Evaluated articles

eLife assessment

This study presents valuable comprehensive data that underpin the enhanced ventricular arrhythmogenesis in elite trained athletes. The study is logistical challenge and the multiscale approaches used is a strength of the study. The data presented are strong and support most of the authors' claims.

eLife assessment

The study provides a recurrent network model of M1 for center-out reaches. The "neurons" in the model show uncorrelated tuning for movement direction during preparation and execution with dynamic transition between the two states. The continuous attractor model provides an interesting example of flexible switching between neural representations.

eLife assessment

This study describes the use of a new and valuable tool, namely phage display of Plasmodium falciparum proteome-wide peptides, for profiling of antibody targets. The study, conducted using plasma from Ugandan children and adults, represents an important aspect of naturally acquired antibodies with seroreactive responses to the intra-and inter-protein repeat regions. The results are, however, so far incomplete, and confirmatory data that antibodies to inter-protein repeat motifs do cross-react are needed.

eLife assessment

In this work, the authors provide convincing evidence about the existence of two distinct osteoclast populations with specific expression profiles and properties and show that the probiotic yeast S. boulardii may be useful in managing inflammation-mediated bone loss, including estrogen deprivation-mediated osteoporosis. The reported study aims to bring the concept of heterogeneous osteoclasts into a proof-of-principle therapeutic application, which may mean that the use of probiotics might combat osteoporosis towards a better bone quality than current therapies. The molecular mechanism of how the probiotic yeast S. boulardii treatment acts via the receptors remains obscure since it might act via changes in the gut permeability or by components directly released by the fungus.

eLife assessment

This highly important paper uses a Bayesian linear regression approach in a clinical trial to establish that ivermectin does not increase the clearance rate of SARS-CoV-2 relative to no study drug. The strength of evidence is compelling. Particular strengths are that the paper is clearly written, a novel and important adaptive study design, and linear mixed modeling to account for participant heterogeneity. The work will be of interest to clinicians, statisticians, and public health departments.

eLife assessment

In this useful study, the authors utilize state-of-the-art computational methods complemented with some experimental validation to investigate the dynamics of flexible loops of the L1 Metallo-β-lactamase enzyme, resulting in a better understanding of the various conformational states useful for the rational design of superior β-lactamase inhibitors/antibiotics. The evidence supporting the claims is solid, and the work will be of interest to computational, experimental biologists, and drug designers working on antibiotic resistance.

eLife assessment

This manuscript is of potential interest for a broad spectrum of researchers working on the nervous and muscular systems. By combining transcriptome and proteome analyses, the authors reveal the molecular makeup of the different compartments of the muscle spindle. The work is novel, makes important observations, and is well-executed and methodologically convincing to provide the field with new tools for dissecting the development and function of the muscle spindle.

eLife assessment

In this manuscript, the authors devised a new, useful mRNA-imaging approach by combining MS2 and SunTag labeling systems. The authors showed that this new method can be used to image the activation of gene expression and endogenous mRNA dynamics in live C. elegans. While the application in C. elegans has great future potential, this study is incomplete because it lacks essential characterization of the new imaging method to demonstrate that it does not interfere with RNA expression.

eLife assessment

Zhang et al. present convincing data describing a role for Polo-like kinase PLK-2 in restricting the activity of Chk2 kinase and coordinating synapsis of homologous chromosomes with the progression of meiotic prophase in C. elegans. By revealing PLK-2-dependent and -independent mechanisms of CHK-2 activity, this work provides a valuable understanding of the major regulators of meiotic progression.

eLife assessment

Li and colleague report observations that constitute a potentially fundamental advance, pointing to a mechanism by which non-neural cells can influence sleep regulation by neurons, The authors provide evidence in Drosophila showing that ecdysone synthesised outside the brain regulates sleep via ecdysone receptors in cortex glia. It further suggests that steroid signalling in glia can act on sleep through lipid droplet mobilization.

eLife assessment

In this manuscript, the authors provide mechanisms by which HLA-I polymorphism affects the capacity in the endo-lysosomal assembly of HLA-I molecules for constitutive expression and during cross-presentation. The findings may have implications for allotype-dependent variation in T cell responses to antigens localized in different subcellular compartments. However, additional biochemical and quantitative data is essential to bolster the central claims of the paper.

eLife assessment

The study is important in that it investigates the effect of reading acquisition on neural responses experimentally, randomly assigning children to one of two training groups. The results provide solid evidence for learning-related changes in the (late) neural response to words, but it is not clear whether this reflects category-specific changes in visual cortex tuning. As such, the study may not yet provide a clear answer to the neuronal recycling debate within which it was framed. This paper is of potential interest to a broad audience of neuroscientists, as it addresses fundamental questions regarding the re-organization of functional cortical responses associated with learning to read.

eLife assessment

This important paper provides detailed cellular and molecular characterization of the olivocochlear efferents that project to the inner ear. These specialized motoneurons are the only source of feedback from the brain to the ear and have been difficult to access. This study convincingly categorizes the efferents, using single nucleus RNA-sequencing and 3D reconstructions of individual fibers and their pre-synaptic contacts onto target neurons in the cochlea.

eLife assessment

This study presents important findings on the regulation of the phosphate export cycle and identify the phosphatase Sit4 as a crucial player in regulation of the inner membrane potential of mitochondria. Whereas some of the data are convincing, the analyses will profit from deeper insights concerning metabolism alterations (carbon sources, amino acids). The major strength however is a new insight on how the cells use alternative ways for maintaining a critical mitochondrial inner membrane potential, and therefore this study is interesting to the broad audience with interests spanning from bioenergetics, metabolism and organellar and cell biology.

eLife assessment

This interesting and important methodologic study presents exciting new data identifying approaches to evaluating the cell biology of lung disease. Namely, the ability to identify and track dynamic and coordinated activities of multiple composite cell types in response to experimental interventions. They have developed an interesting label-free approach that collects biologically-encoded autofluorescence of epithelial cells by 2-photon imaging of mouse tracheal explant culture over 2 days. This study has the potential to inform a variety of experimental conditions in lung injury and repair.

eLife assessment

This study is of interest to epidemiologists and geneticists studying the association between telomere length and lung cancer risk. This work provides useful insight into risk factors for lung cancer. Overall, the results of this study are solid, as the genetic instrument used here is better powered and the battery of MR analysis makes this broad set of results convincing compared to previous work.

eLife assessment

The study is a careful investigation of the physical properties of hagfish slime and the underlying cellular framework that enables this extraordinary evolutionary innovation. It is a careful and detailed measurement with clear images. However, there is a need for a better contextualizing of the findings as a broader biological question, including the evolution of functional novelty, the adaptive processes, and the links between genetic and phenotypic evolution. Furthermore, the conclusions on the evolutionary origins and underlying genetics of hagfish slime based on comparative transcriptomic data need to be better supported.

eLife assessment

The manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive insight into the development of the tuberal hypothalamus of the chick embryo. It thus presents a useful tool for scientists working in this particular subfield. However, the manuscript is incomplete as it is impossible for the reader to follow the conclusions made by the authors because the presentation of the data is not streamlined and the text is difficult to follow, even for experts.

eLife assessment

This study presents important evidence that boosting with the Sinovac Coronavac inactivated vaccine would provide considerable protection from ancestral SARS-CoV-2 in terms of elicited neutralizing antibodies but would offer minimal protection against Omicron subvariants. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although using a dilution series instead of one plasma dilution for Omicron neutralization would have strengthened the study. The work will be of very wide interest to the biomedical community and beyond, since it points to the need for a better booster vaccine in China.

eLife assessment

This work presents valuable findings that advance our understanding of the roles of the CA domain in specific binding of HIV-1 Gag to the viral genomic RNA. The compelling evidence obtained using the modified CLIP-seq and chemical crosslinking approaches support the authors' conclusion that the initial Gag lattice formation mediated by CA is essential for Gag recognition of the 5' Ψ sequence. This work will be of interest to virologists working on gRNA packaging of not only HIV-1 but also other RNA viruses.