In this newsletter we describe how researchers have constructed a whole-body connectome – a map of all the neuronal connections in an organism – for the marine worm, C. dumerilii. Plus, a detailed look at the factors that influence female-on-female aggression in gorillas, and innovation in scholarly publishing in the Global South.
– Peter Rodgers, Chief Magazine Editor
Female gorillas are often aggressive towards other female gorillas. Image credit: Smit and Robbins (CC BY 4.0).
The dorsal vagal complex (DVC) is a region of the brain that has a central role in controlling appetite. However, despite its importance, the full range of cell types found in the DVC – and how they compare across species – remains unknown. Now, as described in this Insight article, neuroscientists have complied a “cell atlas” that contains details of every cell type in the DVC in both mice and rats. Armed with this information, researchers can begin to ask how these cells control feeding and energy balance, and how they might be targeted to treat obesity and related disorders.
Animals that live in groups, such as gorillas, often compete with each other to maintain or improve their "rank" within the group, and to get access to food and other resources. Now, based on observations of five groups of wild gorillas dating back to 1998, research published in eLife sheds light on various factors that influence aggressive interactions between female gorillas. Most of this aggression is directed from higher-ranking females to lower-ranking females who are close in rank, but 42% of aggression is against higher-ranking individuals. Lactating and pregnant gorillas are also more likely to be aggressive towards higher-ranking females.
The Global South has emerged as a beacon of innovation in scholarly publishing, championing new models of knowledge dissemination. This Feature Article explores various initiatives originating from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, highlighting platforms that are free for both readers and authors. These initiatives also promote multilingualism, public funding, and non-profit, scholarly-led governance structures. The authors argue that the Global South’s approach offers a blueprint for a fairer, more inclusive, and more just academic publishing ecosystem.
A connectome is a map of all the neuronal connections in the brain of an organism. However, to truly understand how neuronal connectivity leads to behavior, it is necessary to construct a whole-body connectome that includes both the brain and the rest of the nervous system. To date this has only been achieved for two animals: the roundworm, C. elegans, and the sea squirt, C. intestinalis. Now, as explained in this Insight article, researchers have completed a whole-body connectome for a third animal, a marine worm called C. dumerilii. This is notable because, in addition to containing more neurons than C. elegans and C. intestinalis, C. dumerilii has a more complicated body plan. This latest whole-body connectome reveals how networks across the body coordinate sensing and movement in this species, and also provides insights into the evolution of the nervous system.
Scientists who study social interactions often perform experiments with rodents in cages to see how their behaviour is affected by various conditions. For example, rats use urination and defecation to communicate and mark territory. In the past, researchers have analyzed urine and fecal deposits at the end of experiments by shining ultraviolet light on filter paper that had been on the cage floor, but this method does not reveal when each activity occurred. Now, in research published in eLife, researchers describe how a tool called DeePosit – which combines thermal imaging and AI – can be used to detect and classify urine and fecal deposits during experiments.
The number of research articles that are available as preprints has increased in recent years, but preprints still represent less than 4% of the total literature, according to an article published in MetaROR. Rzayeva et al. analysed 105 million peer-reviewed outputs and 4 million preprints published between 1991 and 2023. In 2022 about 10% of peer-reviewed outputs in the physical sciences and technology were available as a preprint, compared with 6% in the life and medical sciences.
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