Welcome to eLife Magazine Highlights – a fortnightly newsletter featuring some of the latest content published in our magazine. In today’s newsletter, read about the impact of nicotine on gut stem cells, a new way to prepare samples for cryo-EM, and why children with Down Syndrome may be more susceptible to hearing loss. Plus, tune in to our latest podcast episode to listen to the stories behind the science published in eLife.
— Elsa Loissel, Associate Features Editor
A female leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrilineatus). Credit: Zigmunds Orlovskis (CC BY 4.0)
Bacteria known as phytoplasmas are plant parasites that are spread by sap-sucking insects. A recent study shows how they ensure their survival by helping male leafhoppers find females.
The risk of developing breast cancer increases over time – but why is this the case? A new study starts to provide answers by investigating how aging shapes gene expression in the breast cells at the root of most tumors.
Cryo-EM has revolutionized the study of protein structure in just a few decades; now, an eLife study could help broaden its impact by offering a new way to prepare cryo-EM samples that overcomes many of the problems associated with existing approaches. In this Insight article, Carlos Moreno-Yruela and Beat Fierz discuss this method, and what it could mean for the field.
Children with Down Syndrome are at higher risk of experiencing recurring episodes of otitis media, a middle-ear condition that can result in hearing loss. Insight authors Sedigheh Delmaghani and Aziz El-Amraoui reflect on results published in eLife that shed light on the gene responsible.
The risk of developing colon cancer increases with smoking; a new study investigates how nicotine, the addictive compound present in tobacco, can hijack the signaling pathways of intestinal stem cells and change the way they grow.
As we get older, our skeleton gradually loses its ability to repair itself after injury. In this Insight article, Inês Sequeira discusses an eLife paper about a two-part “rejuvenation strategy” that can boost bone healing in mice by combining intermittent fasting with local delivery of a signalling molecule known as Wnt3a.
Need a break from reading? Listen to our latest podcast and hear the authors of eLife papers discuss their work. In this episode, learn about how decomposition takes place in deserts, what makes mice freeze when exposed to cat saliva, and the complex relationship between human immunity and influenza virus evolution.
Many researchers worry about being “scooped”. But what are the chances of being scooped and what are the consequences? This article in KelloggInsight describes how two economists – Ryan Hill and Carolyn Stein – have used data from the Protein Data Bank to study scooping in the field of structural biology. They found that being scooped was not as common or as damaging as many researchers had anticipated. However, the race to publish first to avoid being scooped did have an adverse impact on the quality of research.
Share your thoughts on our newsletter by contacting features@elifesciences.org
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd is a limited liability non-profit non-stock corporation incorporated in the State of Delaware, USA, with company number 5030732, and is registered in the UK with company number FC030576 and branch number BR015634 at the address
.png?upscale=true&width=1140&upscale=true&name=Newsletter_headerMagazine_8596f4d566147b6ad1f5b0cced94bd8b%20(1).png)
![eLife Magazine Highlights January 2025 B [#7]](https://hs-143759941.f.hubspotemail-eu1.net/hub/143759941/hubfs/eLife%20Magazine%20Highlights%20January%202025%20B%20%5B%237%5D.jpeg?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=eLife%20Magazine%20Highlights%20January%202025%20B%20%5B%237%5D.jpeg)
