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. Cell Biology
    2. Neuroscience

    Vision: A pathway to sight

    Katherine J Wert
    The breakdown of glutamine is an important metabolic pathway for the health and survival of rod photoreceptors within the retina.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Synaptic Plasticity: A new mode of action for unconventional NMDA receptors

    Ikuko Smith
    Presynaptic NMDA receptors can shape timing-dependent long-term depression in a way that departs from their classic postsynaptic role.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Genetics and Genomics
    2. Neuroscience

    Pain: Epidermal cells and sensory neurons team up

    Jean-Christophe Boivin, Tomoko Ohyama
    Experiments in fruit fly larvae show that epidermal cells can communicate with sensory neurons to drive responses to pain.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Chromosomes and Gene Expression

    Gene Regulation: Linking O-GlcNAc and intron retention

    John A Hanover
    An elegant screening strategy unveils a molecular actor that connects widespread changes in mRNA processing with a nutrient-sensing protein modification.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Cell Biology
    2. Developmental Biology

    Cell Signaling: Not all dimers are equal

    Jeet H Patel, Mary C Mullins
    Disease-causing mutations in the signaling protein BMP4 impair its secretion, but only when it is made as a homodimer.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Immunology and Inflammation

    Bacterial Clearance: With a little help from T cells

    Troy Burtchett, Neal Hammer
    Specific host factors, such as immune cell activity, sex hormones and microbiota composition, influence the ability of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria to colonize the gut of mice.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Cognition: When working memory works for our goals

    Jacob A Miller
    When navigating environments with changing rules, human brain circuits flexibly adapt how and where we retain information to help us achieve our immediate goals.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Cancer Biology
    2. Cell Biology

    Breast Cancer: How cell crowding causes cancer cells to spread

    Rui Hua, Jean X Jiang
    Cell crowding causes high-grade breast cancer cells to become more invasive by activating a molecular switch that causes the cells to shrink and spread.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Pain: Revisiting the role of Substance P and CGRPα

    Weihua Cai, Arkady Khoutorsky
    Mice lacking two neuropeptides thought to be essential for processing pain show no change in how they respond to a wide range of harmful stimuli.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Genetics and Genomics
    2. Neuroscience

    Neuronal Signaling: Cell-specific tools for understanding behavior

    Brandon L Holder, Stephane Dissel
    Novel tools that allow neuron-specific investigations of the structure controlling sleep regulation in fruit flies reveal the extent of neuronal heterogeneity.
    Version of Record
    Insight