03/04/2016
Research article
Jennifer Israel, Gregory Wray and co-authors show that the ecologically significant life history transition in sea urchins from feeding to yolk-dependent larval stage was accompanied by major evolutionary changes in gene expression during development.
Image credit: Elizabeth C. Raff
Current Issue February 2016
03/02/2016
editorial
Gavin Yamey and Carlos Morel, coordinators of a new PLOS Collection on the innovations needed to reduce infectious, maternal, and child deaths to universally low levels, highlight the key cross-cutting themes emerging from the collection.
Image credit: Flickr user, 86530412@N02
03/04/2016
research article
Signalling by the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily member Fas can promote either survival or death of a cell, but the mechanism underlying this choice is unclear. This study by Krittalak Chakrabandhu, Anne-Odile Hueber and colleagues reveals that the outcome of Fas signalling (death versus survival) is determined by the tyrosine phosphorylation status of its death domain.
Image credit: K Chakrabandhu & A-O Hueber
03/04/2016
research article
Carlo Bertozzi, Raimund Dutzler and co-authors show that interacting residues at the interface between the extracellular domain and the pore of prokaryotic pentameric ligand-gated ion channels play an important role in the transduction of conformational changes that lead to channel activation.
Image credit: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002393
03/03/2016
research article
Kevin Robertson, Peter Ghazal and co-workers show that an interferon-induced miRNA suppresses the sterol biosynthesis pathway via multiple targets, thereby helping establish broad cellular resistance to unrelated clinically significant viruses.
Image credit: Wikipedia user, Jynto
03/03/2016
research article
Paola Laurino, Dan Tawfik and colleagues find that the widely distributed Rossmann-fold enzymes share a highly conserved geometry of their ribose-binding motif; this geometry is very rarely found in other folds and represents a relic of a common ancestral enzyme.
Image credit: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002396
03/03/2016
research article
Modelling and genomic data demonstrate the evolutionary significance of an ongoing arms race between bacterial uptake of environmental DNA and horizontal DNA transfer driven by mobile genetic elements.
Image credit: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002394
02/29/2016
research article
The insect fat body transmits nutritional information to control body growth by producing and secreting two peptides, GBP1 and GBP2, in response to dietary amino acids.
Image credit: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002392
02/29/2016
research article
The accumulation of multiple, seemingly redundant, bacterial quorum-sensing systems is promoted by facultative cheating behavior.
Image credit: Jordi Van Gestel
03/08/2016
plos biologue
What might you have missed during February? Gavin Morrison catches up on five recent PLOS Biology papers.
Image credit: Flickr user madrerik
The Council of Science Editors organized a Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development on October 22, 2007. More than 200 science and health journals participated by publishing new articles.
Featuring articles that aim to improve the standards, reproducibility, and evaluation of scientific research.
Quick, concentrated guides for mastering some of the professional challenges that research scientists face in their careers.
This Slice of PLOS highlights research from across the PLOS journals on how mesocosms are used to investigate climate change.
Specific case studies explore how to engage the public meaningfully in decision-making about innovation in the biosciences.
Synaptotagmins contribute to priming of synaptic vesicles, as well as triggering fusion. Read the Synopsis
The functional connectivity of brain regions involved in face recognition: striking similarities between humans and monkeys.
Information regarding the position of whiskers during "whisking" is encoded along the same neuronal pathway as touch.
Neural populations in the human inferior parietal lobule are tuned to specific durations of time.
How temperature can affect neural circuits but neuromodulators can compensate for detrimental effects.
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