Evaluated articles

eLife assessment

The paper addresses the mechanism of initiation of DNA replication in human cells by analyzing published data on the location of origins of DNA replication and the location of binding sites in the genome for ORC and MCM2-7 complexes. There are some useful analyses of existing data but there are concerns regarding the conclusion that there might be alternative mechanisms for determining the location of origins of DNA replication in human cells compared to the well known mechanism known from many eukaryotic systems, including yeast, Xenopus, C. elegans and Drosophila. The lack of overlap between binding sites for ORC1 and ORC2, which are known to form a complex in human cells, is a particular concern and points to the evidence for the accurate localization of their binding sites in the genome being incomplete.

eLife assessment

This important study combines experiments and mathematical modelling to enhance our understanding of the interplay between the two flight muscles in birds during slow flight. The evidence for the findings is compelling, derived from new methods for measuring wing shape and force production combined with previously validated methods in muscle physiology. This work will be of broad interest to comparative biomechanists.

eLife assessment

This study presents a valuable set of experiments to test whether Bombus terrestris bumblebees can detect lethal-level doses of a series of pesticides in nectar-mimicking sugary solutions. Behavioural essays were coupled with electrophysiological measurements to show that B. terrestris mouthparts cannot detect high levels of the tested pesticides. If confirmed using pesticide formulas, and other bumblebee species, the study will be of general interest in environmental science research. Most experimental data are compelling, and the conclusions are sound, but the write-up would benefit from a broader ecological context.

eLife assessment

This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of animals' foraging behaviour by monitoring the movement and body posture of barn owls in high resolution and assessing their foraging success. With a large dataset, the evidence supporting the main conclusions is compelling. This work provides new corroboration for motion-induced sound camouflage and has broad implications for understanding predator-prey interactions.

eLife assessment

This important study time elegantly demonstrates that ferroptotic stress may play critical roles in regulating tooth germ development. The evidence presented is compelling, based on an explant model and providing novel mechanistic insights into tooth development.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study provides an experimental paradigm and state-of-the-art analysis method for studying the existence of call types and transition differences among Mongolian gerbil families in a naturalistic environment. The analyses are convincing, with a thorough treatment of the acoustic data and a demonstration of the robustness of the observed effect across days. The work will likely be of interest to the auditory neuroscience and neuroethology communities.

eLife assessment

This valuable paper examines the role of the WRNIP1 AAA+ ATPase in regulating R-loop formation, which induces a conflict with active replication forks and transcription. The authors provide convincing evidence to support a role of the ubiquitin-binding UBZ domain of WRNIP1 in R-loop suppression generated by this conflict. The work is of interest to researchers who work on genome stability/instability.

eLife assessment

This important study reports jAspSnFR3, a biosensor that enables high spatiotemporal resolution of aspartate levels in living cells. To develop this sensor, the authors used a structurally guided amino acid substitution in a glutamate/aspartate periplasmic binding protein to switch its specificity towards aspartate. The in vitro and in cellulo functional characterization of the biosensor is convincing, but evidence of the sensor's effectiveness in detecting small perturbations of aspartate levels and information on its behavior in response to acute aspartate elevations in the cytosol are still lacking.

eLife assessment

This important study provides compelling evidence that the low-cost and open-hardware UC2 microscopy framework can be expanded to enable single-molecule localization microscopy. The authors managed to fit the instrumentation and control thereof in a unit that can be placed in a small stage-top-incubator. Together with providing adapted software for data acquisition and data analysis, the UC.STORM setup can rival the capabilities of comparable commercial instruments at a fraction of the costs.

eLife assessment

This important study provides insights into how the brain constructs categorical neural representations during a difficult auditory target detection task. Through recordings of simultaneous single-unit activity in primary and secondary auditory areas, compelling evidence is provided that categorical neural representations emerge in a secondary auditory area, i.e., PEG. The study is of interest to neuroscientists and can also potentially shed light on human psychological studies.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides convincing evidence that emotional information in biological motion can induce different patterns of pupil responses, which could serve as a behavioral marker of an autistic trait. These results broaden our understanding of how emotional biological motion can automatically trigger physiological changes and reveal the potential of using emotional-modulated pupil response to facilitate the diagnosis of social cognitive disorders. The work will be of broad interest to cognitive neuroscience, psychology, affective neuroscience, and vision science.

eLife assessment

The authors used an innovative modified 10X genomic sequencing method to detect cPCDHg is-forms in pyramidal neurons. With solid electrophysiological recordings, they showed that neurons expressing the same sets of cPCDHg isoforms are less likely to form synapses with each other. These valuable findings confirms previous results and extend our understanding of cPCDHg diversity and neuronal connectivity.

eLife assessment

This study presents an important finding on the anatomical connectivity and functional roles of the previously uncharacterized neuronal populations in the nucleus incertus. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, with imaging and manipulations of the genetically targeted populations of neurons. The work presents a significant milestone for future mechanistic studies of the nucleus incertus.

eLife assessment

This study tackles a significant question: Does the brain apply spatial navigation systems to evaluate decision options in conceptual social spaces? The investigation is useful as it seeks to address this intriguing hypothesis. The findings offer partial support: a solid analysis revealed characteristic grid-like patterns associated with decision-making directions. However, it remains uncertain whether these effects are genuinely due to navigating a conceptual social space or potentially confounded by changes in visual stimuli. The experimental design may not be capable of definitively resolving this issue.

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 paper characterises a novel gene (Spar), and presenting valuable findings in the field of insect biology and behaviour. The experiments are well designed, with attention to detail, showcasing the potential of the Drosophila melanogaster model and the use of online resources. The mixed approach presents a convincing argument for a genetic interaction between Alk and Spar.

eLife assessment

This important work significantly advances our comprehension of the molecular events occurring during germline stem cell differentiation in the Drosophila melanogaster ovary. The conclusions are strongly supported by compelling evidence, including rigorous data sets and complementary whole-genome analyses. As a result, this research holds substantial interest for developmental and stem cell biologists alike.

eLife assessment

The manuscript by Paine and coworkers provides a fundamental improvement on how the enzymatic activity of CALPAIN7 (a Cys protease) influences cytokinesis mediated by the ESCRT (endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) pathway. The authors provide a convincing molecular and cellular basis for one of the several key steps involved in membrane fission during the separation of dividing eukaryotic cells. These findings should be of interest to a wide scientific audience including biochemists, structural biologists, and cell biologists.

eLife assessment

This important work advances our understanding of the generation of a main organizer of the vertebrate brain, the cortical hem. The authors convincingly show the contribution of multiple downstream effectors, each involved in specific processes regulated by the master gene, Lmx1a. This study has broader implications for how secondary organizers are created in the embryo and will be of interest to a wide readership.

eLife assessment

This important study deepens our understanding of macrophage phenotypes in pathological contexts and identifies a new macrophage state associated with tissue fibrosis, as well as putative drivers of this cellular state. The authors provide convincing evidence and performed a well-thought-out and thoroughly described computational analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing data. This work will be of broad interest to the fields of tissue inflammation, fibrosis, macrophage biology, and immunology.