in the asexual blood stage of Plasmodium falciparum. By interacting with key nuclear proteins, PfMORC is predicted to affect expression of genes relating to host invasion and variable subtelomeric gene families. Correlating transcriptomic data with in vivo chromatin analysis, the study provides convincing evidence for the role of PfMORC in epigenetic transcriptional regulation.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Development and assessment of a sustainable PhD internship program supporting diverse biomedical career outcomes

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Patrick Brandt
   2. Dawayne Whittington
   3. Kimberley D Wood
   4. Christopher Holmquist
   5. Ana T Nogueira
   6. Christiann H Gaines
   7. Patrick Brennwald
   8. Rebekah L Layton

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study evaluates the outcomes of a single-institution pilot program designed to provide graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with internship opportunities in areas representing diverse career paths in the life sciences. The data convincingly show the benefit of internships to students and postdocs, their research advisors, and potential employers, without adverse impacts on scientific productivity. This work will be of interest to multiple stakeholders in graduate and postgraduate life sciences education and should stimulate further research into how such programs can best be broadly implemented.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Microphase separation produces interfacial environment within diblock biomolecular condensates

    This article has 7 authors:

    1. Andrew P Latham
    2. Longchen Zhu
    3. Dina A Sharon
    4. Songtao Ye
    5. Adam P Willard
    6. Xin Zhang
    7. Bin Zhang

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This important study investigates the structural organization of a series of diblock elastin-like polypeptide condensates. The methodology is highly compelling, as it combines multiscale simulations and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy experiments. The results increase our understanding of model biomolecular condensates.

    Reviewed by eLife