eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. A neuronal least-action principle for real-time learning in cortical circuits

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Walter Senn
   2. Dominik Dold
   3. Akos F Kungl
   4. Benjamin Ellenberger
   5. Jakob Jordan
   6. Yoshua Bengio
   7. João Sacramento
   8. Mihai A Petrovici

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript describes a potentially important theoretical framework to link predictive coding, error-based learning, and neuronal dynamics. The provided evidence is solid, but some details would benefit from additional clarification. The exposition of the manuscript is targeted for a specialist audience.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. An optogenetic cell therapy to restore control of target muscles in an aggressive mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. J Barney Bryson
   2. Alexandra Kourgiantaki
   3. Dai Jiang
   4. Andreas Demosthenous
   5. Linda Greensmith

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental study presents a method to restore muscle innervations in ALS mouse models using optogenetics. It is convincing that embryonic stem cell derived motor neurons can be transplanted into and applied to reinnervate the muscles in an ALS mouse model. The work will be of broad interest to researchers and medical biologists to develop new strategies for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders resulting from denervated skeletal muscles.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Evolution and diversity of biomineralized columnar architecture in early Cambrian phosphatic-shelled brachiopods

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Zhiliang Zhang
   2. Zhifei Zhang
   3. Lars Holmer
   4. Timothy P Topper
   5. Bing Pan
   6. Guoxiang Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study examines the evolution of the pillars in the shell architecture of organo-phosphatic brachiopods. The phylogenetic implications of this shell structure in relation to other early Cambrian brachiopod families are interpreted based on solid evidence. As such, this paper with interesting ideas regarding the evolution of brachiopod shell structure contributes to our understanding of the ecology and evolution of brachiopods as a whole.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Inferring control objectives in a virtual balancing task in humans and monkeys

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Mohsen Sadeghi
   2. Reza Sharif Razavian
   3. Salah Bazzi
   4. Raeed H Chowdhury
   5. Aaron P Batista
   6. Patrick J Loughlin
   7. Dagmar Sternad

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study represents a step towards integrating human and non-human primate research towards a broader understanding of the neural control of motor strategies. It could offer valuable insights into how humans and non-human primates (Rhesus monkeys) manage visuomotor tasks, such as stabilizing an unstable virtual system, potentially leading to discoveries in neural behaviour mechanisms. While the evidence is mostly solid, some results, particularly from the binary classification of control strategies for non instructed behaviour, require further validation before it could be conclusively interpreted.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. No evidence for a trade-off between reproduction and survival in a meta-analysis across birds

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Lucy A Winder
   2. Mirre JP Simons
   3. Terry Burke

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study challenges conventional life-history theory by demonstrating that reproductive-survival trade-offs are minimal in birds, except when reproductive effort is experimentally exaggerated. The evidence is solid, drawing from a meta-analysis of over 30 bird species, and effectively separates the effects of individual quality from reproductive costs. The findings will be of broad interest to evolutionary biologists and ecologists studying life-history trade-offs and reproductive strategies.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals cellular and molecular heterogeneity in fibrocartilaginous enthesis formation

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Tao Zhang
   2. Liyang Wan
   3. Han Xiao
   4. Linfeng Wang
   5. Jianzhong Hu
   6. Hongbin Lu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper represents a valuable single-cell level analysis of tendon enthesis development. It will allow further understanding of this specific process with clinical implications. Specifically, the authors provided convincing evidence for the heterogeneity of postnatal enthesis growth and the molecular dynamics and signaling networks during enthesis formation.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. A translational MRI approach to validate acute axonal damage detection as an early event in multiple sclerosis

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Antonio Cerdán Cerdá
   2. Nicola Toschi
   3. Constantina A Treaba
   4. Valeria Barletta
   5. Elena Herranz
   6. Ambica Mehndiratta
   7. Jose A Gomez-Sanchez
   8. Caterina Mainero
   9. Silvia De Santis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper conducts human and rodent experiments of non-invasive diffusion MRI estimates of axon diameter with the aim to establish whether these estimates provide biologically specific markers of axonal degeneration in MS. It will be of interest to researchers developing quantitative MRI methods and scientists studying neurodegeneration. The experiments provide evidence for the sensitivity of these markers, but do not directly validate axon diameter and do not reflect common pathological mechanisms across rodents and humans.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. On the role of nucleotides and lipids in the polymerization of the actin homolog MreB from a Gram-positive bacterium

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Wei Mao
   2. Lars D Renner
   3. Charlène Cornilleau
   4. Ines Li de la Sierra-Gallay
   5. Sana Afensiss
   6. Sarah Benlamara
   7. Yoan Ah-Seng
   8. Herman Van Tilbeurgh
   9. Sylvie Nessler
   10. Aurélie Bertin
   11. Arnaud Chastanet
   12. Rut Carballido-Lopez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors make the case that the assembly of MreB from Geobacillus, a Gram-positive organism differs substantially from MreB from the Gram-negative model organism, Escherichia coli. Although the conclusion of this valuable study would represent a major advance if correct, the evidence is currently incomplete, and significant additional work is necessary to ensure both rigor and impact.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. MicroRNA-218 instructs proper assembly of hippocampal networks

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Seth R Taylor
   2. Mariko Kobayashi
   3. Antonietta Vilella
   4. Durgesh Tiwari
   5. Norjin Zolboot
   6. Jessica X Du
   7. Kathryn R Spencer
   8. Andrea Hartzell
   9. Carol Girgiss
   10. Yusuf T Abaci
   11. Yufeng Shao
   12. Claudia De Sanctis
   13. Gian Carlo Bellenchi
   14. Robert B Darnell
   15. Christina Gross
   16. Michele Zoli
   17. Darwin K Berg
   18. Giordano Lippi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental study addresses the role of miRNA-218 in circuit development, seizure susceptibility, and behavior. The supporting experimental evidence provided by the authors is solid, although more mechanistic insight into how miRNA-218 controls neuronal cell type function during circuit development to then impact seizures and behavior would have strengthened the study. This work has broad implications for researchers working on the role of neuronal microRNA in neurodevelopmental and neurological diseases.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Allosteric inhibition of the T cell receptor by a designed membrane ligand

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Yujie Ye
    2. Shumpei Morita
    3. Justin J Chang
    4. Patrick M Buckley
    5. Kiera B Wilhelm
    6. Daniel DiMaio
    7. Jay T Groves
    8. Francisco N Barrera

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      The authors use a previously described technology of designing soluble transmembrane-targeting peptides, to interfere with the receptor function of the T cell receptor (TCR), which provides useful insights into the molecular mechanism of T cell activation. The designed PITCR peptide has functional effects, but the evidence for the proposed mechanism is still incomplete. With further data to support the conclusion, results from this study will be of interest to those studying the TCR as well as those seeking to use the TCR or its derivatives in synthetic biology studies and immunotherapy.

    Reviewed by eLife