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. Cancer Biology
    2. Chromosomes and Gene Expression

    Cancer: Reading the DNA of telomeres

    Shamayita Roy, Claus M Azzalin
    Experiments with tools designed to detect DNA damage reveal unique and conserved features of telomeres in cancer cells.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Medicine

    Aging: Multiple roles for a mitochondrial enzyme

    Xicong Tang, Hongyu Qiu
    The enzyme arginase-II has an important role in cardiac aging, and blocking it could help hearts stay young longer.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Touch: A lasting impression

    Rochelle Ackerley, Roger H Watkins
    Touch-sensitive neurons in the fingertips take previous physical contacts into account when relaying tactile information to the brain.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Unraveling the impact of genetic variants

    Bruce Herring
    Experiments in mice reveal how three rare mutations in a gene called TRIO can lead to different neurodevelopmental outcomes.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Immunology and Inflammation

    Interferon Signaling: Immobilizing bacteria to prevent infections

    Patricia Reist Iscar, Petr Broz
    The interferon-induced GTPase GVIN1 prevents bacteria from spreading among cells by coating them and rendering them immobile.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Cell Biology
    2. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

    Cell Surface Receptors: Virus attacks fish by muscling its way into cells

    Ping-Ping Liu, Zhe Wei, Xian-Wei Wang
    Nervous necrosis virus typically enters host cells via endocytosis, but it can also enter via a process called macropinocytosis.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

    Helicase Loading: A back-up mechanism for replication

    Godefroid Charbon, Anders Løbner-Olesen
    A protein called PriC allows DNA replication to proceed in Escherichia coli when the complex that usually initiates this process is compromised.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    1. Neuroscience

    Consciousness: Did you see it?

    Ling Liu
    Cautious reporting choices can artificially enhance how well analyses of brain activity reflect conscious and unconscious experiences, making distinguishing between the two more challenging.
    Version of Record
    Insight
    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