PLoS Biology: New Articles

Explaining the Linguistic Diversity of Sahul Using Population Models

2009-11-17T08:00:00Z

Areal and genealogical links between the diverse ancient languages of Australia and New Guinea are investigated using a phylogenetic clustering method adopted from population genetics.

Article-Level Metrics and the Evolution of Scientific Impact

2009-11-17T08:00:00Z

The authors discuss the value of article-level metrics in determining an article's scientific impact.

Sly Represses Gene Expression in Sex Chromosomes

2009-11-17T08:00:00Z

The Multicopy Gene Sly Represses the Sex Chromosomes in the Male Mouse Germline after Meiosis

2009-11-17T08:00:00Z

Small-interfering RNAs have been used to disrupt the function of the more than 100 copies of the Sly gene on the mouse Y chromosome, leading to defective sex chromosome repression during spermatid differentiation and, as a consequence, sperm malformations and near-sterility.

Role of CBP and SATB-1 in Aging, Dietary Restriction, and Insulin-Like Signaling

2009-11-17T08:00:00Z

Increased transcriptional complex activity, or pharmacological mimics of increased complex activity, predict lifespan in mice and mediate the protective effects of dietary restriction during aging.

Reversing Blood Flows Act through klf2a to Ensure Normal Valvulogenesis in the Developing Heart

2009-11-17T08:00:00Z

The directionality of local blood flow in the zebrafish embryonic heart is essential for proper heart valve formation.

University Public-Access Mandates Are Good for Science

2009-11-10T08:00:00Z

A new and better order to make scholarship available for free to all is emerging through deposit mandates like those adopted by Harvard, MIT, and Kansas.

Concordant Regulation of Translation and mRNA Abundance for Hundreds of Targets of a Human microRNA

2009-11-10T08:00:00Z

A specific microRNA reduces the synthesis of hundreds of proteins via concordant effects on the abundance and translation of the mRNAs that encode them.

Migrating Brain Cells Stick Together

2009-11-10T08:00:00Z

Cadherin-2 Controls Directional Chain Migration of Cerebellar Granule Neurons

2009-11-10T08:00:00Z

Imaging cerebellar granule neurons in zebrafish embryos reveals a further role for Cadherin-2 in neurogenesis: regulating cohesive and directional granule cell migration via intra-membranous Cadherin-2 relocalisation and centrosome stabilization.

A Simple Rule for Proteins to Follow

2009-11-03T08:00:00Z

An aPKC-Exocyst Complex Controls Paxillin Phosphorylation and Migration through Localised JNK1 Activation

2009-11-03T08:00:00Z

The exocyst/aPKC complex controls the spatiotemporal activation of the kinases JNK and ERK at the leading edge of migrating cells and thereby controls the dynamic behaviour of the adhesion protein paxillin during cell migration.

Identification and Functional Characterization of N-Terminally Acetylated Proteins in Drosophila melanogaster

2009-11-03T08:00:00Z

A new study reveals a functional rule for N-terminal acetylation in higher eukaryotes called the (X)PX rule and describes a generic method that prevents this modification to allow the study of N-terminal acetylation in any given protein.

PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 7(10) October 2009

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Worker females guarding the nest entrance of a honeybee colony.

Each colony has thousands of female workers, one queen, and a few hundred males (drones). This strong sex bias relies on an unusual sex determination system. Gempe et al. (e1000222) show key functions for the regulation of two genes: csd, which establishes the decision between males and females by allelic combination, and fem, which memorizes the sexual decision by a positive regulatory feedback loop that operates throughout development.

Image Credit: Björn Schmitt, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf

Light Directs Zebrafish period2 Expression via Conserved D and E Boxes

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

A highly conserved promoter module in a vertebrate clock gene confers light-regulated gene expression.

Global Conformational Dynamics of a Y-Family DNA Polymerase during Catalysis

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

High-resolution analysis of protein, and DNA conformational changes during DNA polymerization, established relationships between the enzymatic function and conformational dynamics of individual domains for a DNA polymerase.

Linking Inflammation to Natural Killer T Cell Activation

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Immune activation is often associated with inflammation, but inflammation's role in the expansion of antigen-specific immune responses remains unclear. This primer focuses on recent findings that show how specific natural killer T cells are activated by inflammatory messengers, thus illuminating the cellular and molecular links between immunity and inflammation.

Serotonin's Role in the Pancreas Revealed at Last

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Recognition of Lyso-Phospholipids by Human Natural Killer T Lymphocytes

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

By identifying the lipid LPC as an endogenous antigen, recognized by the invariant subset of human NKT cells, this study establishes a novel link between these immunoregulatory cells and an inflammatory lipid mediator.

Intracellular Serotonin Modulates Insulin Secretion from Pancreatic β-Cells by Protein Serotonylation

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Non-neuronal, peripheral serotonin deficiency causes diabetes mellitus and identifies an intracellular role for serotonin in the regulation of insulin secretion.

Transient Neuronal Populations Are Required to Guide Callosal Axons: A Role for Semaphorin 3C

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Neurons, glia, and callosal axons operate as a “ménage à trois” in the development of the corpus callosum.

Neurons Help Bridge the Brain's Communication Gap

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Heterochromatin: A Rapidly Evolving Species Barrier

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Recent work has shown that changes in the sequence composition of heterochromatin, or in the factors that maintain that heterochromatin, may play an important role in speciation.

Species-Specific Heterochromatin Prevents Mitotic Chromosome Segregation to Cause Hybrid Lethality in Drosophila

2009-10-27T07:00:00Z

Early embryonic lethality of interspecies hybrids in Drosophila can be caused by defects in mitotic segregation of paternal X chromatids carrying a critical domain of heterochromatic DNA.

The Role of Genomics in the Identification, Prediction, and Prevention of Biological Threats

2009-10-26T07:00:00Z

Author Summary

In all likelihood, it is only a matter of time before our public health system will face a major biological threat, whether intentionally dispersed or originating from a known or newly emerging infectious disease. It is necessary not only to increase our reactive “biodefense,” but also to be proactive and increase our preparedness. To achieve this goal, it is essential that the scientific and public health communities fully embrace the genomic revolution, and that novel bioinformatic and computing tools necessary to make great strides in our understanding of these novel and emerging threats be developed. Genomics has graduated from a specialized field of science to a research tool that soon will be routine in research laboratories and clinical settings. Because the technology is becoming more affordable, genomics can and should be used proactively to build our preparedness and responsiveness to biological threats. All pieces, including major continued funding, advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, bioinformatics infrastructures, and open access to data and metadata, are being set in place for genomics to play a central role in our public health system.

Can an Infectious Disease Genomics Project Predict and Prevent the Next Pandemic?

2009-10-26T07:00:00Z

Infectious diseases need a globally coordinated genomic-based movement linking sequencing efforts to development of response tools to mitigate the impact of existing and emerging threats.

Genomics of Emerging Infectious Disease: A PLoS Collection

2009-10-26T07:00:00Z