Top 7 From F1000
1. How snakes see heat » Finally, an explanation for the long-standing mystery of how snakes sense warm-blooded prey from just their body heat, sometimes at a meter’s distance—the “wasabi receptor” TRPA1, which detects chemical irritants in mammals, has evolved in pit vipers to respond to heat.
E.O. Gracheva et al., Nature 2010 Apr 15, 464(7291):1006–11. Evaluated by Roger Hardie, University of Cambridge; Paul Garrity, Brandeis University; Felix Viana, UMH Instituto de Neurociencias; Andy Groves, Baylor College of Medicine ID: 2579956
2. How H. pylori does it » The ulcer-causing H. pylori can survive indefinitely in the human stomach, and its transcriptome might explain why—extensive regulation by small RNAs could limit bacterial growth, reducing its impact on hosts (which thereby leave it be).
C.M. Sharma et al., Nature 2010 Mar 11, 464(7286):250–55. Evaluated by Alberto Danielli and Vincenzo Scarlato, University of Bologna; Stefanie...
3. Secrets of speedy seeds » A new paper refutes previous thinking about how the plant regeneration process occurs. Surprisingly, pluripotent plant cells (which regenerate much faster than animals’) resemble undifferentiated root cells, even if they originate from different tissue, suggesting the presence of a common pathway.
K. Sugimoto et al., Dev Cell 2010 Mar 16, 18(3):463–71. Evaluated by Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology; Christian Hardtke, University of Lausanne; Renate Schmidt, IPK Gatersleben; Tomomichi Fujita, Hokkaido University ID: 2633956
4. Autism via synapses? » Support for the theory that autistic disorders are caused by synaptic defects: failure to degrade Arc protein results in down-regulation of a synaptic receptor, causing learning deficits associated with the neurodegenerative disorder Angelman Syndrome.
P.L. Greer, et al., Cell 2010 Mar 5, 140(5):704–16. Evaluated by Karl-Peter Giese, King’s College London; Michael Doyle and Michael Kiebler, Medical University of Vienna; Aaron DiAntonio, Washington University Medical School ID: 2456970
5. Endosome exposed » A strategy combining large-scale RNA interference and automated image analysis reveals new genes involved in endocytosis, shows that the cell specifically regulates the number of endosomes and their cargo, and confirms endosomes’ importance in cell signaling.
C. Collinet et al., Nature 2010 Mar 11, 464(7286):243–49. Evaluated by Anthony Zera, University of Nebraska ID: 2487956
6. A new culprit of colitis » A newly recognized population of innate immune cells plays an important role in bowel disease, and may serve as a new target for treatment.
S. Buonocore et al., Nature AOP 14 April 2010 | doi:10.1038/nature08949. Evaluated by Ram Savan and Howard Young, National Cancer Institute ID: 3000956
7. Top killers share genes » Cancer, obesity, and even atherosclerosis have a common set of differentially expressed genes, suggesting that major diseases share a disrupted pathway, and that a drug for one could treat another.
H. A. Hirsch et al., Cancer Cell 2010 Apr 13, 17(4):348–61. Evaluated by David Moore, Baylor College of Medicine ID: 2995956
The F1000 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.
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
