05/20/2020
Research Article
Tobias Brett and Pejman Rohani develop an operational algorithm for the detection of the (re-)emergence of infectious disease. The authors illustrate its utility by successfully applying it to four (re-)emerging threats - mumps, pertussis, dengue and plague, providing early warning that could enable intervention measures.
Image credit: pbio.3000697
Current Issue May 2020
05/18/2020
Research Article
Identification of the target genes required to implement the downstream functions of transcription factors is challenging. Marie Berenguer, Karolin Meyer, Jun Yin and Gregg Duester use ChIP-seq of retinoic acid-regulated epigenetic marks combined with RNA-seq to identify a small number of important retinoic acid target genes; disruption of several genes reveals required functions in body axis and/or limb development.
Image credit: pbio.3000719
05/18/2020
Research Article
To understand the extent to which ancestral functions are retained among duplicated genes, Jon Laurent, Aashiq Kachroo, Edward Marcotte and colleagues systematically swap hundreds of essential yeast genes with their human orthologs from expanded gene families; the results reveal widespread differential replaceability within assayed families, and 50 new human-yeast complementation pairs.
Image credit: pbio.3000627
05/15/2020
Research Article
Elsa Hansen, Jason Karslake, Kevin Wood and co-workers show that adding antibiotic-susceptible cells to otherwise resistant bacterial populations can be used to slow microbial growth in the presence of antibiotics; this provides support for a containment strategy that aims to maintain the maximum tolerable number of pathogens, exploiting competitive suppression to achieve chronic control.
Image credit: pbio.3000713
05/13/2020
Methods and Resources
Yingchao Shi, Le Sun, Mengdi Wang, Jianwei Liu, Qian Wu, Xiaoqun Wang and colleagues establish a method to generate vascularized cortical organoids, finding that in addition to reducing hypoxia and cell death, the vascular system promotes neural development in organoids.
Image credit: pbio.3000705
05/12/2020
Short Reports
When others stop and silence ensues, animals respond as if threatened. Ana Pereira, Matheus Farias and Marta Moita identify the dorsal subnucleus of the medial geniculate body, the ventral area of the auditory cortex, and the lateral amygdala as the brain areas involved in processing dangerous silence.
Image credit: Flickr user LaVladina
05/06/2020
Research Article
This study identifies genuine inter-areal cross-frequency coupling (CFC) from human resting state activity using MEG, stereo-EEG, and novel network approaches. CFC couples slow theta and alpha oscillations to faster oscillations across brain regions.
Image credit: pbio.3000685
05/05/2020
Short Reports
A common genetic haplotype linked to lower levels of the astrocyte channel aquaporin 4 is associated with more intense NREM sleep and an improved response to extended wakefulness.
Image credit: pbio.3000623
05/04/2020
Methods and Resources
Analysis of individual Plasmodium vivax parasites reveals tight control of most genes during the intra-erythrocytic cycle, differentiation of gametocytes, and differences between P. vivax and P. falciparum.
Image credit: Steven Glenn user Wikimedia Commons
04/30/2020
Research Article
Mice carrying an autism spectrum disorder risk mutation in an NMDA receptor subunit show reduced currents and LTD, and abnormal anxiolytic-like behavior. Early treatment of mice with the agonist D-cycloserine rescues these phenotypes.
Image credit: pbio.3000717
Raquel Lieberman discusses her work on the protein myocilin, implicated in glaucoma, but whose normal function remains unclear after over 20 years.
Susanna Bidgood explores the future of using poxviruses as versatile tools for cell biology research.
Rachel Harding proposes that open notebooks present an opportunity for researchers to showcase their work and rapidly advance science in their field
On the eve of the UN General Assembly meeting on TB, Christoph Grundner urged the need to consider basic research as an essential component of any future anti-TB strategy.
Norman Pace remembers the early days of what became known as "metagenomics," as experienced by the author during his development as a scientist.
Normal service will resume after Covid-19 crisis ends.
Normal service will resume after Covid-19 crisis ends.
Connect with Us