Insights

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.

Latest articles

    1. Immunology and Inflammation
    2. Neuroscience

    Microglia: Replacing the immune system of the brain

    Julie Rebejac, Soyon Hong
    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.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Non-Visual Light Perception: Ancient photoreceptor shapes behavioural responses

    N Sören Häfker
    Experiments on Drosophila show that an evolutionarily conserved photoreceptor that senses light outside of the retina can regulate responses to direct visual cues.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Ecology

    Insect Migration: A sense of direction

    Aleksandr Pakhomov, Dmitry Kishkinev
    Migratory moths use both magnetic and visual cues for navigation when travelling long distances in the dark.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Genetics and Genomics
    2. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

    Virus Evolution: Scaling up efforts to target evolving viruses

    Lin Wang, Henrik Salje
    High-throughput neutralisation tests could lead to a better understanding of the evolution of human influenza.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Developmental Biology

    Oocyte Development: The discovery of the mammalian fusome

    Michael Buszczak, Anirban Dasgupta
    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.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Temporal Information: Synaptic footprints of time in working memory

    Dhruv Grover, Marissa L Heintschel
    Temporary changes in synapses may allow working memory to keep track of both events and their timing.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Brain Mapping: Redefining borders in the sensorimotor cortex

    Sylvain Crochet
    Experiments mapping individual neurons in the sensorimotor cortex of mice show that sharp transitions in functional properties can define cortical regions.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

    Receptor Proteins: Lipids challenge ligands to control receptors

    Adam JM Wollman
    The behaviour of a receptor protein can be influenced by the presence of certain lipids in the membrane it is embedded in.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Medicine
    2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

    Medical Imaging: MRI sets its sights on collagen

    Fritz Schick
    Reducing the echo time of a whole-body MRI scanner makes it possible to image collagen, an important structural protein found in bones and tendons.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Developmental Biology

    Limb Patterning: The cellular logic of limb regeneration

    Matthew Cherubino, Catherine D McCusker
    Hierarchical communication between cells with distinct positional memories orchestrates the regeneration of missing limb structures in axolotls.
    Version of Record
    Insight