03/27/2026
Research Article
Human behavioral studies indicate that people have stronger social affinity for people with matched 'neurotypes'. Lezio Bueno-Junior, Brendon Watson and co-workers reveal that a similar phenomenon can be observed in prairie voles; voles have higher social affinity for the opposite sex when placed in matched, versus mixed neurotype dyads.
Image credit: pbio.3003434
Current Issue February 2026
03/26/2026
Research Article
Duration perception involves multiple brain regions, but how unimodal tuning across this network supports subjective timing remains unclear. Valeria Centanino, Gianfranco Fortunato and Domenica Bueti show that parietal, premotor, and caudal SMA encode distinct durations, whereas frontal regions encode categorical, mean‑centered durations aligned with behavioral boundaries, revealing a hierarchical cortical organization for visual time perception.
Image credit: pbio.3003704
03/26/2026
Research Article
Polylactic acid is a widely used biodegradable plastic, which can be broken down into oligomeric lactic acid (OLA) nanoplastics. Jia Lv, Mengjing Wang and co-authors show that OLA particles can accumulate in the placenta and fetus of pregnant mice and induce placental vascular dysplasia and fetal growth restriction.
Image credit: pbio.3003676
03/26/2026
Research Article
Predicting the effect of a genetic mutation on fitness is a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Olivia Ghosh, Dmitri Petrov and colleagues use fitness effects of a large collection of adaptive yeast mutants in multiple lab environments to show that their underlying genotype-phenotype-fitness maps tend to be low-dimensional but context-dependent. Don't miss the related Primer by Klas Udekwu and Christopher Marx.
Image credit: pbio.3003618
03/25/2026
Research Article
How does the brain encode the features of environmental structure while viewing a three-dimensional scene? Yichen Wu and Sheng Li show that the human visual cortex hierarchically encodes nearby boundaries, revealing a distance-before-orientation principle of spatial layout processing.
Image credit: pbio.3003541
03/24/2026
Methods and Resources
TDP-43 pathology is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders, but what is the connection between its aggregation and dysfunction? Lohany Dias Mamede, Yuna Ayala and co-authors develop a quantitative cell-based reporter and cellular model based on TDP-43 aggregate seeding that captures both TDP-43 aggregation and the resulting loss of protein function. See also the accompaying Primer by Stephanie Rayner and Aaron Gitler.
Image credit: pbio.3003662
03/26/2026
Formal Comment
In this Formal Comment, representatives from PLOS, Nature and JAMA call for action on adopting a principle-based approach for a responsible authorship culture.
Image credit: Roli Roberts
03/23/2026
Unsolved Mystery
The role of the cerebellum in motor functions is well understood, but why is it involved in working memory, language, social cognition, etc.? This Unsolved Mystery looks at the problems that have made it so difficult to answer this question.
Image credit: pbio.3003688
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
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.
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)
June 3 - 5
Meet Editor in Chief Nonia Pariente (npariente@plos.org)
June 8 - 11
Meet Magazine Senior Editor Joanna Clarke (jclarke@plos.org)
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