Evaluated articles

eLife assessment

This study presents an important new technology for transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into muscle cells. The data and methods used for analysis were compelling. This study will have broad interest to cellular reprogramming biologists in particular as well as the general public.

eLife assessment

This manuscript by Vuong and colleagues reports on the kinetics of viremia in a large set of individuals from Vietnam. In the large cohort, all 4 dengue serotypes are represented and the authors try to correlate viraemia measured at various days from illness onset with thrombocytopaenia and severe dengue, according to the WHO 2009 classification scheme. These are fundamental findings that provide compelling evidence of the importance of measuring viremia early in the phase of the disease. These data will help to inform the design of studies of antiviral drugs against dengue.

eLife assessment

This is a methodologically state-of-the-art systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that addressed the question of whether the administration of multiple antibiotics simultaneously prevents antibiotic resistance development in individuals. The findings are solid. Rather than providing a precise answer, the synthesis of studies eligible for analysis leads to the conclusion that "our analysis could not identify any benefit or harm of using a higher or a lower number of antibiotics regarding within-patient resistance development." This article is important as it articulates the existing knowledge gap, but also serves as an example for careful future use of the meta-analysis methodology, when existing data just don't allow conclusions.

eLife assessment

This study examines an interplay between synaptic mitochondria and glutamate receptor exocytosis in C. elegans. Collectively, the solid results support the idea that mitochondrial function influences receptor dynamics at postsynaptic sites. This is important because tight control of synaptic function likely integrates several mitochondrial functions: energy production, calcium buffering, and (here) reactive oxygen species signaling.

eLife assessment

This important study demonstrates that the transcription factor TEAD1 is required for the function of Yap/Taz in Schwann cells, with conditional mouse mutants having very similar dysmyelinated phenotypes. Convincing histological evidence is shown for the role of TEAD1 itself, leaving open the function of other TEAD proteins in this system. This study will nevertheless be of great interest to researchers in the field of peripheral nerve development.

eLife assessment

This study presents the useful observation that repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) over the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is associated with immediate dampening effects of conditioned responses and generalization of these responses to similar cues. Additionally, the effects were still present one week later, in the absence of any stimulation. However, the evidence supporting the claims of the authors is incomplete. The main outcome data (skin conductance response) have been normalized and standardized in suboptimal ways and, most critically, no comparisons are being made with the strength of conditioned responses during acquisition. If the observations hold, when based on within-subject comparisons, the work will be of interest to psychologists and neuroscientists working on interventions into aberrant emotional memories.

eLife assessment

Large populations of neurons are capable of entering pathological synchronous oscillations under a variety of conditions and work over many decades has found ways to disrupt such oscillations using stimulation in both open loop and closed loop configurations. This study adds useful results and methodology to this line of research, by providing solid evidence that delayed feedback control via electrical stimulation can, under certain conditions, terminate network level oscillations in cultured cortical neurons. The study provides analyses and simulation results that shed light on why some networks respond to such feedback control while others do not.

eLife assessment

Payne et al. present a novel model that predicts the sites and directions of plasticity within the vestibular cerebellum to explain the basis for learned adjustments to reflexive eye movements in monkeys. The work is solid; the model is well constrained by prior biological observations and makes an important prediction about the level of feedback available to the cerebellar cortex post-learning. Overall, a number of exciting and testable experiments will likely be motivated by this study.

eLife assessment

Using unbiased transcriptional profiling, the study reports a fundamental discovery of a novel hepatic lncRNA, FincoR, which regulates FXR. The convincing findings have therapeutic implications in the treatment of MASH. The authors use state-of-the-art methodology and use unbiased transcriptomic profiling and epigenetic profiling, including validation in mouse models and human samples.

eLife assessment

The authors investigated the requirement and function of Blimp1/Prdm1 in murine natural killer (NK) cells and the ILC1 lineage of innate lymphoid cells, using a conditional knockout model. The single-cell mRNA-seq data provided here represent a valuable resource for the community, but the lack of mechanistic investigations leaves the study partially incomplete. The work will be of interest to the fields of innate lymphoid cell biology and tissue immunology.

eLife assessment

This important study examines the relationship between expiratory airflow and vocal pitch in adult mice during the production of ultrasonic vocalizations and also identifies a molecularly defined population of brainstem neurons that regulates mouse vocal production across development. The evidence supporting the study's conclusions that expiratory airflow shapes vocal pitch and that these brainstem neurons preferentially regulate expiratory airflow is novel and compelling. This work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on mechanisms and brainstem circuits that regulate vocal production and vocal-respiratory coordination.

eLife Assessment

The authors present an valuable and intriguing observation challenging current views on DNA methylation dynamics, revealing earlier-than-expected de novo methylation with significant implications for gene regulation in early embryonic development. However, the study's significance is difficult to ascertain due to incomplete evidence supporting the conclusions. Moreover, the observed changes in DNA methylation across promoter regions is modest, leaving its relevance open to alternative interpretations.

eLife assessment

This study presents a useful exploration of the complex relationship between structure and function in the developing human brain using a large-scale imaging dataset from the Human Connectome Project in Development and gene expression profiles from the Allen Brain Atlas. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although the inclusion of more systematic analyses of structural and functional connectivity with respect to myelin measures and oligodendrocyte-related genes, and also more details regarding the imaging analyses, cognitive scores, and design and validation strategies, would have strengthened the paper. The work will be of interest to developmental biologists and neuroscientists seeking to elucidate structure-function relationships in the human brain.

eLife assessment

This solid manuscript describes a preclinical model to assess different methods of infusion of organoids for clinical applications. This is an important and timely study with practical implications beyond a single subfield. The methods described, including the analysis, broadly support the claims although there are some areas for improvement.

eLife assessment

The authors use human intracranial recordings to investigate the relationship between the power of brain oscillations and the latency and strength of cortico-cortical couplings. In the current version, the authors provide a valuable finding that the delay between nearby electrodes in ECoG data is correlated with the amplitude of power, differently so for high and low frequencies. The findings of this study will interest investigators in the wider field of systems neurophysiology; however, editors and reviewers perceived headroom for improving clarity in the presentation of analyses and results, and the strength of evidence for some of the claims as currently presented was viewed as incomplete.

eLife Assessment

This important study developed a mathematical model to predict biological age by leveraging physiological traits across multiple organ systems. The results presented are convincing, utilizing comprehensive data-driven approaches. However, additional external validation could further strengthen its generalizability. The model provides a way to identify environmental and genetic factors impacting aging and lifespan, revealing new factors potentially affecting aging. It also shows promise for evaluating therapeutics aimed at prolonging a healthy lifespan.

eLife assessment

The manuscript describes important findings regarding the significance of CHD2 in ovarian folliculogenesis. Overall, the results lead to convincing conclusions, with minimal concerns raised by the reviewers. Both the results and conclusions are well discussed. This work will be of interest to ovarian biologists and physicians working on female fertility.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides solid evidence for a non-genomic action of progesterone in Xenopus oocyte activation. The findings demonstrate that two non-genomic progesterone receptors, ABHD2 and mPRb, function as a novel progesterone-stimulated phospholipase A2. The findings will be of broad interest to reproductive endocrinologists and physiologists.

eLife assessment

This important work substantially advances our understanding of sperm motility regulation during fertilization process by uncovering the midpiece/mitochondria contraction associated with motility cessation and structural changes in the midpiece actin network as its mode of action involved. The evidence supporting the conclusion is solid, with rigorous live cell imaging using state-of-art microscopy, although more functional analysis of the midpiece/mitochondria contraction would have further strengthened the study. The work will be of broad interest to cell biologists working on the cytoskeleton, mitochondria, cell fusion, and fertilization.

eLife assessment

This fundamental study evaluates the evolutionary significance of variations in the accuracy of the intron-splicing process across vertebrates and insects. Using a powerful combination of comparative and population genomics approaches, the authors present convincing evidence that higher rates of alternative splicing tend to be observed in species with lower effective population size, a key prediction of the drift-barrier hypothesis. The analysis is carefully conducted and has broad implications beyond the studied species. As such, it will strongly appeal to anyone interested in the evolution of genome architecture and the optimisation of genetic systems.