Top 7 from F1000
1. Smelling the difference » How do animals quickly tell the difference between similar smells? A clue from the mouse olfactory bulb: inhibiting signals from specific neurons makes odor discrimination fast and accurate.
N.M. Abraham et al., Neuron, 65(3):399–411, February 11, 2010. Evaluated by Amar Sahay and Rene Hen, Columbia University; Kristina Rehm and Rosalind Segal, Harvard Medical School. ID: 2426965
2. A pain in the back » Injection of methylene blue, a neurotoxin, into damaged intervertebral discs destroys pain receptors. This cheap and simple treatment could relieve chronic lower back pain for at least 2 years.
B. Peng et al., Pain, 149(1):124–29, April 2010. Evaluated by Wilfrid Jänig, Christian-Albrechts-University. ID: 2638974
3. Docking identity » The calcium sensor synaptotagmin-1 docks secretory granules to the cell membrane, which primes them for release in response to the key...
4. T-cell balancing act » On immature T cells, the T-cell receptor is continuously marked for degradation. This allows the body to fine-tune T-cell maturation, making it possible to respond to infection while avoiding autoimmunity.
H. Wang, et al., EMBO J, February 11, 2010 (epub ahead of print) Evaluated by Nick Gascoigne, Scripps Research Institute. ID: 2642962
5. Color seen, color made » A duplicated visual receptor in the Red Postman butterfly enabled it to see a new range of colors. At the same time as that receptor appeared, so did a new wing pigment, showing that changes in colors can co-evolve with the ability to see them, and positive selection can drive evolution.
A.D. Briscoe, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 107(8):3628–33, February 23, 2010. Evaluated by Anthony Zera, University of Nebraska. ID: 2642956
6. Trouble at sea » Empirical data from 16,363 cargo ships paint a very different picture of traffic patterns than the traditional model used to predict cargo traffic, suggesting classic techniques alone may not be enough to reduce the spread of invasive species that hitch rides in ballast and bulk cargo.
P. Kaluza, et al., J R Soc Interface, January 19, 2010 (epub ahead of print) Evaluated by Jonathan Belmaker and Lewi Stone, Tel Aviv University. ID: 2620979
7. Reaching out in mitosis » In early mitosis, microtubules emanating from kinetochores capture microtubules from the spindle body, guiding them to the chromosome—explaining why spindle attachment is surprisingly efficient.
E. Kitamura, et al., Dev Cell, 18(2):248–59, February 16, 2010. Evaluated by Mary Dasso, National Institutes of Health. ID: 2620979
The Top 7 is a snapshot of the highest-ranked articles from a 30-day period on Faculty of 1000 Biology. Faculty members evaluate and rate the most important papers in their field. To see the latest rankings, search the database, and read daily evaluations, visit http://f1000.com/. Find Top 7s by searching for the IDs provided.
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