July 2015

Some mitochondrial disorders cause blindness through increased oxidative stress. A new study by Manish Jaiswal, Hugo Bellen and co-authors shows that in other such disorders, light-activated photoreceptors degenerate because the shortfall in mitochondrial energy production impairs rhodopsin trafficking and induces toxicity. This image shows photoreceptor neurons of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, with the photoreceptors visualized by phalloidin (green). The light-sensitive protein rhodopsin 1 (yellow) is aberrantly localized in the cytoplasm of those photoreceptors that have defective mitochondria (non-blue), while the normal photoreceptors are marked by RFP (blue). Jaiswal et al.

Image Credit: Manish Jaiswal

Synopses

Tuning up STAT1

Caitlin Sedwick

PLOS Biology: published July 21, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002201

Selective Reduction of THC’s Unwanted Effects through Serotonin Receptor Inhibition

Richard Robinson

PLOS Biology: published July 9, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002193

Far from Membranes, BEACH Domains Regulate Stress-Related mRNAs

Richard Robinson

PLOS Biology: published July 2, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002189

Essays

Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging: What Water Tells Us about Biological Tissues

Denis Le Bihan, Mami Iima

PLOS Biology: published July 23, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002203

Extracting Environmental Benefits from a New Canal in Nicaragua: Lessons from Panama

Richard Condit

PLOS Biology: published July 27, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002208

Perspectives

Big Data: Astronomical or Genomical?

Zachary D. Stephens, Skylar Y. Lee, Faraz Faghri, Roy H. Campbell, Chengxiang Zhai, Miles J. Efron, Ravishankar Iyer, Michael C. Schatz, Saurabh Sinha, Gene E. Robinson

PLOS Biology: published July 7, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002195

Evidence of Experimental Bias in the Life Sciences: Why We Need Blind Data Recording

Luke Holman, Megan L. Head, Robert Lanfear, Michael D. Jennions

PLOS Biology: published July 8, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002190

Let's Make Gender Diversity in Data Science a Priority Right from the Start

Francine D. Berman, Philip E. Bourne

PLOS Biology: published July 27, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002206

Where Next for Genetics and Genomics?

Chris Tyler-Smith, Huanming Yang, Laura F. Landweber, Ian Dunham, Bartha M. Knoppers, Peter Donnelly, Elaine R. Mardis, Michael Snyder, Gil McVean

PLOS Biology: published July 30, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002216

Community Page

The Importance of Biodiversity E-infrastructures for Megadiverse Countries

Dora A. L. Canhos, Mariane S. Sousa-Baena, Sidnei de Souza, Leonor C. Maia, João R. Stehmann, Vanderlei P. Canhos, Renato De Giovanni, Maria B. M. Bonacelli, Wouter Los, A. Townsend Peterson

PLOS Biology: published July 23, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002204

Research Articles

Imperfect Vaccination Can Enhance the Transmission of Highly Virulent Pathogens

Andrew F. Read, Susan J. Baigent, Claire Powers, Lydia B. Kgosana, Luke Blackwell, Lorraine P. Smith, David A. Kennedy, Stephen W. Walkden-Brown, Venugopal K. Nair

PLOS Biology: published July 27, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002198

Biofilm Formation As a Response to Ecological Competition

Nuno M. Oliveira, Esteban Martinez-Garcia, Joao Xavier, William M. Durham, Roberto Kolter, Wook Kim, Kevin R. Foster

PLOS Biology: published July 9, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002191

Auditory Processing in Noise: A Preschool Biomarker for Literacy

Travis White-Schwoch, Kali Woodruff Carr, Elaine C. Thompson, Samira Anderson, Trent Nicol, Ann R. Bradlow, Steven G. Zecker, Nina Kraus

PLOS Biology: published July 14, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002196

The Functional Connectome of Speech Control

Stefan Fuertinger, Barry Horwitz, Kristina Simonyan

PLOS Biology: published July 23, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002209

Cognitive Impairment Induced by Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol Occurs through Heteromers between Cannabinoid CB₁ and Serotonin 5-HT_2A Receptors

Xavier Viñals, Estefanía Moreno, Laurence Lanfumey, Arnau Cordomí, Antoni Pastor, Rafael de La Torre, Paola Gasperini, Gemma Navarro, Lesley A. Howell, Leonardo Pardo, Carmen Lluís, Enric I. Canela, Peter J. McCormick, Rafael Maldonado, Patricia Robledo

PLOS Biology: published July 9, 2015 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002194