eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Comparing the evolutionary dynamics of predominant SARS-CoV-2 virus lineages co-circulating in Mexico

   This article has 27 authors:

   1. Hugo G Castelán-Sánchez
   2. Luis Delaye
   3. Rhys PD Inward
   4. Simon Dellicour
   5. Bernardo Gutierrez
   6. Natalia Martinez de la Vina
   7. Celia Boukadida
   8. Oliver G Pybus
   9. Guillermo de Anda Jáuregui
   10. Plinio Guzmán
   11. Marisol Flores-Garrido
   12. Óscar Fontanelli
   13. Maribel Hernández Rosales
   14. Amilcar Meneses
   15. Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez
   16. Alfredo Heriberto Herrera-Estrella
   17. Alejandro Sánchez-Flores
   18. José Esteban Muñoz-Medina
   19. Andreu Comas-García
   20. Bruno Gómez-Gil
   21. Selene Zárate
   22. Blanca Taboada
   23. Susana López
   24. Carlos F Arias
   25. Moritz UG Kraemer
   26. Antonio Lazcano
   27. Marina Escalera Zamudio

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors document an in-depth analysis of introduction patterns of 5 variant waves in Mexico. This is an important analysis and dataset since the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Mexico is generally understudied, and this paper contributes important missing information. The phylogenetic analyses are solid and well-presented, but the lack of detail regarding the collection of samples across Mexican states makes it difficult to evaluate conclusions about the relationship between observed viral lineages and local case counts. Additionally, in its current form, the manuscript is mostly descriptive, without clear hypotheses tested or discussion of implications.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Complex plumages spur rapid color diversification in kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae)

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Chad M Eliason
   2. Jenna M McCullough
   3. Shannon J Hackett
   4. Michael J Andersen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work advances our understanding of the factors that affect the speed of colour evolution in birds and the resulting diversification patterns. It provides compelling evidence that more complex plumage coloration can lead to rapid colour evolution in kingfishers, and could pave the way for more comprehensive analyses that fully embrace the multidimensional nature of colour variation. Hence, the results will be of broad interest to ornithologists and evolutionary biologists in general, once the authors have streamlined the theoretical framework and explained the novel methodological approaches in more detail.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Rapid, automated, and experimenter-free touchscreen testing reveals reciprocal interactions between cognitive flexibility and activity-based anorexia in female rats

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Kaixin Huang
   2. Laura K Milton
   3. Harry Dempsey
   4. Stephen J Power
   5. Kyna-Anne Conn
   6. Zane B Andrews
   7. Claire J Foldi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable manuscript describes a fully automated touchscreen cognitive testing system for rats that reduces the length of training required to learn a task and eliminates the need for daily handling. These features make it possible to assess cognitive behaviors in conjunction with other neurobehavioral paradigms during adolescence, an important advance in the field. The data convincingly show that cognitive flexibility does not promote susceptibility to severe weight loss in the activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm. However, support for the claim that cognitive deficits seen in rats that had been exposed ABA adequately capture an important clinical feature of the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa is incompletely supported.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Imaging through Wind an see electrode arrays reveals a small fraction of local neurons following surface MUA

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Martin Thunemann
   2. Lorraine Hossain
   3. Torbjørn V. Ness
   4. Nicholas Rogers
   5. Keundong Lee
   6. Sang Heon Lee
   7. Kıvılcım Kılıç
   8. Hongseok Oh
   9. Michael N. Economo
   10. Vikash Gilja
   11. Gaute T. Einevoll
   12. Shadi A. Dayeh
   13. Anna Devor

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides fundamental insights into the relationship between single neuron activity in superficial layers of the cortex and electrical signals recorded at the cortical surface. Based on solid measurements, the results indicate a weak correlation between individual layer 2/3 neuron activity and multiunit activity recorded at the surface, whose interpretation could be reinforced. In particular, a strong contribution of layer 1 axons to surface signals is suggested but relies on incomplete evidence.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Mitochondrial protein import clogging as a mechanism of disease

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Liam P Coyne
   2. Xiaowen Wang
   3. Jiyao Song
   4. Ebbing de Jong
   5. Karin Schneider
   6. Paul T Massa
   7. Frank A Middleton
   8. Thomas Becker
   9. Xin Jie Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript provides valuable insight into the molecular mechanism by which destabilized mitochondrial proteins 'clog' import channels and contribute to the pathologic mitochondrial and cellular dysfunction implicated in human disease. The evidence supporting this conclusion is solid, utilizing yeast, mammalian cell culture, and mouse models. However, additional characterization of import clogging in the mammalian model systems would strengthen this study. This work will be of broad interest to researchers in the fields of mitochondrial biology, protein quality control and proteostasis.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Distinct functions of cardiac β-adrenergic receptors in the T-tubule vs. outer surface membrane

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Marion Barthé
   2. Flora Lefebvre
   3. Emilie Langlois
   4. Florence Lefebvre
   5. Patrick Lechêne
   6. Xavier Iturrioz
   7. Catherine Llorens-Cortes
   8. Tâp Ha-Duong
   9. Laurence Moine
   10. Nicolas Tsapis
   11. Rodolphe Fischmeister

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study describes an interesting approach using PEGylated isoprenaline to selectively activate beta-adrenergic receptors in the surface sarcolemma of ventricular myocytes. While the concept is compelling, and the core of an interesting and impactful study is presented, the results are preliminary and incomplete at this stage, and would benefit from more rigorous validation of the approach. The work will be of interest to cardiac cell biologists and pharmacologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Temporal integration is a robust feature of perceptual decisions

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Alexandre Hyafil
   2. Jaime de la Rocha
   3. Cristina Pericas
   4. Leor N Katz
   5. Alexander C Huk
   6. Jonathan W Pillow

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript tests an important assumption about how sensory information is processed and used to guide motor choices. The widely held assumption is that sensory-motor circuits are capable of integrating evidence, but the validity and generality of this 'principle' have been recently questioned by studies suggesting that other computational operations may lead to similar psychophysical results, mimicking integration without actually performing it. This study makes a compelling case that the integration assumption was likely correct all along and that the model mimicry can be easily disambiguated by using appropriate sensory stimuli and task designs that permit rigorous analyses.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. The locus coeruleus broadcasts prediction errors across the cortex to promote sensorimotor plasticity

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Rebecca Jordan
   2. Georg B Keller

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study provides convincing evidence that locus coeruleus is activated during visuomotor mismatches. Gain of function optogenetic experiments complement this evidence and indicate that locus coeruleus could be involved in the learning process that enables visuomotor predictions. This study, therefore, sets the groundwork for the circuit dissection of predictive signals in the visual cortex. Loss-of-function experiments would strengthen the evidence of the involvement of locus coeruleus in prediction learning. These results will be of interest to systems neuroscientists.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Coevolutionary dynamics via adaptive feedback in collective-risk social dilemma game

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Linjie Liu
   2. Xiaojie Chen
   3. Attila Szolnoki

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The paper provides a valuable, in-depth mathematical analysis of the coevolutionary dynamics resulting from a coupling of players' strategies and (collective) risk, as well as illustrative numerical simulations of the system's trajectories for different starting conditions. It is therefore a solid contribution to our understanding of how cooperation can be sustained when there is feedback between individual decisions and the global risk of disaster. This paper will be of interest to scientists working on mathematical biology/ecology, and more generally various aspects of human decision-making, the interplay between human decisions and the environment, and public goods provision.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Fever integrates antimicrobial defences, inflammation control, and tissue repair in a cold-blooded vertebrate

    This article has 10 authors:

    1. Farah Haddad
    2. Amro M Soliman
    3. Michael E Wong
    4. Emilie H Albers
    5. Shawna L Semple
    6. Débora Torrealba
    7. Ryan D Heimroth
    8. Asif Nashiry
    9. Keith B Tierney
    10. Daniel R Barreda

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study addressed a long-standing question in biology - the role of fever during infections. Using innovative research strategy, the authors provide compelling evidence for the positive impact of higher body temperature on both pathogen clearance and tissue repair. This study thus provides important advances in our understanding of host defense and its connection with physiology and behavior.

    Reviewed by eLife