May 15, 2026

Welcome to PLOS Computational Biology

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Remembering Phil Bourne

We’re deeply grateful for Phil Bourne’s pivotal role in shaping the journal as the founding Editor-in-Chief and for his continued contributions as the creator and writer of many Ten Simple Rules articles the past 20 years.

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05/13/2026

research article

Art’s hidden topology: A window into human perception

For decades, scientists have tried to understand why certain works of art move us more than others. Yet, directly connecting what is in an image to how it makes us feel has proven elusive. Since shapes and visual patterns play such a central role in both art and how we see the world, the authors explored a new angle: using advanced mathematical tools from topology to reveal hidden structures in images.

Image credit: Dmitruk et al

Art’s hidden topology: A window into human perception

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Current Issue April 2026

05/13/2026

research article

A multi-frequency whole-brain neural mass model with homeostatic feedback inhibition

Macroscale brain activity can be captured using techniques like EEG and fMRI. However, the granular or more detailed activity of neurons and localized neural masses is inaccessible. A solution is the use of whole-brain models, as they can simulate EEG and fMRI recordings from mathematical equations and can be fit to empirical data. One limitation in these models is hyperexcitability (over-saturation, or runaway excitation).

Image credit: Coronel-Oliveros et al

A multi-frequency whole-brain neural mass model with homeostatic feedback inhibition

05/11/2026

Methods

scHilda: Hierarchical Integration of LLM with KG database for single cell type annotation

Cell type annotation in single-cell RNA sequencing is a critical bottleneck, with existing automated methods facing limitations in accuracy, interpretability, and generalization to novel cell types. Although Large Language Models (LLMs) have recently shown potential in single-cell annotation, they are prone to inherent “hallucinations”.

Image credit: Li et al

scHilda: Hierarchical Integration of LLM with KG database for single cell type annotation

04/03/2026

Education

Training biologists in Unix command-line skills: From curriculum to interactive online tutorials

As data generation continues to accelerate, the life science and health communities are facing a growing need to master core bioinformatics skills. These communities encompass a diverse range of profiles from university undergraduates to professionals in research and medical institutions, eager to learn new analysis techniques.

Image credit: Kimberly Farmer

04/03/2026

research article

A Bayesian modelling framework for estimating tick-borne pathogen transmission dynamics at the host-tick interface

Multiple transmission pathways exist at the tick-host interface, including direct host-to-tick transmission, indirect cofeeding transmission between ticks, and pre-existing infection acquired vertically or during earlier feeding. Conventional approaches often assume simpler, more direct transmission dynamics, which hampers...

Image credit: Eric Karits

03/27/2026

research article

Emergent coexistence and the limits of reductionism in ecological communities

Recent observations have revealed that stable microbial communities contain a high number of species that cannot coexist in pairs, providing new empirical elements to explore this question from a fresh perspective. Using species-rich models of ecological communities with pairwise interactions alone...

Image credit: Matthew Schwartz

03/16/2026

research article

Do we need medical imaging-informed musculoskeletal models for simulations in healthy adults? A new workflow based on magnetic resonance imaging highlights the importance of personalized geometry

Image credit: Stansfield et al

03/12/2026

resaerch article

Algorithmic reconstruction of trophic networks from open-access species lists reveals key organisms in real ecosystems

Biotic interactions, crucial for understanding the ecology and evolution of species, are often conceptualized as ecological networks.

Image credit: Brun-Usan et al

03/12/2026

research article

Interpretable integration of unpaired multi-omics for Alzheimer’s diagnosis via cross-modal transformer reconstruction

The authors present AE-Trans, an interpretable dual-channel Transformer framework that integrates unpaired transcriptomic...

Image credit: Liao et al

03/04/2026

research article

Quantifying the spatiotemporal dynamics of the first two epidemic waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the United States

SARS-CoV-2 infection rates displayed strikingly organized patterns of temporal and spatial spread as new variants were introduced and...

Image credit: Lopes et al

Collections

Topic Pages

This Collection aims to increase the coverage of computational biology-related topics in Wikipedia by rewarding authors with a citable, PubMed-indexed static version of the living document on Wikipedia.
Developing Computational Biology

This series of perspective articles from computational biologists in a variety of countries, offers their personal viewpoint on the history, current status, and future of computational biology in their region.
Education

This collection aims to provide practical tutorials and background information on important computational methods used to investigate key biological questions, as well as resources for training scientists at all stages of their careers.
Benchmarking

The Benchmarking collection help readers decide between a number of methods which are developed to solve scientific problems.

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PLOS Computational Biology | ISSN: 1553-7358 (online)

Welcome to PLOS Computational Biology

Remembering Phil Bourne

We’re deeply grateful for Phil Bourne’s pivotal role in shaping the journal as the founding Editor-in-Chief and for his continued contributions as the creator and writer of many Ten Simple Rules articles the past 20 years.

Art’s hidden topology: A window into human perception

Recently Published Articles

A multi-frequency whole-brain neural mass model with homeostatic feedback inhibition

scHilda: Hierarchical Integration of LLM with KG database for single cell type annotation

Training biologists in Unix command-line skills: From curriculum to interactive online tutorials

A Bayesian modelling framework for estimating tick-borne pathogen transmission dynamics at the host-tick interface

Emergent coexistence and the limits of reductionism in ecological communities

Do we need medical imaging-informed musculoskeletal models for simulations in healthy adults? A new workflow based on magnetic resonance imaging highlights the importance of personalized geometry

Algorithmic reconstruction of trophic networks from open-access species lists reveals key organisms in real ecosystems

Interpretable integration of unpaired multi-omics for Alzheimer’s diagnosis via cross-modal transformer reconstruction

Quantifying the spatiotemporal dynamics of the first two epidemic waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the United States

Topic Pages

Developing Computational Biology

Education

Benchmarking

PLOS Biology

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

PLOS Pathogens

PLOS Medicine

Publish with PLOS

Remembering Phil Bourne

We’re deeply grateful for Phil Bourne’s pivotal role in shaping the journal as the founding Editor-in-Chief and for his continued contributions as the creator and writer of many Ten Simple Rules articles the past 20 years.

Recently Published Articles

Publish with PLOS

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