July 1, 2025
How worms escape the fungal trap
How do nematodes avoid fungal predators? Han-Wen Chang, Yen-Ping Hsueh and colleagues reveal that a nuclear hormone receptor alters the nematode cuticle, allowing them to evade fungal adhesive traps. This comes at a cost, however, as the escaping nematodes are more delicate and sensitive to osmotic stress.
Image credit: pbio.3003178
PLOS Biologue
Community blog for PLOS Biology, PLOS Genetics and PLOS Computational Biology.
PLOS BIOLOGUE07/03/2025
Research Article
Gangliosidosis drives synaptic dysfunction
The accumulation of the ganglioside GM2 can lead to gangliosidoses such as Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases. Alex Nicholson, Janet Deane and co-workers develop a new,in vitro, neuron-based model of GM2 gangliosidoses, revealing changes in the protein and lipid composition of the plasma membrane that impact neuronal firing.
Image credit: pbio.3003265
Recently Published Articles
- The human medial temporal lobe represents memory items in their ordinal position in both declarative and motor memory domains
- A comparison of viral strategies and model systems to target norepinephrine neurons in the locus coeruleus reveals high variability in transgene expression patterns
- Nutrient connectivity via seabirds enhances dynamic measures of coral reef ecosystem function
Current IssueJune 2025
07/03/2025
Methods and Resources
Accurate image registration for 3D multiplexed cyclic imaging
Expansion microscopy facilitates multiple rounds of antibody staining and imaging, but this requires high-quality registration of images between rounds. Hyunwoo Kim, Joon-Goon Kim, Seoungbin Bae, Young-Gyu Yoon, Taeyun Ku, Jae-Byum Chang and co-authors develop a superior image registration technique using dense NHS-ester labels for multiplexed cyclic imaging in expandable tissue gels.
Image credit: pbio.3003240
07/03/2025
Research Article
How meningitis bacteria cross the blood-brain barrier
Group BStreptococcusbacteria cause meningitis when they cross the endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier, but how they traverse it remains unclear. Sumedha Ravishankar, Cressida Madigan and colleagues show that bacteria perforate and lyse endothelial cells in the brain blood vessels, facilitating brain invasion in zebrafish.
Image credit: pbio.3003236
07/01/2025
Research Article
Neurostimulation to sharpen your math
Different cortical regions have been implicated in mathematical learning, but their causal role is less clear. George Zacharopoulos, Roi Cohen Kadosh and co-workers reveal the causal role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the frontoparietal network in mathematical learning using transcranial neuromodulation in human participants.
Image credit: pbio.3003200
06/30/2025
Research Article
Gnb5 counters Alzheimer’s disease
BACE1 cleaves amyloid precursor proteins to generate Aβ which may contribute to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathogenesis. Shaokun Chen, Jie Zhang and co-authors show that the G protein subunit β5 gene (Gnb5) is a negative regulator of BACE1 and that overexpression of Gnb5 reduces Aβ deposition and ameliorates cognitive defects in a mouse model of AD.
Image credit: pbio.3003259
06/30/2025
Research Article
Evolving separate sexes
Waterhemp has recently evolved separate male and female plants within a genus where most species have both sexes on one plant. Julia Kreiner, Stephen Wright and colleagues reveal surprising chromosomal diversity and complexity associated with this transition, challenging our understanding of how separate sexes evolve.
Image credit: Julia Kreiner
06/30/2025
Editorial
A scientific future shared with AI
AI tools can aid almost every aspect of the research process, from hypothesis generation and data analysis to manuscript drafting and publication. This Editorial explores what the future might hold for researchers and publishers.
Image credit: Unsplash user Igor Omilaev
06/23/2025
Perspective
Too poor to science
A career in science can come with a high price tag. This Perspective explores how persistent financial barriers limit who can succeed in science, and proposes structural changes to support equity and inclusion.
Image credit: Pixabay user kschneider2991
06/23/2025
Perspective
Academic publishing in a multilingual world
As the availability and performance of AI for language editing and translation continues to improve, we can imagine a future in which everyone can use their own language to write, assess and read science. The question is, how can we achieve it?
Image credit: pbio.3003215
06/20/2025
Perspective
Using anti-DEI policies to dismantle education
Educational equity faces renewed threats across higher education in the United States. This Perspective addresses what can be done by life science instructors and researchers to prioritize equitable, evidence-based teaching for all.
Image credit: Unsplash user Sam Balye
The promises and challenges of neurotechnology
Neurotechnology offers unprecedented opportunities to treat neural disorders, restore brain function and enhance cognitive abilities. This collection explores the present and possible futures of neurotechnology to improve human health and cognition.
Decision making for conservation and biodiversity
Translating conservation and biodiversity research from the field into the real world is a complex problem. This collection discusses issues around economics, policy, and how to do research that answers questions that decision makers have.
Symbiosis across the tree of life
Symbiosis research has become a holistic and pervasive field with a mature theoretical basis. This collection showcases symbiotic relationships across the tree of life, exploring their evolutionary basis and underlying mechanisms.
PLOS Biology 20th Anniversary
PLOS Biology is 20 and we are celebrating with a collection that contains articles that look back at landmark studies that we published, others that look past and future, and others discussing how publishing and open science have evolved and what is to come.
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Engineering plants for a changing climate
This collection explores engineering strategies to help us adapt plants to a changing climate, including breeding techniques, genome engineering, synthetic biology and microbiome engineering.
Alzheimer’s Society early career researcher retreat
July 8 - 9
Meet Senior Editor Christian Schnell (cschnell@plos.org)
2025 IS-MPMI Congress
July 13 - 17
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia (ialvarez-garcia@plos.org)
SMBE 2025
July 20 - 24
Meet Senior Editor Roli Roberts (rroberts@plos.org)
CSHL: Mechanisms of Eukaryotic Transcription
August 26 - 30
Meet Senior Editor Richard Hodge (rhodge@plos.org)
EMBO: Developmental metabolism
September 9 - 12
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia (ialvarez-garcia@plos.org)