11/26/2025
Research Article
The role of the spinal cord in relaying brain-body signals has been hard to study due to challenges in noninvasive neural imaging. Giulio Gabrieli, Gian Domenico Iannetti and colleagues develop a new approach called Electrical Spinal Imaging (ESI) that enables high-resolution, noninvasive recordings, revealing distinct neural responses and how attention modulates spinal activity.
Image credit: pbio.3003116
Current Issue October 2025
11/25/2025
Research Article
N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) accumulation acts as a key metabolic signal in Streptomyces, but how it triggers developmental responses is unclear. Chao Li, Mia Urem, Jan Pieter Abrahams, Lennart Schada von Borzyskowski, Gilles van Wezel and co-workers show that the novel enzyme NagS dehydrates GlcNAc-6P into a reactive intermediate, triggering a toxicity-based checkpoint that governs nutrient signalling in Streptomyces.
Image credit: pbio.3003514
11/25/2025
Research Article
How do brains align during social interaction to support shared understanding? Denise Moerel, Manuel Varlet and co-authors show that interbrain information alignment emerges rapidly and strengthens with practice, with distinct neural processes supporting sensory synchrony during early alignment and shared cognitive representation in real pairs during late alignment.
Image credit: Denise Moerel & Manuel Varlet
11/25/2025
Research Article
In E.coli, three of the four Type VII ABC transporter systems have been structurally characterized. Martin McAndrew, Allister Crow and colleagues solve cryo-EM structures of the fourth system, YbbAP-TesA, suggesting that YbbAP extracts hydrophobic compounds from the bacterial inner membrane and presents them to periplasmic TesA for hydrolysis. Don't miss the Primer by Ben Luisi.
Image credit: pbio.3003427
11/24/2025
Research Article
The presence of aberrant forms of amyloid precursor protein (APP) is linked to Alzheimer disease, but its loss leads to motor deficits. Miao-Jin Ji, Tong-Xuan Wu, Chao Liu and co-workers show that APP supports motor coordination in mice by regulating sodium channels in cerebellar Purkinje cells, expanding our understanding of this protein's role in the brain.
Image credit: pbio.3003513
11/24/2025
Research Article
The conoid is a structure in Apicomplexans that undergoes extrusion during egress, gliding motility, and invasion. Romuald Haase, Bingjian Ren, Oscar Vadas, Dominique Soldati-Favre and co-authors show that the coiled-coil protein RNG2 tethers the conoid to the apical polar ring in Toxoplasma gondii; in its absence, the conoid detaches, blocking parasite motility and rhoptry secretion.
Image credit: Romuald Haase and Albert Tell i Puig
11/19/2025
Essay
Bacterial immune systems have evolved in response to diverse molecular "parasites." This Essay explores how interactions between mobile genetic elements and bacterial defenses shape microbiome structure and function.
Image credit: pbio.3003489
11/14/2025
editorial
Research into brain–body communication is being reinvigorated as the field unites under the umbrella of ‘interoception’. This Editorial highlights four Perspectives that show the breadth of this emerging field.
Image credit: Pixabay user H.B.
11/13/2025
Perspective
Is overeating driven by hedonism? This Perspective argues that the pleasure of eating food is not a driver of the obesity epidemic, but rather the regular consumption of an unhealthy diet blunts sensitivity to interoceptive signals that drive food reward.
Image credit: Pixabay user PlaNet Fox
11/13/2025
Perspective
Decoding the body’s internal signals could revolutionize Whole Person Health. This Perspective suggests a research framework linking brain, body and behavior to foster resilience, self-regulation and holistic well-being.
Image credit: pbio.3003487
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.
Symbiosis research has become a holistic and pervasive field with a mature theoretical basis. This collection showcases symbiotic relationships across the tree of life, exploring their evolutionary basis and underlying mechanisms.
PLOS Biology is 20 and we are celebrating with a collection that contains articles that look back at landmark studies that we published, others that look past and future, and others discussing how publishing and open science have evolved and what is to come.
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December 15 - 16
Meet Editor in Chief Nonia Pariente (npariente@plos.org)
January 11 - 14
Meet Senior Editor Luke Smith (lsmith@plos.org)
March 11 - 13
Meet Magazine section Senior Editor Joanna Clarke (jclarke@plos.org).
March 22 - 25
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia (ialvarez-garcia@plos.org)
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