Evaluated articles

eLife assessment

This report details the creation and wide-scale utilization of "Repix", a new technique for chronic neurophysiological recordings using and re-using Neuropixels probes in freely behaving mice and rats. The authors include data and feedback from a variety of labs and researchers who have used this technique, setting an example for open science and reproducibility, and providing convincing evidence that this approach can be employed for chronic Neuropixels recordings. However, evidence is currently incomplete for claims about the advantages of this design over previous approaches and for cell yield and stability claims. This important work will have an impact on a broad range of neuroscientists seeking a straightforward methodology for chronic Neuropixels recordings and will facilitate ethologically relevant experimental designs.

eLife Assessment

This study presents the cryo-EM structures of two human biotin-dependent mitochondria carboxylases involved in various biological pathways, including the metabolism of certain amino acids, cholesterol, and odd chain fatty acids. The cryo-EM structures offer a valuable addition to the structural description of biotin-dependent carboxylases and provide solid evidence to support the major conclusions of this study. This paper would be of interest to biochemists and structural biologists working on biotin-dependent carboxylases.

eLife Assessment

With compelling electrophysiological and behavioural evidence, this work establishes that the activity of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) depends on the nutritional state in Drosophila and that, like in mammals, there is also an incretin-like effect with IPCs responding to glucose feeding but not to glucose perfusion. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that DH44 neurons respond to glucose perfusion and, together with IPCs, modulate locomotor activity. This important study on the neuronal regulation of metabolic homeostasis will be of interest to both neuroscience and to medical research in diabetes.

eLife assessment

This study presents an important contribution to cardiac arrhythmia research by demonstrating long noncoding RNA Dachshund homolog 1 (lncDACH1) tunes sodium channel functional expression and affects cardiac action potential conduction and rhythms. The evidence supporting the major claims are convincing. The work will be of broad interest to cell biologists and cardiac electrophysiologists.

eLife Assessment

This important paper addresses the role of fluid flows in nutrient uptake by microorganisms propelled by the action of cilia or flagella. Using a range of mathematical models for the flows created by such appendages, the authors provide convincing evidence that the two strategies of swimming and sessile motion can be competitive. These results will have significant implications for our understanding of the evolution of multicellularity in its various forms.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study showing that age-related gut microbiota modulate uric acid metabolism through the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and thereby regulate susceptibility to age-related gout. Several experimental approaches (mechanistic insights) and methods (data quality) remain incomplete. This paper should be of interest to researchers working on gout and microbiota.

eLife Assessment

This study reports valuable insights into the interactome of the RNA-binding protein SERBP1 and possible links through PARylation to diverse processes, including splicing, cell division, and ribosome biogenesis. The diversity of processes SERBP1 may regulate means this work would be of very broad interest to the cell biology community. The proteomics data are solid, but the functional connection to downstream processes and the link to Alzheimer's disease, while compelling, still require further examination. These latter data currently rely on a very limited set of experiments and patient samples with questionable quality of preservation and methodology.

eLife Assessment

In this valuable study, Tutak and colleagues set out to identify factors that mediate Repeat Associated Non-AUG (RAN) translation of CGG repeats in the FMR1 mRNA which are implicated in toxic protein accumulation that underpins ensuing neurological pathologies. The authors provide solid evidence that RPS26 may be implicated in mediating the RAN translation of FMR1 mRNA. This article should be of broad interest to researchers in the variety of disciplines including post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and neurobiology.

eLife assessment

Chang et al. have investigated the catalytic mechanism of I-PpoI nuclease, a one-metal-ion dependent nuclease, by time-resolved X-ray crystallography using soaking of crystals with metal ions under different pH conditions. This convincing study revealed that I-PpoI catalyzes the reaction process through a single divalent cation. The study uncovers important details of the roles of the metal ion and the active site histidine in catalysis.

eLife assessment

The study presents a valuable finding in advancing our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the switching of the migration mode from parallel to radial in cerebellar granule cell development. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid and supports the main conclusion; the highlight was the imaging system's visualization of the cell-recognition event associated with neuronal migration, which established a new standard for the field. This study would be of interest to cell biologists and neurodevelopmental biologists working on cell-cell interaction and neuronal migration.

eLife Assessment

Wittkamp et al. investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of expectation of pain using an original fMRI-EEG approach. The methods are solid and the evidence for a substantially different neural representation between the anticipatory and the actual pain period is convincing. These important findings are discussed within a general framework that encompasses their research questions, hypotheses, and analysis of results. Although the choice of conditions and their influence on the results might accept different interpretations, the manuscript is strong and contributes beneficial insights to the field.

eLife assessment

This important study introduces the MRAD database, an advancement in Alzheimer's disease research that provides a powerful tool for evaluating risk and protective factors through Mendelian randomization analysis. The evidence supporting the database's utility is solid, with findings backed by robust data, though addressing methodological concerns and ensuring more rigorous validation of associations would further strengthen its impact. This resource represents a significant leap forward in the field, offering unprecedented opportunities for researchers and clinicians to uncover key insights into Alzheimer's etiology, potentially revolutionizing how Alzheimer's research is approached and accelerating the discovery of new prevention strategies and treatments.

eLife Assessment

This interesting study explores whether tumor cells can manipulate their Hydra hosts, and includes important findings on the consequences for the fitness of the host Hydra. The evidence supporting these findings is convincing. The work will be of broad interest to many fields including development biology, evolutionary biology and tumor biology.

eLife assessment

Schafer et al. investigate the extremely interesting and important claim that the human hippocampus represents the interactions with multiple social interaction partners on two relatively abstract social dimensions – and that this ability correlates with the social network size of the participant. This research potentially demonstrates the intricate role of the hippocampus in navigating our social world. While some results are tantalizing, the empirical evidence for the main claims is currently incomplete and requires clarifications and substantial revisions.

eLife Assessment

The study follows up on previous work suggesting that lower glucose concentrations are protective from sepsis but put the patient at risk for hypoglycemia. In this paper, the authors identify that a slightly higher dose of glucose is still protective but no longer puts the patients at risk for hypoglycemia. The study is important, supported by convincing data, and will be of interest to a broad audience.

eLife assessment

This important study substantially advances our understanding of energy landscapes and their link to animal ontogeny. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with high-throughput telemetry data and advanced track segmentation methods used to develop and map energy landscapes. The work will be of broad interest to animal ecologists.

eLife assessment

This is an important and timely study that advances our understanding of the role of lateral hypothalamic orexin/hypocretin neurons in appetitive approach and consummatory behaviors. Specifically, using fiber photometry, the authors provide solid and convincing evidence that orexin neurons are primarily active during approach and not consummatory behavior, in a manner that is dependent on metabolic state. Further, using optogenetics and cell type-specific electrophysiology, they show that inputs from the ventral pallidum and lateral nucleus accumbens shell to orexin/hypocretin neurons in the lateral hypothalamus are predominantly inhibitory.

eLife Assessment

This is an important and convincing dataset shedding new light on a role for Malat1 in osteoblast physiology. The work is of value to areas other than the bone field because it supports a role and mechanism for beta-catenin that is novel and unusual. The findings are significant in that they support the presence of another anabolic pathway in bone that can be productively targeted for therapeutic goals. Revisions further improved the paper and addressed the reviewers' concerns.

eLife assessment

This study provides an important advance in the molecular understanding of the lipopolysaccharide export mechanism and machinery in bacteria. By using advanced spectroscopy approaches, the experiments provide convincing biophysical support for the dynamic behavior of the multisubunit Lpt transport system. This work has implications for understanding bacterial cell envelope biogenesis and developing drugs that target Gram negative pathogens.