10/09/2026
Discovery Report
CatSper is a sperm-specific calcium channel essential for male fertility that is activated by changes in pH and temperature, but how these signals are integrated remains unclear. Billy Zhao, Ziao Fu, Polina Lishko and co-workers provide evidence that temperature-dependent histidine deprotonation within the CatSper1 N-terminus promotes coupling between neighboring complexes and activation.
Image credit: pbio.3003776
Current Issue September 2026
10/08/2026
Research Article
Natural sounds contain both spectral and temporal information, but how millisecond-scale temporal patterns are represented across the auditory system is unclear. Yuying Zhai, Peirun Song, Ana Belén Lao-Rodríguez, Manuel Malmierca, Xiongjie Yu and co-authors show that distinct click-train patterns evoke discriminable behavioral and neural responses, with sensitivity increasing from midbrain to cortex and shaped by corticothalamic feedback and cortical hierarchy.
Image credit: pbio.3004046
10/08/2026
Methods and Resources
Symbiotic rhizobia form nitrogen-fixing partnerships with plant roots but how they reprogram plant development remains unclear. Albin Teulet and Sebastian Schornack use structural modelling to predict that many of their secreted proteins may act as genetic regulators, mimicking plant factors in a strategy shared with pathogens.
Image credit: pbio.3004038
10/06/2026
Methods and Resources
Visualizing native RNA dynamics in living plant cells at single transcript resolution is limited by high background fluorescence. Jiayu Zhang, Yiran Tao, Jiuyuan Bai and colleagues develop a high signal-to-noise CRISPR-dCas13X imaging platform that overcomes this barrier and provides insights into mRNA trafficking dynamics.
Image credit: pbio.3004043
10/06/2026
Meta-Research Article
Researchers often select antibodies based on previous use or peer recommendations rather than systematic performance assessment. Michael Biddle, Eva Krockow, Harvinder Virk and co-workers show that poor antibody validation contributes to substantial avoidable consumption of animal and human biological samples. Don't miss the accompanying article on proposed solutions and the Primer by Johan Duchêne.
Image credit: pbio.3002415
10/05/2026
Research Article
Pathogenic bacteria in the larval fly gut can 'prime' the adult gustatory system to recognize bacterial peptidoglycans, but how? Romane Milleville, Gérard Manière, Julien Royet, Cyril Kurz and co-authors identify uracil as the bacteria-derived cue and characterize a larval sensory pathway required for priming the adult.
Image credit: pbio.3004042
10/05/2026
Essay
Why do some neurons die in neurodegenerative disease while closely related neighbors survive? This Essay argues that disease resistance may depend on active maintenance of adult neuronal identity.
Image credit: pbio.3004014
09/22/2026
Community Page
Citizen science photographs contain a vast and underused record of species interactions. This Community Page introduces "Who Eats Whom," an interactive, searchable food web created from photographs uploaded to iNaturalist.
Image credit: pbio.3003988
09/15/2026
Unsolved Mystery
Acute infections are linked to cancer progression in experimental systems, but they can elicit anti-tumor immune responses. This Unsolved Mystery highlights gaps in our understanding of how infections differentially skew immune programs during cancer progression.
Image credit: pbio.3003962
09/08/2026
Essay
Seaweed forests are widely viewed as natural climate solutions, yet warming oceans are driving their rapid decline. This Essay reveals that losses are outpacing restoration efforts by orders of magnitude, raising urgent concerns.
Image credit: Jonas Thomar
Aging affects us all, but we still do not know how the process evolves or if we can modulate its pace. This issue of PLOS Biology presents a Collection of articles that explores different aspects of aging, discussing what challenges still need to be overcome.
This PLOS Biology collection aims to shine a light on the many facets of immunometabolism, highlighting how molecular and cellular mechanisms impact diverse tissue and organismal functions and the exciting potential for leveraging immunometabolism for therapeutic interventions.
Recent technological advancements in omics have unveiled the mechanisms governing tumor progression across spatial and temporal scales. This collection reveals the complexities of the crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.
Neurotechnology offers unprecedented opportunities to treat neural disorders, restore brain function and enhance cognitive abilities. This collection explores the present and possible futures of neurotechnology to improve human health and cognition.
Translating conservation and biodiversity research from the field into the real world is a complex problem. This collection discusses issues around economics, policy, and how to do research that answers questions that decision makers have.
October 19 - 23
Meet Senior Editor Melissa Vazquez Hernandez (mvazquezhernandez@plos.org)
November 12 - 15
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia (ialvarez-garcia@plos.org)
November 14 - 18
Meet Associate Editor Taylor Hart (thart@plos.org)
November 17 - 20
Meet Magazine Section Senior Editor Joanna Clarke (jclarke@plos.org).
December 7 - 9
Meet Senior Editor Richard Hodge (rhodge@plos.org)
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