eLife Assessment

This useful study addresses the interesting question of how immune cells recognise infected erythrocytes in malaria. It proposes the parasite protein PfGBP-130 as an interaction partner of the human cell surface protein LFA 1, which could help explain how NK cells recognize infected erythrocytes. The conclusions are partially supported by pull-down and cell-based activation data. However, the overall evidence of direct interaction at the cell-cell interface and downstream effects is incomplete; stronger evidence is required to demonstrate surface exposure of PfGBP-130, as well as a direct role of this antigen in killing.

eLife Assessment

This article presents valuable findings on how the timing of cooling affects the timing of autumn bud set in European beech saplings. The study leverages extensive experimental data and provides an interesting conceptual framework for the various ways in which warming can affect but set timing. The statistical analysis is compelling, but indicates some factors that may temper the authors' claims, while the designs of experiments offer incomplete support for the current claims as they rely on one population under extreme conditions for only one year each while a confounding effect (time in a chamber) sometimes lacks a control.

eLife Assessment

The authors previously identified SLAP as a key suppressor of the Src tyrosine kinase and a tumor suppressor. In this important study, the authors show SLAP functions in a cell-autonomous fashion in colon stem cells and propose solid evidence that SLAP reduces tumorigenesis by inhibiting an EphB2-SRC axis.

eLife Assessment

This study presents an important study of the relationship between morphogen signaling and cell fate choices in the forming zebrafish neural tube, addressing a topical question in developmental biology. The authors provide a solid characterization of the precision limit for gene regulatory networks interpreting Shh, with single-cell resolution and state-of-the-art in vivo approaches. While the depth of analysis is restricted, particularly by the number of cell traces, the study will be of interest to developmental biologists interested in cellular decision-making.

eLife Assessment

In this important study, DNA and RNA are co-imaged in single cells to show that the proximity of topologically associated domain (TAD) boundaries is uncoupled from the transcriptional activity of nearby genes. The evidence supporting these conclusions is convincing for the regions examined, with high-throughput imaging providing robust statistics. This work will be of interest to researchers studying genome architecture and its relationship to gene regulation.

eLife Assessment

The manuscript presents important findings on how C. elegans can utilize distinct molecular mechanisms and circuit engagements to regulate tactile-dependent locomotory behaviours through the AFD thermosensory neuron. The authors use multiple techniques including microfluidics, genetic manipulations and single-copy rescue experiments, to provide compelling evidence for the role of AFD/AIB electrical synaptic connections in this behaviour. The reviewers are satisfied with the comprehensive revisions made by the authors.

eLife Assessment

This important study deepens our understanding of how populations of a given species may diverge in their molecular and physiological patterns as a result of adaptation to different thermal regimes. By approaching this question from multiple directions, the authors provide solid evidence for adaptive changes in three strains of the diamondback moth after only three years of experimental evolution, and support the causal involvement of the PxSODC gene in thermal adaptation to both cold and hot temperatures. This work would benefit from more sophisticated phylogenetic analyses, better statistical support, and a more detailed discussion of the differences in the three strains at the pathway level.

eLife Assessment

This is a potentially important work on the organization of visual information in the rodent superior colliculus. It reports that the selectivity of neurons to line orientation and motion in the visual image is largely governed by the sensitivities of retinal neurons and their ordered projection to the superior colliculus. If confirmed, these conclusions could substantially revise prior thinking in this field. However, in the present state, the methods and analysis are incomplete and cannot justify all the claims.

eLife Assessment

This important study advances our understanding of the neural substrate of planning trajectories towards a goal by using recurrent neural networks. The manuscript provides solid evidence for most of the claims, but it remains unclear whether the dynamics do indeed bear the defining characteristics of attractors, and the interpretation and scope of some claims may need to be reassessed in light of prior work. The work will be of broad interest to theoretical and systems neuroscientists and to cognitive scientists.

eLife Assessment

This important study presents evidence that the Chromatin-linked adaptor for MSL complex proteins (CLAMP) GA-binding transcription factor (TF) regulates ~75% of HS-induced repression in Drosophila and suggests that CLAMP is the first known transcription factor to induce heat-stress-mediated repression of gene expression. While mechanistic details remain to be sorted out, this manuscript provides convincing evidence that novel pathways involving the CLAMP transcription factor repress gene expression during heat shock stress.

eLife Assessment

This study investigates how the HIV inhibitor lenacapavir influences capsid mechanics and interactions with the nuclear pore complex. It provides important insights into how drug-induced hyperstabilization of the viral shell can compromise its structural integrity during nuclear entry. The modeling is technically sophisticated, and the analyses provide solid support for the mechanistic conclusions.

eLife Assessment

In this fundamental work Horne et al present compelling evidence that YbjP is a novel binding partner of the TolC channel protein. The YbjP is characterized using cryo-EM, and its role probed using pull-down experiments, in vivo crosslinking, functional assays along with phylogenetic analysis which are all properly performed and presented and support the main conclusions. While the study does not identify a clear role for this protein, the revised manuscript offers improved clarity and contributes invaluable insight into membrane transport and antimicrobial resistance.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study that takes a key step towards understanding developmental disorders linked to mutations in the O-GlcNAc transferase enzyme by generating a mouse model harboring the C921Y mutation. While the mechanisms remain open, the study thoroughly examines behavioral and anatomical differences in these mice and provides convincing evidence for behavioral hyperactivity and learning/memory deficits, as well as phenotypic differences in skull and brain formation. This study will be of interest to those studying neurodevelopmental disorders and associated mechanisms.

eLife Assessment

This important study presents a compelling link between nutrient signaling and chromosome regulation, demonstrating that reduced activity in a central nutrient-sensing pathway improves chromosome stability and alters gene expression through effects on cohesin. The convincing evidence from a combination of genetic, biochemical and cell biological approaches supports a model in which TORC1-dependent phosphorylation of Mis4 and the cohesin subunit Psm1/Smc1 can modulate cohesin loading to enhance faithful chromosome transmission. While the underlying mechanisms and biological importance of this newly described circuit are not yet fully known, the overall body of evidence is strong and supports the main conclusions.

eLife Assessment

This convincing study examines a novel interaction of RAB5 with VPS34 complex II. Structural data are combined with site-directed mutagenesis, sequence analysis, biochemistry, yeast mutant analysis, and prior data on RAB1-VPS34 and RAB5-VPS34 interactions to provide a new perspective on how RAB GTPases recruit related but distinct VPS34 complexes to different organelles. The judgment is that this work represents a fundamental advance in our understanding of VPS34 localization and regulation.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides compelling evidence that fever-like temperatures enhance the export of Plasmodium falciparum transmembrane proteins, including the cytoadherence protein PfEMP1 and the nutrient channel PSAC, to the red blood cell surface, thereby increasing cytoadhesion. Using rigorous and well-controlled experiments, the authors convincingly demonstrate that this effect results from accelerated protein trafficking rather than changes in protein production or parasite development. These findings significantly advance our understanding of parasite virulence mechanisms and offer insights into how febrile episodes may exacerbate malaria severity.

eLife Assessment

Du et al. present a valuable study examining neural activation in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) subpopulations projecting to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) during behavioral tasks assessing anxiety, social preference, and social dominance. The strength of the evidence linking in vivo neural physiology to behavioral outcomes was considered solid; however, the electrophysiology data and their interpretation were less well received. Overall, the reviewers felt that the revised work provides insight into how distinct mPFC→BLA and mPFC→NAc pathways influence anxiety, exploration, and social behaviors.

eLife Assessment

This is a detailed and well-designed simulation study of the utility of replication metrics in animal-to-human study translations in bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and health practice, a critical consideration in turning laboratory scientific research findings into tangible, real-world applications, to directly help human health. The study approaches are solid, and the findings are important, as they offer insights into clinical research translations to advance health decision-making. There is some potential for the strength and applicability of the presented evidence to be improved upon revision.

eLife Assessment

The study investigates how CD1c-restricted T cells respond to Mtb-infected APCs, leading to increased cytokine production and cytotoxic activity that may help control Mtb infection. While the work is important and will interest researchers in the field, the supporting evidence is incomplete and could be strengthened by additional experiments. Experiments would: (i) evaluate THP1-CD1c cells to determine whether MHC surface expression is reduced or entirely abolished, (ii) enhance confidence in the purity of the CD1c-specific T cell population isolated from blood, and (iii) suggest what additional signal THP1-CD1c cells treated with Mtb express that is absent from the untreated cells.

eLife Assessment

This study provides valuable findings regarding potential correlates of protection against the African swine fever virus. The evidence supporting the claims is solid, and the results are highly relevant to the field. Further analysis using larger number of animals and other virus strains will help validate the importance of these findings and assess the relevance of the immune parameters associated with protection. The work will be of broad interest to veterinary immunologists, and particularly those working on African swine fever.

eLife Assessment

This study provides an important contribution by showing that whiteflies and planthoppers use salivary effectors to suppress plant immunity through the receptor-like protein RLP4, suggesting convergent evolution in these insect lineages. The topic is of clear interest for understanding plant-insect interactions and offers ideas that could stimulate further research in the field. The authors provide convincing evidence for the functional roles of the salivary effectors.

eLife Assessment

This study uses a Bayesian framework to characterize latent brain state dynamics associated with memory encoding and performance in children, as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The novelty of the approach offers valuable insights into memory-related brain activity, but the consideration of developmental changes in memory and brain dynamics, and the evidence to support the proposed mapping between specific states and distinct aspects of memory, are incomplete. This work will be of interest to researchers interested in cognitive neuroscience and the development of memory.

eLife Assessment

This important study elucidates the role of the exocyst component EXOC6A at distinct stages of ciliogenesis, which advances our understanding of ciliary membrane remodeling and cilium formation. The authors provide compelling evidence through high quality light and electron microscopic imaging, and careful analysis of knockout cell lines, that EXOC6A interacts with myosin-Va and is dynamically recruited via dynein-, microtubule-, and actin-dependent mechanisms, to support proper formation of the ciliary membrane. The study will be of interest to cell biologists and other researchers interested in vesicular trafficking, organellar membrane dynamics, and ciliogenesis.

eLife Assessment

This fundamental study combines in vitro reconstitution experiments and molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate how membrane lipids are transported from the outer to the inner membrane of mitochondria. The authors provide convincing evidence that a positive membrane curvature is critical for membrane lipid extraction. The work will be of broad interest to cell biologists and biochemists.

eLife Assessment

This Review Article synthesizes the development, applications, and recent technical advances of the nitroreductase/prodrug system, highlighting how it enables precise spatiotemporal cell ablation and experimental platforms for studying regenerative mechanisms and screening for pro-regenerative or protective compounds. Together, the article provides a conceptual and practical overview that will help researchers adopt and further develop this versatile approach in regenerative biology. It will be of interest to researchers studying regeneration, disease modelling, and targeted cell ablation, particularly those working with zebrafish and other genetic model systems.

eLife Assessment

This article describes the comprehensive metabolic phenotype of a mouse model of Down Syndrome, together with supporting transcriptomic, metabolomic, and biochemical data. While the work is largely descriptive, the evidence presented is convincing and highlights similarities and differences in male and female mice. This is a valuable study that provides essential groundwork for the further genetic dissection of dosage-sensitive genes causing metabolic dysregulation in Down Syndrome.

eLife Assessment

The use of DNA tethers is a useful advance for studying how motor proteins respond to load. The authors use a convincing methodology to investigate the detachment and reattachment kinetics of kinesin-1, 2, and 3 motors against loads oriented parallel to the microtubule. As the manuscript stands, the conclusions drawn from the experiments, as well as the overall interpretation of the results, are incompletely supported by the presented data, and the novelty over previous reports appears less clear.

eLife Assessment

The nematode C. elegans is an ideal model in which to achieve the ambitious goal of a genome-wide atlas of protein expression and localization. In this paper, the authors explore the utility of a new and efficient method for labeling proteins with fluorescent tags, evaluating its potential to be the basis for a larger, genome-wide effort that is likely to be very useful for the community. While the evidence for the method itself is solid, carrying out this project at a large scale will require significant additional feasibility studies.

eLife Assessment

This important study reports that genome-wide signatures of relaxed purifying selection in genes associated with male fertility may reflect an evolutionary response to reduced sperm competition in the gorilla mating system. The authors present compelling data that robustly support their central conclusion. This work will be of broad interest to investigators in evolutionary biology and reproductive biology.

eLife Assessment

This study presents compelling evidence supporting the therapeutic potential of trained immunity in Colitis. The study is important for the field of trained immunity and is a welcome addition to the focus issue on trained immunity.

eLife Assessment

The authors use a convincing methodology to investigate the detachment and reattachment kinetics of kinesin-1, 2, and 3 motors against loads oriented parallel to the microtubule. The findings are useful to the field in providing a clearer view of kinesin function under load. However, as the manuscript stands, the conclusions drawn from the experiments, as well as the overall interpretation of the results, are only partially supported by the presented data, and the novelty relative to previous reports appears less clear.

eLife Assessment

This important study demonstrates the power of the UniDesign computational framework in prospectively engineering a PAM-relaxed Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 variant with editing performance comparable to evolution-derived counterparts. The authors provide convincing evidence through rigorous biochemical validation across multiple human cell types, comprehensive deep-sequencing analyses, and direct comparisons with established variants, providing mechanistic insights into PAM specificity remodeling and Cas9 optimization. By establishing computational design as a viable alternative to directed evolution for CRISPR systems, this work will be of broad interest to the protein engineering, genome engineering, synthetic biology, and computational protein design communities.

eLife Assessment

The authors provide valuable data linking NAD+ dependent HSD3b6 gene expression in the eyelid to a vicious cycle involving decreased steroidogenesis and AR signaling, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, inflammation, CD38 activation, and further NAD+ decline, which induces meibomian gland atrophy leading to dry eye disease. Overall, the presented work provides evidence for the pathologic relationship between a pro-inflammatory environment, intracrine activity, and the NAD+ cofactor. However, the current study does not clearly establish the proposed intracrine mechanism and may largely reflect systemic hormonal effects resulting from the global Had3b6 knockout, leading to an incomplete narrative.

Editors Assessment:

In this new methodological work researchers investigate the genetic structure and admixture patterns among dog breeds through a comprehensive analysis using whole genome sequencing data. A reference population was established comprising 349 individuals across 65 breeds, from which breed-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were derived. Using the SCOPE algorithm previously employed in many global ancestry studies to estimate admixture proportions effectively, this demonstrated strong accuracy even at low sequencing depths (<1x). After peer review suggested changes to data processing the work was suitably solid to make some interesting findings using this approach. Results indicate that specific breeds, such as Catahoula Leopard Dogs and Greek Tracers, present unique challenges in admixture inference due to their genetic proximity to other breeds. With challenges in estimating Pit Bull Terrier ancestry/admixture, suggesting that there could be several genotypes associated with the Pit Bull Terrier breed . The methods provide a robust framework for future assessments of canine genetic diversity and health implications in canid populations. And processed reference population data is also available in the Github repository for reuse.

This evaluation refers to version 1 of the preprint

eLife Assessment

This study provides valuable insights into aged muscle stem cell biology by revealing phenotypic and functional heterogeneity within the geriatric MuSC pool and proposing a VCam-low/negative subpopulation that may account for the reported decline in MuSC numbers with age. These findings have implications for understanding aging-related changes in stem cell maintenance and for improving strategies to isolate or rejuvenate aged MuSCs. However, the evidence supporting the main claims is incomplete, key analyses such as absolute MuSC quantification, fate assessment of VCam-low/negative cells, inclusion of standard aged cohorts, and validation of proposed surface markers are still needed to confirm that overall MuSC abundance is maintained and that a distinct subpopulation has been identified.

eLife Assessment

This study illustrates a valuable application of BID-seq to bacterial RNA, allowing transcriptome-wide mapping of pseudouridine modifications across various bacterial species. The evidence presented includes solid data and analyses that would benefit from additional experimental validation. The work will interest a specialized audience involved in RNA biology.

eLife Assessment

The study curated a set of Liver X receptor ligands that may guide the design of future drugs that activate the Liver X receptor as potential therapeutics for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's and type 2 diabetes, without inducing mechanisms that promote fat/lipid production. The authors also present improved multiplexed precision CRT (coregulator TR-FRET) and cellular assays which allows measurement of ligand potencies to displace corepressors in the presence of coactivators, which cannot be achieved in a regular CRT assay. This makes the evidence presented compelling as it stretches beyond the current state-of-the-art, and these important findings are expected to have practical implications in many sub-fields and remain of interest to scientists working in cell and molecular biology, drug discovery, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology.

eLife Assessment

This study presents results supporting a model that tumorous germline stem cells (GSCs) in the Drosophila ovary mimic the stem cell niche and inhibit the differentiation of neighboring cells. The valuable findings show that GSC tumors often contain non-mutant cells whose differentiation is suppressed by the GSC tumorous cells. However, the evidence showing that the GSC tumors produce BMP ligands to suppress differentiation of non-mutant cells is incomplete due to concerns about the new HCR data.

eLife Assessment

The manuscript concerns a fundamental and controversial question in Trypanosoma brucei biology and the parasite life cycle, providing further evidence that slender bloodstream forms can indeed infect Tsetse flies. The study is solid in design and execution, and addresses several criticisms made of the authors' earlier work. Nevertheless, some of the main conclusions are only partially supported: one issue is how, precisely, a "slender" bloodstream form is defined, and discrepancies with some results from other laboratories remain unexplained.

eLife Assessment

This study provides a valuable contribution to the field of zebrafish immunology by demonstrating that the two TNF paralogs tnfa and tnfb show distinct cellular sources and temporal expression patterns during inflammation. These findings are potentially significant because they suggest regulatory divergence and functional specialization within the TNF signaling system in teleosts. While the evidence supporting differential expression is convincing, the work remains largely observational and would benefit from functional experiments and deeper mechanistic insight to determine whether these differences translate into distinct roles in inflammatory signaling. This work will be of interest to immunologists interested in inflammatory cytokine evolution and immune regulation in vertebrates.

eLife assessment

The study provides an important advance towards understanding how spatial and temporal transcriptional programs are integrated to regulate lineage-specific chromatin and enhancer activation. The functional evidence is currently incomplete, but the current data provide a solid correlative and conceptual foundation. Functional experiments directly linking Gsb occupancy to chromatin state and regulation of some lineage-specific targets would further strengthen the causal interpretation of the model. Clarifying the scope of conclusions and explicitly acknowledging the technical limitations of current chromatin assays would provide a more balanced interpretation of the manuscript.

eLife assessment:

This important study presents a novel and technically robust framework that combines deep learning and optimized patch‑clamp protocols to infer biophysical parameters and generate electrophysiology‑based digital twins, with the inclusion of convincing experimental data being a clear strength; there is methodological innovation and potential impact for understanding cellular heterogeneity, drug response, and arrhythmia risk prediction. Concerns remain about clarity and validation, particularly regarding the biological meaning of the modeled heterogeneity, the selection and sufficiency of large synthetic training populations, and the robustness and uniqueness of inferred parameter sets. Most notably, key translational claims (e.g., replacing large‑scale wet experiments and predicting rare arrhythmic events) lack direct experimental validation and head‑to‑head comparisons with conventional protocols. Overall, while the approach is promising and timely, stronger biological grounding, clearer framing, and additional experimental validation are needed to support the manuscript's broad claims.

eLife Assessment

This important study by Mattenburger et al. employs structural biology, biochemistry, and genetics to advance understanding of how bacteriophage contractile injection systems mediate host recognition and DNA delivery, yielding a remarkable 1.15 A crystal structure of the T4 spike tip complex (gp5-gp5.4). The compelling evidence presented demonstrates that the spike tip protein gp5.4 is essential for phage fitness and successful infection of Escherichia coli strains bearing truncated lipopolysaccharide; however, direct proof regarding interaction with the cell wall or its components is lacking. The study further provides biochemical evidence that the analogous spike tip protein from phage P2 (GpV) is translocated into the host periplasm during infection, together establishing the spike tip as a critical and active component of the phage infection machinery.

eLife Assessment

In their study, Brown et. al. provide an important advance in understanding the architecture of the mycobacterial outer membrane. Using all-atom simulations of model mycomembranes, the work reports compelling structural insights into how α-mycolic acids and outer leaflet lipids (PDIM and PAT) shape membrane organisation. The work revealed membrane heterogeneity with ordered inner leaflets and disordered outer leaflets that provide a molecular explanation for the resilience of the mycobacterial envelope.

eLife Assessment

This important study introduces an innovative synthetic nanobody approach to probe the function of the bacterial SMC complex. The authors provide convincing evidence that these nanobodies target the coiled-coil region of the SMC subunit and demonstrate that this region is critical for SMC function in vivo. Overall, the work is significant for the fields of genome organization, SMC protein biology, synthetic biology, and bacterial cell biology.

[Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

eLife Assessment

This paper's biochemical studies of the mechanisms underlying paradoxical activation of RAF family kinases by small-molecule inhibitors have uncovered some important new features of this process by establishing a role for the N-terminal acidic (NtA) motif and showing that CRAF and ARAF can also exhibit paradoxical activation. However, there are substantial criticisms that can be made regarding the data analysis and the evidence for the authors' new model that paradoxical activation does not rely on negative allostery is considered incomplete.

eLife Assessment

This important study presents a convincing methodological approach to probe the structural features of the full-length human Hv1 channel as a purified protein. The method is supported by rigorous biochemical assays and spectral FRET analysis, which will interest biophysicists and physiologists studying Hv1 and other ion channels and membrane proteins. Overall, the work introduces an interesting labeling strategy and provides a methodology that is of value in investigating hHV1 in particular and can be extended to other ion channels. The authors also provide preliminary observations regarding conformational changes induced by zinc.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study that addresses the temporal aspects of cell non-autonomous regulation of lifespan. It demonstrates that the same neurons and neurotransmitter have distinct impacts on longevity at different ages. The data convincingly supports the authors' claims.

eLife Assessment

In this valuable study, the authors examine transcription and chromatin dynamics during early zebrafish development by simultaneously profiling histone modifications and full-length transcriptomes in thousands of single cells, providing solid analysis that chromatin and transcriptional states are initially weakly correlated in early embryonic cells and become progressively more aligned as differentiation proceeds. The work also supports a model in which promoter-anchored cis-spreading of H3K27me3 contributes to stable gene silencing during development. Future functional perturbations and orthogonal validations will be needed to determine the causal contribution of Polycomb spreading to fate commitment. Overall, the dataset and accompanying analyses provide a robust resource and a quantitative framework for studying chromatin-transcription relationships during vertebrate embryogenesis.

[Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

eLife Assessment

This important work examines the effects of gaze on valuation signals in the human brain as participants choose between bundles of sequentially presented items food items. The paper provides convincing analyses of how gaze affects participants choice behaviour and how this varies across time. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on attention and decision-making.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript addresses an important and conceptually ambitious question by using a synthetic biology strategy to perturb ATP homeostasis in yeast and examine its causal relationship with lifespan. While the experimental approach and lifespan data are intriguing, the current evidence is incomplete and internally inconsistent, particularly regarding intracellular ATP measurements, transporter directionality, mitochondrial dependence, and the proposed mechanistic model. Substantial clarification, additional controls, and further experimentation will be necessary before the main conclusions can be considered robust and the biological significance of the findings can be fully assessed.

eLife Assessment

This study presents an important new method for probing the DNA and proteins associated with targeted chromatin domains in cells. The authors present solid evidence that the method can map DNA-DNA interactions for individual loci and can detect proteins enriched near repetitive DNA loci or targeted gene clusters. The methodological details of this study will be of particular interest and utility to chromatin biologists.

eLife Assessment

Koch et al. describe a valuable novel methodology, SynSAC, to synchronise cells to analyse meiosis I or meiosis II or mitotic metaphase in budding yeast. The authors present convincing data to validate abscisic acid-induced dimerisation to induce a synthetic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) arrest that will be of particular importance to analyse meiosis II. The authors use their approach to determine the composition and phosphorylation of kinetochores from meiotic metaphase I and metaphase II that will be of interest to the broader meiosis research community.

[Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

eLife Assessment

This study identifies the uncharacterised protein FAM53C as a novel, potential regulator of the G1/S cell cycle transition, linking its function to the DYRK1A kinase and the RB/p53 pathways. The work is valuable and of interest to the cell cycle field, leveraging a strong computational screen to identify a new candidate. The findings are solid, although confidence in the siRNA depletion phenotypes would have been higher with rescue experiments using an siRNA-resistant cDNA.

[Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

eLife Assessment

This important study investigates how differences in heart anatomy and electrical activity relate to observed patterns in ECG signals, with potential implications for understanding sex‑ and disease‑related variation. The study has several compelling strengths, including the development of an open-source pipeline for reconstruction and analysis of heart/torso geometry from a large cohort. However, the strength of evidence remains incomplete, as the conclusions rely heavily on linear modeling approaches whose assumptions are not fully validated, and for which the impact of model error and non‑linear interactions has not been rigorously quantified. The work will be of interest to researchers studying cardiovascular physiology and data‑driven modeling, but the main claims require stronger analytical support. In particular, it would benefit from a more robust evaluation of model uncertainty, clearer presentation of the mathematical framework, and comparison to alternative regression strategies that can better address collinearity and non‑linearity.

eLife Assessment

This important study combines electrocardiographic (ECG) and heart/torso anatomy data from subjects included in the UK Biobank to analyze sex-specific differences in relationships between those two characteristics. The study has several compelling strengths, including the development of an open-source pipeline for reconstruction and analysis of heart/torso geometry from a large cohort. Nevertheless, technical analysis of the data as presented is incomplete, specifically as it pertains to assessment of co-linearity between regressed parameters, interpretation of regression coefficients for sex and/or presence of myocardial infarction, and discussion of potential roles played by underlying electrophysiological derangements. With improvements to these aspects of the analysis, the paper would be of interest to the cardiovascular research community, especially those studying highly relevant health and treatment disparities arising from sex differences.

eLife Assessment

This paper provides solid electrophysiological evidence that an individual's effort expenditure increases the subjective value of a subsequent reward when the beneficiary is the individual themselves, but decreases the subjective value of a reward when the beneficiary is someone else. These findings have valuable implications for our understanding of how effort investment shapes reward evaluation during prosocial behavior.

eLife Assessment

This fundamental study substantially advances our understanding of sibling chimerism in marmosets by demonstrating that chimerism is limited to hematopoietic cells. The evidence supporting these findings is compelling, demonstrated through comprehensive analyses, including single-cell RNA-seq data from multiple individuals and tissues. A few minor concerns were successfully addressed in a revision. The work will be of broad interest to many fields of biology.

eLife Assessment

This well-designed study offers important insights into the development of infants' responses to music based on the exploration of EEG neural auditory responses and video-based movement analysis. The compelling results revealed that evoked responses emerge between 3 and 12 months of age, but no age group demonstrated evidence of coordinated movements to music. This study will be of significant interest to developmental psychologists and neuroscientists, as well as researchers interested in music processing and in the translation of perception into action.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript makes a valuable contribution to the concept of fragility of meta-analyses via the so-called 'ellipse of insignificance for meta-analyses' (EOIMETA). The strength of evidence is convincing, supported primarily by an example of the fragility of meta-analyses in the association between Vitamin D supplementation and cancer mortality, but the approach could be applied in other meta-analytic contexts. The significance of the work could be enhanced with a more thorough assessment of the impact of between-study heterogeneity, additional case studies, and improved contextualization of the proposed approach in relation to other methods.

eLife Assessment

This important study combines microscopy and CRISPR screening to identify factors involved in global chromatin organisation, using centromere clustering as a proxy. The authors present solid evidence demonstrating that acute depletion of a range of mitotic regulators alters centromere distribution in interphase. The work will be of interest to researchers studying genome organisation, nuclear architecture, chromosome biology, and the mechanisms linking mitosis to interphase nuclear organisation.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript provides a valuable contribution by identifying a stress-responsive circuit and its regulation of anxiety-related behaviors. The evidence is convincing that the supramammillary nucleus contains stress-responsive neurons that increase anxiety-like behaviors when activated, and that ventral subiculum projections to the supramammillary are also activated by stress and their inhibition alleviates some effects of stress. Evidence that this pathway encodes and is functionally specific to anxiety is, at present, not sufficiently support and will require future studies. This work offers new insights into how distinct circuits are activated by stress and can regulate emotional behaviors and will be of interest to those interested in brain systems of aversive emotional and behavioral states.

eLife Assessment

This structural biology study provides insights into the assembly of the GID/CTLH E3 ligase complex. The multi-subunit complex forms unique, ring-shaped assemblies and the findings presented here describe a "specificity code" that regulates formation of subunit interfaces. The data supporting the conclusions are convincing, both in thoroughness and rigor. This study will be valuable to biochemists, structural biologists, and could lay foundation for novel designed protein assemblies.

eLife Assessment

This study presents a valuable contribution by introducing a model-based, Bayesian method for inferring action potentials from calcium imaging data that directly quantifies uncertainty in spike timing through posterior distributions. Using a Monte Carlo particle Gibbs sampling approach, the method achieves temporal resolution and accuracy comparable to existing techniques while offering the key added benefit of principled uncertainty estimates. The underlying methodology and characterization are convincing, and the work will be of particular interest to theoretically oriented neuroscientists seeking rigorous new tools for data-driven parameter inference.

eLife Assessment

This study presents a well-executed investigation into how the olfactory system disconnects from the environment during sleep and anesthesia, identifying a potential gating mechanism at the earliest synaptic stages of the olfactory bulb. The findings are important, as they challenge current theories by demonstrating that sensory gating occurs in non-thalamic pathways even under controlled airflow conditions. The strength of evidence is solid, supported by rigorous multimodal recordings, although the reliance on anesthetic models to draw conclusions about natural sleep is a limitation that requires further contextualization.

eLife Assessment

The present work provides new insights into detailed brain morphology. Using state-of-the-art methods, it provides compelling evidence for the relevance of sucal morphology for the precise localization of brain function. The fundamental findings have great relevance for the fields of imaging neuroscience and individualized medicine as ever-improving techniques improve precision to the point where individual brain anatomy is taking centre stage.

eLife Assessment

The study investigates an emerging research field: the interaction between sleep and development. The authors used Drosophila larvae sleep as a study model and provide insight into how neuropeptide circuitry control sleep differentially between larvae and adult Drosophila. By using board range of behaviour and imaging methods and analysis, the authors provide a valuable investigation that demonstrates a larvae-specific sleep regulatory neural pathway of Hugin-PK2-Dilps in the Drosophila neurosecretory centre IPC. While some further text clarifications are still required, the revision presented convincing evidence supporting the claims with the new imaging data, sleep parametric analysis, and further clarification addressing the reviewers' comments.

eLife Assessment

This important article reports on the role of specific interneurons in the motion processing circuitry of the fruit fly, and marshals convincing evidence from neural recording, genetic manipulation, and behavioral analysis. A significant result ties the activity of C2/C3 neurons to the temporal resolution of the motion vision system. It remains unclear whether disrupting this pathway affects the dynamics of vision more generally.

eLife Assessment

This is a solid paper on intermittent fasting that will be of interest to readers. The data presented are certainly valuable as a resource. The findings of both shared and tissue-specific signatures, both at the proteomic and transcriptomic levels, align well with what has been established and bring new insight into metabolic adaptation and its consequences in muscle, cortex, and liver. The organ specific changes unveiled by proteomics in response to IF reveal unique rewiring of metabolic, signaling and physiological function.

eLife Assessment

This useful and interesting study provides evidence that EABR mRNA is at least as effective as standard S mRNA vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. The authors provide convincing justification for the conclusion that the inconsistent statistical significance for Omicron is likely due to immune imprinting or original antigenic sin. In this regard, the significance of the findings is stronger as it points to possible challenges for updated vaccine strategies in overcoming immune imprinting.

eLife Assessment

These findings are among some of the first to identify a behavioral and neurobiological substrate that disentangles nonassociative from associative fear responses following stress, providing a fundamental push forward in the field. The evidence supporting this is compelling and uses a variety of conceptual and technological approaches. This investigation will be of interest to neuroscientists and behaviourists broadly, as well as clinicians for its relevance to post-traumatic stress disorder.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study shows that targeted mutations in specific cassava eIF4E-family genes can reduce infection and disease symptoms caused by cassava brown streak viruses. Through systematic knockouts across the eIF4E gene family, the authors provide convincing evidence that certain double mutants show resistance-associated outcomes. Overall, the work supports practical routes to engineer cassava with improved resistance and clarifies which host factors are relevant for this disease.

eLife Assessment

This useful study uses in vitro electrophysiology, projection-specific chemogenetics, and different behavioural tasks to investigate the role of Vglut1-expression in basolateral amygdala neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens in aspects of motivated behaviour. Although the manuscript is clearly written, the strength of the evidence supporting claims about the role of this pathway is incomplete. Currently, the work may be of interest to some behavioural neuroscientists, but additional controls and further clarification of specific analyses would strengthen their broader significance.

eLife Assessment

In this study, the authors investigated how inference about the current task context, by weighting evidence based on surprise and uncertainty in the environment, is encoded in the cortex. Using MEG imaging and an impressive amount of analytic work based on normative decision modeling, they provided solid evidence for the involvement of the visual and parietal cortex. These results are a valuable complement to and extension of a previous study using fMRI measurements, by identifying the candidate regions that are of importance for the inference process, not just for encoding the end product.

eLife Assessment

This important study links blood-derived dietary content to sustained increases in sleep in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Using multiple independent approaches, the authors provide convincing evidence for blood-induced changes in sleep. These findings have broad implications for understanding how specialized diets regulate sleep across species and for mosquito vector biology.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript reports a potentially valuable modeling study on sequence generation in the hippocampus in a variety of behavioral contexts. While the scope of the model is ambitious, its presentation is incomplete, and there remains some lack of clarity on the methodology and interpretation. The work will interest the broad community of researchers studying cortical-hippocampal interactions and sequences.

eLife Assessment

This is a potentially valuable modeling study on sequence generation in the hippocampus in a variety of behavioral contexts. While the scope of the model is ambitious, its presentation is incomplete and would benefit from substantially more methodological clarity and better biological justification. The work will interest the broad community of researchers studying cortical-hippocampal interactions and sequences.

eLife Assessment

This important paper presents a rigorous and comprehensive deep mutational analysis of the kinase TYK2, revealing how single amino acid substitutions influence protein abundance, signaling activity, and responses to pharmacological inhibitors. By combining high‑quality experimental design with dose‑response signaling assays and multiple inhibitor conditions, the authors generate a robust dataset that identifies variants across all domains of TYK2, including clusters at functionally critical sites and protein-protein interfaces. The study highlights mutations that drive drug resistance or potentiation and shows that reduced TYK2 abundance aligns with protective autoimmune‑associated variants, underscoring the therapeutic relevance of modulating TYK2 stability. Overall, the work provides compelling insights with clear implications for biochemistry, immunology, clinical genetics, and drug discovery.

eLife Assessment

The authors establish solid theoretical principles for designing brain perturbations under the assumption that brain activity evolves under a linear model. By prioritizing low-variance components, resonant frequencies, and hub nodes, this framework provides an important foundation for optimizing information gain, neural state classification, and the control of neural dynamics. However, the lack of investigation of model mismatch makes the study incomplete.

eLife assessment

This important study uses state-of-the-art, multi-region two-photon calcium imaging to characterize the statistics of functional connectivity between visual cortical neurons. Although alternative interpretations may partially account for the data, the study provides solid evidence that functionally distinct classes of neurons convey visual information via parallel channels within and across both primary and higher-order cortical areas.

eLife Assessment

This useful study presents a simple homeostatic-plasticity model in spiking E-I networks to link spontaneous critical dynamics with representational drift and relatively stable stimulus-response geometry in mouse visual cortex. However, the evidence is incomplete because key concepts and analysis details are not well defined, controls are limited, and several results might be the result of specific methodological choices (e.g., dimensionality reduction, aggregation, or tuned parameters) rather than a robust mechanism. As a result, the work currently supports an interesting correlation between these phenomena, but not a clear causal account.

eLife Assessment

Using a combination of innovative and robust techniques, this study outlines cell-type-specific translational landscape changes that occur in the spinal cord neurons in the early and late phases of nerve injury. The authors provided compelling evidence suggesting an essential role of protein synthesis regulation in the chronic phase of neuropathic pain. Although additional mechanisms contributing to late-phase neuropathic pain beyond altered PV+ neuron excitability remain to be elucidated, this is a fundamental and significant study toward a comprehensive understanding of the molecular pathways involved in neuropathic pain.

eLife Assessment

In this manuscript, Wafer and Tandon et al. present a thoughtful and well-designed genetic screen for regulators of adipose remodeling using zebrafish as a model system. This work is valuable because it uncovers several genes associated with adipose tissue hyperplastic hypertrophic morphology and diet-induced remodelingthe hat have considerable potential health impact. The rigorous phenotypic analyses and compelling evidence make this work a key resource for the field.

eLife Assessment

In this important study, the authors provide a simple yet elegant approach to identifying therapeutic targets that synergize to prevent therapeutic resistance in ovarian cancer using cell lines, data-independent acquisition proteomics, and bioinformatic analysis. The authors convincingly identify several combinations of pharmaceuticals that were able to overcome or prevent therapeutic resistance in culture models of ovarian cancer, a disease with an unmet diagnostic and therapeutic need. This work will be of interest to researchers focused on ovarian cancer.

eLife Assessment

This valuable computational study presents a conceptually simple and biologically plausible reinforcement-learning framework for motor learning based on policy-gradient methods. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, including rigorous mathematical derivations of learning rules for the mean and variance of motor commands and simulation results for three sets of experimental data, based on three different motor learning tasks from the literature. However, there is a lack of a clear description of the specific conditions under which this framework yields unique mechanistic insights or predictive values, hence falling short of qualifying as a "general theory of motor learning". The work will be of interest to researchers in computational motor learning and motor neuroscience.

eLife Assessment

This study addresses an important gap in drug discovery by delivering a rigorous, large-scale evaluation of widely used co-folding methods for predicting ligand-bound protein complexes and virtual screening. A key strength is the comprehensive benchmarking framework, which leverages structures and chemical compounds that were absent from the AI models training set, thereby providing particularly compelling and unbiased evidence of co-folding performance. The findings clearly delineate the complementary roles of deep learning-based co-folding and physics-based docking, offering practical guidance for their rational integration into drug discovery workflows. Although the conclusions are convincing, improvements in the test cases, presentation, and usability can further strengthen the overall impact.

eLife Assessment

In this study, the authors describe the degradation of HDACs in late HSV-1 infection and attempt to link this phenomenon to HDAC export to the cytoplasm and to DNA damage response. However, the evidence is incomplete, as many of the experiments are lacking in rigor. As a result, mechanistic links to the proposed model are weak.

eLife Assessment

This useful study examines patterns of clonal reproduction and somatic mutations in 'Pando', a massive, quaking aspen clone consisting of ~47000 stems. Because the study relies on relatively low-coverage, reduced-representation genomic resequencing data for the detection of somatic mutations, the evidence provided for several of the primary conclusions about clone age and the relationship between mutation accumulation and geographic distance is incomplete.

eLife Assessment

This important study explores whether complex structures that are lost during evolution can re-evolve, which is a long-standing debate in evolutionary and developmental biology. The authors demonstrate that re-evolution can occur if the gene regulatory network that underlies the development of complex traits is maintained. The evidence supporting its conclusions is solid and the work will be of interest to those studying the evolution and development of complex traits.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides new insight into the regulation of cell organization and division in Trypanosoma brucei through the control of a kinesin motor protein by a polo-like kinase. The authors present solid evidence from rigorous biochemical and imaging analyses showing that phosphorylation modulates kinesin function and cellular organization. However, direct in vivo evidence that PLK phosphorylates kinesin-G is lacking.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study uses a large cohort of clinical malaria cases collected over 18 years to address a critical knowledge gap regarding the role of PfEMP1 variants across distinct severe malaria syndromes. The conclusions are potentially of importance and interest to those who study malaria severity, but the evidence is incomplete, largely due to a lack of clarity on data inclusion and the correct use of statistical tests. More up-to-date data analysis methods would further strengthen the conclusions.

eLife Assessment

This important study presents a novel immunotherapy strategy for cancer. The authors develop a whole-tumor cell vaccine comprised of senescent tumor cells and a COX2 inhibitor in a hydrogel matrix. They present convincing evidence of the efficacy of this approach in preclinical models, demonstrating that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) modulates the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) toward an immunostimulatory state, although more mechanistic/functional work would strengthen their conclusions. This work is timely and will be of interest to immunologists and others interested in the development of novel cancer therapies.

eLife Assessment

This important work describes systematic computational and experimental approaches to turn a moderately stable α-helical bundle into a very stable fold. The authors advance our understanding of α-helix stabilization providing a convenient framework that has general implications for the protein design field. The main claims have convincing support through a sound methodology, with strong specific conclusions for designing mechanically, thermally, and chemically stable α-helical bundles.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study showing that movement vigor is not solely an individual property but emerges through interaction when two people are physically linked. The evidence is convincing, supported by a well-controlled experimental design and modeling that closely match the observed behavior. While the authors provided a helpful comparison of several candidate models of human-human interaction dynamics, the statistical power remains limited.

eLife Assessment

This valuable work extends a previously published regression framework for trial-aligned photometry data incorporating functional variables. However, the evidence is generally incomplete, due to the way that within-trial changes in variables have been incorporated into an inherently cross-trial analysis framework, which will limit general adoption. The ideas in this work will be of interest to researchers analyzing photometry signals.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript explores the dynamic behaviors of Pol II and Pol III puncta that encompass the SL1 and 5S genes, following up on the authors' prior studies on ATTF-6. The authors show that ATTF-6 is required for RNA Pol II but not RNA Pol III foci, demonstrating that within the gene cluster, the regulation of RNA Pol II and RNA Pol III remain distinct from each other. The study is useful for analyzing understudied gene families, but it is incomplete and needs additional edits and experiments.

eLife Assessment

This fundamental work uncovers an unexpected lysosomal function for NINJ2 and links it to ferroptosis and cancer biology. The evidence supporting the conclusions appears to be convincing. Additional mechanistic clarification, particularly around the NINJ2-LAMP1 interaction and ferroptosis specificity, will further strengthen the manuscript. This work will be of general interest to the community of ferroptosis and cancer biology.

eLife Assessment

This important study addresses the long-debated hypothesis that humans preferentially choose partners with dissimilar immune genes, using data from a small-scale society that allows comparison between arranged and self-chosen partnerships. Across multiple analyses controlling for genome-wide relatedness and examining functional immune diversity, the authors find no evidence of HLA/MHC-based (dis)assortative mating, suggesting that immune gene variation has limited influence on mate choice in this relatively homogeneous population and that the observed patterns instead reflect selection acting directly on immune loci. While the strength of the evidence is compelling for this population, several conclusions rely on indirect reconstruction methods and imputed data for a very complex region of the genome, which may limit how firmly some claims can be supported.

eLife Assessment

This study presents a valuable finding on the condition dependence of autophagy-mediated lifespan regulation in C. elegans. The evidence is solid, as the data broadly support the main claims, although variability between biological replicates and limited mechanistic exploration leave some conclusions less firmly established. The work will be of interest to researchers studying autophagy, ageing, and intracellular trafficking.

eLife Assessment

This study establishes a methodology (machine vision and gaze pose estimation) and behavioral apparatus for examining social interactions between pairs of marmoset monkeys. It has been difficult to study social interactions using artificial stimuli rather than genuine interactions between unrestrained animals. This study makes a fundamental contribution to social neuroscience research in a laboratory setting. Their results are convincing showing that the study of unrestrained social interactions is possible with detailed quantification of position and gaze. The methodology presented here is relevant to research in social neuroscience, neuroethology, and primatology.

eLife Assessment

This important work examines the effects of side-wall confinement on chemotaxis of swimming bacteria in a shallow microfluidic channel. The authors present convincing experimental evidence, combined with geometric analysis and numerical simulations of simplified models, showing that chemotaxis is enhanced when the distance between the side walls is comparable to the intrinsic radius of chiral circular swimming near open surfaces. This study should be of interest to scientists specializing in bacteria-surface interactions.

eLife Assessment

This interesting study presents a multi-OMICs approach to unify different lines of evidence regarding the epigenetic regulation of the key virulence factor causing placental malaria during P. falciparum infection. Most results are confirmatory of previous observations; nonetheless, the claims are supported by convincing evidence. The combinatorial approach chosen here is unprecedented and therefore provides valuable new data. In addition, the comparative investigation of different DNA methylation modifications is novel and disproves a direct role in var gene regulation.

eLife Assessment

This important research investigates the precision of numerosity perception in two types of tasks and concludes that human performance aligns with an efficient coding model optimized for current environmental statistics and task goals. The proposed model receives compelling evidence from two numerosity perception experiments and a reanalysis of an existing dataset of risky decision-making. These findings have theoretical implications for our understanding of numerosity perception and decision-making as well as the ongoing debate on different efficient coding models.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study is an approach to integrating and comparing single-cell genomics data across species. The evidence supporting the conclusions of this work is solid, and ANTIPODE presents an updated methodological approach to determining how gene expression at the cell-type level has evolved. Thus, ANTIPODE should provide broad utility to studies of comparative neurogenomics and be of use to neuroscientists and evolutionary biologists.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript identifies temperature-dependent alternative splicing of PIF4 in Arabidopsis thaliana and shows that heat stress promotes the accumulation of a short exon 5-skipping isoform that is predicted to encode a non-functional protein. This finding is important, and it provides an intriguing new layer of regulation for PIF4; however, the strength of the mechanistic conclusions is limited, and several key conclusions rely on indirect evidence. As a result, while the data robustly demonstrate heat-regulated alternative splicing of PIF4, the causal role of PIF4 isoforms' balance in shaping heat-induced developmental responses remains only partially supported and the strength of the evidence presented is incomplete. This work will be of interest to biologists working on alternative splicing.

eLife Assessment

The revised manuscript by Shukla et al. provides important mechanistic insights into kinesin-1 autoinhibition and cargo-mediated activation. Through a convincing integration of protein engineering, computational modeling, biophysical assays, HDX-MS, and electron microscopy, the study delineates how cargo binding induces an allosteric transition that propagates along the coiled-coil stalk to the motor domains, enhancing MAP7 engagement. The revisions substantially improve clarity, figure annotation, and methodological transparency, leaving the remaining limitations, primarily those inherent to conformational heterogeneity and resolution, appropriately acknowledged. Overall, the updated manuscript presents a coherent mechanism for kinesin-1 activation that will be of broad interest to the motor protein, structural biology, and cell biology communities.

eLife assessment

This manuscript provides an important contribution to the field of platelet biogenesis, and the convincing evidence will advance our understanding of signal transduction driving the development of late megakaryopoiesis and platelet reactivity that results in bleeding diathesis. The paper is noteworthy for analyzing two related, either singly or in combination, tyrosine phosphatases in this conditional, stage development gene knockout. Because SHP1 is a negative regulator and SHP2 is an activator, the synergistic effects found in the double knockout were surprising.

eLife Assessment

This study provides valuable findings in the study of enhancer biology by identifying and dissecting a minimal enhancer regulating dlx2b expression during zebrafish tooth development, supported by promoter dissection, reporter assays, and genome-editing approaches. The work offers a resource and extends previous findings but has limited broader impact, with several conclusions about general cis-regulatory principles and functional consequences remaining only partially supported. Accordingly, the strength of evidence is at present incomplete, as additional functional validation would be needed to fully substantiate some of the claims.

eLife Assessment

This fundamental study presents experimental evidence on how geomagnetic and visual cues are integrated in a nocturnally migrating insect. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling. The work will be of broad interest to researchers studying animal migration and navigation.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study advances our understanding of how organisms respond to chronic oxidative stress. Using the nematode C. elegans, the authors identified key neuronal signaling molecules and their receptors that are required for stress signaling and survival. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, including rigorous genetics, stress response analysis, and transcriptional profiling. This research will be of broad interest to neuroscientists and researchers working in the field of oxidative stress regulation.

eLife Assessment

This important study shows that orientation tuning of V1 neurons is suppressed during a continuous flash suppression paradigm, especially in neurons with binocular receptive fields. These findings, made using cutting-edge imaging techniques, convincingly implicate early visual processing in continuous flash suppression, in agreement with previous studies suggesting reduced effective contrast of such stimuli in V1.

eLife Assessment

The authors show that innate defensive behavior in mice is shaped by threat intensity, reward value, and social hierarchy, highlighting how value and social context influence instinctive decisions. The authors provide a valuable characterization of escape behavior which approximates naturalistic conditions. The evidence is incomplete due to indirect measures of vigilance and somewhat misleading characterizations of the looming stimulus.

eLife Assessment

This is an important study reporting that activation of the presynaptic GPR55 receptor suppresses synaptic transmission by modulating GABA release through the reduction of the readily releasable pool without affecting the presynaptic AP waveform and calcium influx. The evidence supporting this claim is compelling and based on an impressive array of techniques including patch-clamp recordings from the axon terminals of cerebellar Purkinje cells and fluorescent imaging of vesicular exocytosis. While the authors have strengthened their conclusions on several technical fronts in the revised version, further investigation is needed into the mechanism by which GPR55 activation might make vesicles insensitive to the rise in presynaptic [Ca²⁺] mediated by VGCCs, and the nature of the endogenous process that would activate this pathway in vivo.

eLife Assessment

This important research investigates the precision of numerosity perception in two types of tasks and concludes that human performance aligns with an efficient coding model optimized for current environmental statistics and task goals. The proposed model receives compelling evidence from two numerosity perception experiments and a reanalysis of an existing dataset of risky decision-making. These findings have theoretical implications for our understanding of numerosity perception and decision-making as well as the ongoing debate on different efficient coding models.

eLife Assessment

This study provides important insights into how Trypanosoma cruzi populations diversify surface protein expression, showing through single-cell RNA sequencing that trans-sialidase-like genes are expressed heterogeneously across individual parasites, a pattern with clear implications for immune evasion. The evidence is convincing, supported by robust single-cell transcriptomic analyses, consistent quantitative measures of expression heterogeneity, and integration with genomic organization that together argue against purely stochastic expression.

eLife Assessment

This work of fundamental significance introduces a novel statistical model of spiking activity that incorporates continuous-time gain modulation. The authors provide exceptional evidence that the model outperforms earlier approaches and alternative candidates in capturing spiking responses across multiple visual areas in the macaque. Beyond its methodological contribution, the study offers new insights into how stimulus-driven variability and internally generated gain fluctuations evolve over time and between brain areas. The framework is likely to find broad application beyond the datasets examined here.