Insight articles are related to original research papers in eLife and explain why the results reported in the paper are significant in a given field of research. Insight articles are commissioned by eLife staff.
Chronic neuropathic pain in mice is maintained by the translation of messenger RNA in inhibitory neurons, so drugs that modulate translational pathways may be able to treat this condition.
A new method enables engineered immune progenitor cells to replace microglia in mice and reveals how a genetic mutation can lead to inflammation in the brain.
Experiments on Drosophila show that an evolutionarily conserved photoreceptor that senses light outside of the retina can regulate responses to direct visual cues.
The presence of an organelle called the fusome in species as diverse as Drosophila and mammals indicates an ancient, conserved programme of germ cell development.
Experiments mapping individual neurons in the sensorimotor cortex of mice show that sharp transitions in functional properties can define cortical regions.
