March 17, 2026
Although tunicates include both sessile ascidians and planktonic salps, the embryogenesis of salps differs in the presence of unique maternal cells called calymmocytes. Marie Lebel, Alexandre Alié, Patrick Lemaire and Stefano Tiozzo analyze embryogenesis in Salpa fusiformis and Thalia democratica, identifying distinct cleavage patterns and blastomere positioning, and providing a framework to study their evolution. Don't miss the Primer by Yasunori Sasakura.
Image credit: Marie Lebel
03/20/2026
Short Reports
How does the corneal lens in the fly eye acquire its light-focusing shape? Neha Ghosh, Eva Rojo-Iost and Jessica Treisman show that centrally located cells produce large amounts of chitin to form the thick central corneal lens, while peripheral cells produce smaller amounts of chitin to form the tapered corneal lens edges.
Image credit: pbio.3003725
03/19/2026
Research Article
Polarized mitotic growth in Schizosaccharomyces pombe requires the GTPase Cdc42, but a potential role in cell fusion has not yet been examined. Sajjita Saha, Sophie Martin and colleagues show that mitotic polarized growth responds linearly to Cdc42 protein levels, whereas mating exhibits a sharp switch-like, all-or-none response.
Image credit: Sajjita Saha
03/19/2026
Update Article
Alternative transcription initiation, splicing and polyadenylation generate extensive transcript diversity in eukaryotes, but its evolutionary significance has been disputed. Analysis of transcriptomes of 75 metazoan species, by Kai Mi, Jianzhi Zhang, Chuan Xu and co-workers, supports the view that most transcript diversity reflects deleterious RNA processing errors rather than adaptive functions. Check out the accompanying Primer by Laurence Hurst.
Image credit: pbio.3003671
03/19/2026
Short Reports
Host jumps pose major risks to health, but predicting them remains challenging due to complex spillover dynamics. Brandon Simony and David Kennedy show that pathogen novelty, rather than spillover rate, is a stronger predictor of host jump risk, emphasizing the importance of monitoring emerging pathogens with limited spillover histories. Also read the related Primer by Mete Yuksel and Nicole Mideo.
Image credit: pbio.3003640
03/19/2026
Research Article
Wakefulness arises from multiple neuronal systems but are the same or different neurons are activated during pharmacological or non-pharmacological intervention? Renato Maciel, Justin Malcey, Kylian Gautier and co-authors use the TRAP2 mouse model to examine whole-brain activation patterns, showing that two drugs and nonpharmacological arousal recruit overlapping but distinct subcortical populations.
Image credit: pbio.3003622
03/16/2026
Short Reports
Theta oscillations in the medial temporal lobe support memory, but how they relate to eye and body movements during human navigation is unclear. Humza Zubair, Matthias Stangl, Nanthia Suthana and colleagues show that theta power increases during saccades specifically under memory demands, linking exploratory gaze and planning to memory‑related dynamics in the medial temporal lobe during naturalistic navigation.
Image credit: pbio.3003695
03/18/2026
Perspective
What concrete steps can we take to reinforce biorisk management? This Perspective advocates for robust gatekeeping of funding and publication using a new formal reporting standard for pathogen research.
Image credit: NIAID via Wikimedia Commons
03/10/2026
Consensus View
This Consensus View introduces EEICAT, a framework for assessing how biological invasions affect species, ecosystems and the environment, to help scientists and managers compare and address invasion-driven changes.
Image credit: Laís Carneiro
03/03/2026
Perspective
Monoclonal antibody therapies are being developed to treat recent measles resurgence. This Perspective argues that such therapies risk driving measles virus evolution in ways that could override the protection offered by vaccination.
Image credit: Wikimedia Com. user Ooligan
03/03/2026
Perspective
Creating generalizable models is a conserved aim in deep learning; however, misleading claims of transferability threaten to obfuscate reliable performance evaluation. This Perspective article outlines the severity of this issue in the biosciences, and suggests potential solutions.
Image credit: Wikimedia Com. user Lollixzc
This PLOS Biology collection aims to shine a light on the many facets of immunometabolism, highlighting how molecular and cellular mechanisms impact diverse tissue and organismal functions and the exciting potential for leveraging immunometabolism for therapeutic interventions.
Recent technological advancements in omics have unveiled the mechanisms governing tumor progression across spatial and temporal scales. This collection reveals the complexities of the crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.
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.
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 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.
March 22 - 25
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia (ialvarez-garcia@plos.org)
May 5 - 7
Meet Editor in Chief Nonia Pariente (npariente@plos.org)
May 11 - 15
Meet Associate Editor Melissa Vazquez Hernandez (mvazquezhernandez@plos.org)
May 18 - 22
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia (ialvarez-garcia@plos.org)