Sleep helps us turn unconscious pattern learning into knowledge we can actually use.

Wnt Signalling: Exploring the origins of a signalling pathway

⛓️ August’s most-read Structural Biology paper is a ‘landmark’ study, describing the structural mechanism of strand exchange by the RAD51 filament: buff.ly/CvSkF34 Have a paper people should see? See what our Editors look for: buff.ly/rr68suW

Out in @elife.bsky.social! Lora and the Roeper lab discovered a new mechanism by which surviving dopamine neurons recover their function in a model of Parkinson's - a key step for understanding this disease! @goetheuni.bsky.social @uabneuro.bsky.social elifesciences.org/articles/104...

In @elife.bsky.social: Membrane binding properties of the cytoskeletal protein bactofilin doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Great to see a) stunning tomography and b) eLife’s newish publication model working well with big hitters like @cellarchlab.com and @profmattjohnson.bsky.social using it

A molecular-resolution look into the near-native architecture of the spinach chloroplast🌱. This one was a long time in the oven, but we're happy to finally share our "version of record". What long-standing debates did we settle? Check back for a short thread🧵 on Monday. #TeamTomo #PlantScience 🧪🧶🧬🔬🌾

This just awesome - having started the basics of cryoET, I am doubly appreciative of the work and effort - spinach thylakoids at the molecular level

The protein KIF7 plays a crucial role in shaping the brain’s cortex. By fine-tuning Sonic Hedgehog signalling, it guides neuron development and connectivity. When KIF7 is missing, brain wiring is disrupted. #Neuroscience buff.ly/ZHSAeIE

The environment of the thymus plays a big role in how T cells grow and in how cancers like #leukemia can take hold. Using #medaka embryos and simulations like these, the study uncovers how thymic cells help shape health and disease. buff.ly/lGwWG1F

Magnetotactic bacteria swim along geomagnetic field lines to navigate sediments. Using microfluidics and simulations, this study shows their motility is optimised, revealing how evolution fine-tunes life for challenging environments.

A new #CryoET study shows that the protein ZapD helps organise FtsZ filaments into stable ring-like structures in building bacterial division machinery. buff.ly/saLPqJM

Reviewed as a ‘fundamental’ discovery, this study identifies lymphatic muscle cells as innate pacemakers driving lymphatic pumping. buff.ly/kWvdl5i

🔬 August's most-read #cancer biology paper highlights a little-known genetic "switch," called crotonylation, that helps tumours become more aggressive: buff.ly/Eg0QGGj Have a paper people should see? See what our Editors look for: buff.ly/B0dSNwI

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture. buff.ly/j3TSIkn

C. elegans uses an "accept-reject" behavioural strategy, based on learned features of its environment, to make decisions about food. This research tackles a core problem in #neuroscience: how neural circuits mediate decision-making. buff.ly/AXcsRVX

🧠New research presents a method that can automatically reconstruct complex axon pathways with far greater accuracy than before. buff.ly/o7QmH4B

Why do we act differently when we’re watched? We might change our opinions in group settings or take more risks around our friends. Turns out, our choices are shaped by what we *think* the people around us would do.

Reconstructing long-range axons from dense brain images is tough. This study introduces a novel method that separates axon identification from global statistical rules, showing big improvements over existing tools for mapping neuronal projections. buff.ly/o7QmH4B

Dorsal Vagal Complex: A cell atlas to guide research into appetite control buff.ly/QY7ev03

Removing Drp1 in mouse zygotes disrupts mitochondrial distribution, spindle formation & embryo development, revealing how vital this protein is for early life. buff.ly/9GxSdBM

🧬 August’s most-read #genetics paper shows how a new zebrafish tool (mitfa:Cas9) can reveal the genes driving melanocyte and melanoma development: buff.ly/oABwvaN #CRISPR Have a paper people should see? See what our Editors look for: buff.ly/4JvRtM3

« Diverse calcium dynamics underlie place field formation in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. » A fundamental study now published @elife.bsky.social elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

Now published as a "version of record" at @elife.bsky.social elifesciences.org/articles/105...

Cryogenic electron microscopy has been used to determine the detailed structure of an intermediate state called a “D-loop” that forms when strands of DNA are exchanged during homologous recombination. buff.ly/pZZfIso

Research from macaques shows that brains recognise objects first with a rough picture, with neurons filling in details later. These fine detail neurons are important for recognising faces. buff.ly/8mOMh8A

Preserving knowledge is a shared responsibility. That’s why we are delighted that eLife partners with CLOCKSS to protect open scholarship for the future. Details here 👉 elifesciences.org/inside-elife... #DigitalPreservation #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing @elife.bsky.social

Check out the final version of this insightful work by Claire Masson and our long-lasting collaborators #EFS #UMR1255. Very glad to be part of it with @naelosmani.bsky.social and kudos to @elife.bsky.social for a very transparent publishing process. doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Our paper on central complex evolution in Heliconiini butterflies is now available as reviewed preprint at @elife.bsky.social 🎉🎉. Please check out the helpful and constructive reviews which we are going to address in the next weeks 🤗 elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre... @ebablab.bsky.social

Are you unsure what preprint peer review is? Or how to get started reviewing preprints? Wonder no more! Our latest 5 min video explains all 📽️ youtu.be/bd8QRNm69P4 Subscribe to our newsletter for more: bit.ly/RIsub #scicomm #preprints

Does slow oscillation-spindle coupling contribute to sleep-dependent memory consolidation? Yes but explained variance is limited. Now published in @elife.bsky.social elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

Join our @prereview.bsky.social Champions Team & @elife.bsky.social Ambassadors this @peerreviewweek.bsky.social to collaboratively review this #preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2023... When: Fri, Sep 19 at 3pm UTC Where: Zoom, register at: bit.ly/Sep19-Live-R... #PRW2025

We're trying to build a future where authors control when their work is shared, and where the evaluation of science is divorced from its publication, making it richer and transparent. Learn more about peer review at eLife ⬇️ buff.ly/jORQJ5R

Beetle research shows the promise of strip cropping on diversity compared to monocultures in agriculture. buff.ly/aP269yK

🎧 Discover science straight from the source. Tune in to the latest #eLifePodcast episode and hear authors share their research in their own words. buff.ly/rFwHIoM

Stability vs flexibility: reshaping archaeal membranes in silico This ‘fundamental’ study characterises the mechanics and stability of bolalipids from archaeal membranes using a minimalist, physics-based computational model. buff.ly/jCnRfkO

Is ‘number sense’ our 6th sense? Plenty of animals, even those that can’t speak, have some kind of understanding of numbers. But what is number sense? How did we evolve it, and what does that mean? buff.ly/v8CcGur #Neruoscience #Cognition

The gut-brain connection Glia cells mediate cytokine signalling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.

Meet the organisations that have committed to including reviewed preprints in the evaluation process: buff.ly/wogRex7

Sponges are nature’s first stonemasons 🪸 New work uncovers “calcarin” proteins that help calcareous sponges build star-shaped spicules, showing how gene duplication sparks evolutionary innovation.

Our Editors are looking for studies that illuminate complex biological processes using chemical tools and approaches. Take a look at what we publish in #Biochemistry ⬇️

Urine trackers: A new computer-vision algorithm can track urination and defecation patterns as a marker of social behaviour in rodents.

Endothelin signalling acts as a natural brake on nerve regeneration. Blocking it with the FDA-approved drug Bosentan restores axon regrowth, even in older animals where repair capacity normally declines. buff.ly/RRtIeby

⚡️ How do BK channels sense voltage and open their gates? New simulations reveal subtle but powerful movements in key residues that drive this process, offering fresh insight into voltage-gating mechanisms in ion channels. buff.ly/6anw3Mz

🧠New research presents a method that can automatically reconstruct complex axon pathways with far greater accuracy than before. buff.ly/6ajguDI

Membrane Biology: Nothing can replace polyunsaturated lipids Genetic studies reveal that polyunsaturated lipids do more than simply increase the fluidity of the cell membrane. buff.ly/qcLJNUN

Looking for a home for your structural biology preprint? We welcome research on molecular mechanisms in biology using experimental and computational methods. See what we publish... buff.ly/iB5qPXw ...or learn how we're championing preprints: buff.ly/sXcmIDg

Reconstructing long-range axons from dense brain images is tough. This study introduces a novel method that separates axon identification from global statistical rules, showing big improvements over existing tools for mapping neuronal projections. buff.ly/6ajguDI

If you’re at the Open Science Fair next week, join our session on Sept 17 to learn why it’s time to move away from journal metrics in favour of more meaningful methods of research assessment: buff.ly/FC06AfH

Stress intensifies unlearned fear, but not learned fear, by acting on a specific brain region.