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PLOS Biology
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A leading life science journal that champions high-impact research across all disciplines—from molecules to ecosystems. We offer innovative formats and collaborative editorial support to ensure your work achieves its full scientific impact.
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · Feb 21
PLOS has issued a statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity.

We are determined to stand firmly behind our mission, our values and our principles, and against any attempt at censorship or undermining of the core principles of scientific inquiry.

plos.io/3D4O8cH
PLOS statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity - The Official PLOS Blog
Since its founding over twenty five years ago PLOS has been dedicated to advancing open science, ensuring that knowledge is accessible to…
plos.io
plosbiology.org
#Cancer #immunotherapy faces widespread resistance via mechanisms like PD-L1 suppression. This study identifies the metabolic enzyme HSD17B12 as a regulator of PD-L1 degradation, showing that an HSD17B12-derived peptide boosts #AntiTumor #immunity in a mouse model @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k2rtyR
HSD17B12 interacts with PD-L1 in living cells.Top: PD-L1 partially colocalizes with HSD17B12 in A375 cells. Representative images are shown (scale bars: 5 μm). Immunofluorescence staining was performed using anti-PD-L1 and anti-HSD17B12 antibodies. Bottom: Schematic model showing membrane localization of HSD17B12.
January 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM
plosbiology.org
Organoids are key models for studying development & disease, but heterogeneity is a problem. @wittbrodtlab.bsky.social use #DeepLearning to predict differentiation paths & resulting tissues in #retinal organoids, with implications for other #organoid systems @plosborn.bsky.social 🧪 plos.io/45VTMt1
Global morphological heterogeneity of retinal organoids across development. Top row: Image segmentation and analysis pipeline. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with the DeepLabV3 architecture was trained on 841 images and their manually annotated masks (left). The CNN was subsequently used to segment all images of the dataset that were finally subjected to a pipeline extracting a total of 165 morphological parameters (morphometrics, right), including, among others, shape descriptors and image moments. Intra-experimental global morphological organoid heterogeneity. Time-series images from one representative experiment were analyzed using the image analysis pipeline and subjected to t-SNE dimensionality reduction on the first 20 principal components. Data points were colored by individual organoids (left graph) and time frames of organoid development within the imaging window (right graph). While organoids clustered closely at earlier time points (up to 24 h), they strongly diverged at later time points, suggesting increasing inter-individual changes of their morphological characteristics over time.
January 29, 2026 at 8:55 AM
plosbiology.org
#Cancer #immunotherapy faces widespread resistance via mechanisms like PD-L1 suppression. This study identifies the metabolic enzyme HSD17B12 as a regulator of PD-L1 degradation, showing that an HSD17B12-derived peptide boosts #AntiTumor #immunity in a mouse model @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k2rtyR
HSD17B12 interacts with PD-L1 in living cells.Top: PD-L1 partially colocalizes with HSD17B12 in A375 cells. Representative images are shown (scale bars: 5 μm). Immunofluorescence staining was performed using anti-PD-L1 and anti-HSD17B12 antibodies. Bottom: Schematic model showing membrane localization of HSD17B12.
January 28, 2026 at 5:30 PM
plosbiology.org
Organoids are key models for studying development & disease, but heterogeneity is a problem. @wittbrodtlab.bsky.social use #DeepLearning to predict differentiation paths & resulting tissues in #retinal organoids, with implications for other #organoid systems @plosborn.bsky.social 🧪 plos.io/45VTMt1
Global morphological heterogeneity of retinal organoids across development. Top row: Image segmentation and analysis pipeline. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with the DeepLabV3 architecture was trained on 841 images and their manually annotated masks (left). The CNN was subsequently used to segment all images of the dataset that were finally subjected to a pipeline extracting a total of 165 morphological parameters (morphometrics, right), including, among others, shape descriptors and image moments. Intra-experimental global morphological organoid heterogeneity. Time-series images from one representative experiment were analyzed using the image analysis pipeline and subjected to t-SNE dimensionality reduction on the first 20 principal components. Data points were colored by individual organoids (left graph) and time frames of organoid development within the imaging window (right graph). While organoids clustered closely at earlier time points (up to 24 h), they strongly diverged at later time points, suggesting increasing inter-individual changes of their morphological characteristics over time.
January 28, 2026 at 5:25 PM
plosbiology.org
#Cancer #immunotherapy faces widespread resistance via mechanisms like PD-L1 suppression. This study identifies the metabolic enzyme HSD17B12 as a regulator of PD-L1 degradation, showing that an HSD17B12-derived peptide boosts #AntiTumor #immunity in a mouse model @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k2rtyR
HSD17B12 interacts with PD-L1 in living cells.Top: PD-L1 partially colocalizes with HSD17B12 in A375 cells. Representative images are shown (scale bars: 5 μm). Immunofluorescence staining was performed using anti-PD-L1 and anti-HSD17B12 antibodies. Bottom: Schematic model showing membrane localization of HSD17B12.
January 28, 2026 at 2:05 PM
plosbiology.org
Organoids are key models for studying development & disease, but heterogeneity is a problem. @wittbrodtlab.bsky.social use #DeepLearning to predict differentiation paths & resulting tissues in #retinal organoids, with implications for other #organoid systems @plosborn.bsky.social 🧪 plos.io/45VTMt1
Global morphological heterogeneity of retinal organoids across development. Top row: Image segmentation and analysis pipeline. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with the DeepLabV3 architecture was trained on 841 images and their manually annotated masks (left). The CNN was subsequently used to segment all images of the dataset that were finally subjected to a pipeline extracting a total of 165 morphological parameters (morphometrics, right), including, among others, shape descriptors and image moments. Intra-experimental global morphological organoid heterogeneity. Time-series images from one representative experiment were analyzed using the image analysis pipeline and subjected to t-SNE dimensionality reduction on the first 20 principal components. Data points were colored by individual organoids (left graph) and time frames of organoid development within the imaging window (right graph). While organoids clustered closely at earlier time points (up to 24 h), they strongly diverged at later time points, suggesting increasing inter-individual changes of their morphological characteristics over time.
January 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM
plosbiology.org
Infantile #amnesia limits our recall of early-life memories, but what is its cellular basis? @tjryan.bsky.social &co reveal that transient #microglial activity during postnatal development regulates infant #memory persistence & retrieval in mice @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4a0SoGH
A cartoon showing a middle-aged mouse at an office desk, remembering (in a thought bubble) a childhood birthday, with his parent bringing him a cake with a single candle; cartoon glial cells are controlling a cable that links to his early memories. Infantile amnesia is the global loss of episodic and contextual memories formed in early life. Image credit: Birte Doludda
January 28, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by PLOS Biology
wkobayashi.bsky.social
NR5A2 overexpression improves SCNT efficiency and enhances ZGA by promoting H3K27ac deposition. Great work!

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Overexpression of the pioneer transcription factor Nr5a2 promotes the development of mouse somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) is an approach that enables the generation of an embryo from a somatic cell, but its efficiency remains low due to epigenetic barriers. This study shows that pione...
journals.plos.org
January 27, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Reposted by PLOS Biology
physioktbroker.bsky.social
“analyzing all articles indexed in the PubMed database (>36.5 million articles published in >36,000 biomedical and life sciences journals), we show that the median amount of time spent under review is 7.4%–14.6% longer for female-authored articles “ 🧪 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review
Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...
journals.plos.org
January 24, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by PLOS Biology
natforsdick.bsky.social
And here's a thought provoking study on other disparities in research, this one addressing different aspects of the gender gap. #WomenInSTEM journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review
Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...
journals.plos.org
January 28, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Reposted by PLOS Biology
lozanzi.bsky.social
#InterferonFriendsOrFoes? Another cool one @ellenfoxman.bsky.social &friends out @plosbiology.org about how excessive #IFNs delay repair by activating LATS & degrading YAP/TAZ in the Hippo 🦛 pathway! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 👇👇👇
January 27, 2026 at 8:33 PM
plosbiology.org
Infantile #amnesia limits our recall of early-life memories, but what is its cellular basis? @tjryan.bsky.social &co reveal that transient #microglial activity during postnatal development regulates infant #memory persistence & retrieval in mice @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4a0SoGH
A cartoon showing a middle-aged mouse at an office desk, remembering (in a thought bubble) a childhood birthday, with his parent bringing him a cake with a single candle; cartoon glial cells are controlling a cable that links to his early memories. Infantile amnesia is the global loss of episodic and contextual memories formed in early life. Image credit: Birte Doludda
January 28, 2026 at 9:05 AM
plosbiology.org
#Interferons protect against #ViralInfection, but can hinder tissue repair - how? @ellenfoxman.bsky.social &co show that high IFN levels suppress #BronchialCell migration & proliferation during tissue repair via JAK-driven LATS1 activation, independent of STAT1 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k1pyKA
Top: Type III interferon alters the nuclear localization of the transcriptional co-regulator YAP during wound healing of human bronchial epithelial cells. Micrographs show localization or YAP (red) relative to the cell nucleus (blue) in cells adjacent to a scratch in the monolayer (dark area, right of images). In untreated cultures, YAP is present in most nuclei (purple nuclei, left panel) whereas in the presence of Type III interferon, the percentage of cells with nuclear YAP is greatly reduced (blue nuclei, right panel). Image credit: Krupakar Subramaniam. Bottom: Model. Type III and Type I IFN receptor signaling activate LATS1 to curtail tissue repair during acute viral infection. Left-hand panel: During acute viral infection, high concentrations of Type III and/or Type I IFN receptor signaling trigger JAK-dependent, STAT1-independent phosphorylation of LATS1, leading to phosphorylation and degradation of YAP and reduced tissue repair activities mediated by YAP target genes. In rapidly proliferating cell types, active LATS1/2 also blocks repair in part via a p53-dependent mechanism. Right-hand panel: During resolution of viral infection, lower concentrations of Type III and/or Type I IFN may continue to activate STAT1-mediated antiviral defenses but no longer activate LATS1/2, allowing epithelial repair to resume.
January 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM
plosbiology.org
Infantile #amnesia limits our recall of early-life memories, but what is its cellular basis? @tjryan.bsky.social &co reveal that transient #microglial activity during postnatal development regulates infant #memory persistence & retrieval in mice @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4a0SoGH
A cartoon showing a middle-aged mouse at an office desk, remembering (in a thought bubble) a childhood birthday, with his parent bringing him a cake with a single candle; cartoon glial cells are controlling a cable that links to his early memories. Infantile amnesia is the global loss of episodic and contextual memories formed in early life. Image credit: Birte Doludda
January 27, 2026 at 5:59 PM
plosbiology.org
#Interferons protect against #ViralInfection, but can hinder tissue repair - how? @ellenfoxman.bsky.social &co show that high IFN levels suppress #BronchialCell migration & proliferation during tissue repair via JAK-driven LATS1 activation, independent of STAT1 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k1pyKA
Top: Type III interferon alters the nuclear localization of the transcriptional co-regulator YAP during wound healing of human bronchial epithelial cells. Micrographs show localization or YAP (red) relative to the cell nucleus (blue) in cells adjacent to a scratch in the monolayer (dark area, right of images). In untreated cultures, YAP is present in most nuclei (purple nuclei, left panel) whereas in the presence of Type III interferon, the percentage of cells with nuclear YAP is greatly reduced (blue nuclei, right panel). Image credit: Krupakar Subramaniam. Bottom: Model. Type III and Type I IFN receptor signaling activate LATS1 to curtail tissue repair during acute viral infection. Left-hand panel: During acute viral infection, high concentrations of Type III and/or Type I IFN receptor signaling trigger JAK-dependent, STAT1-independent phosphorylation of LATS1, leading to phosphorylation and degradation of YAP and reduced tissue repair activities mediated by YAP target genes. In rapidly proliferating cell types, active LATS1/2 also blocks repair in part via a p53-dependent mechanism. Right-hand panel: During resolution of viral infection, lower concentrations of Type III and/or Type I IFN may continue to activate STAT1-mediated antiviral defenses but no longer activate LATS1/2, allowing epithelial repair to resume.
January 27, 2026 at 5:30 PM
plosbiology.org
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) enables generation of an #embryo from a somatic cell, but #epigenetic barriers limit its efficiency. This study shows that Nr5a2 overexpression enhances #SCNT embryo development by improving genome activation & recruiting P300 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4bl8htJ
Appropriate expression of exogenous Nr5a2 enhances SCNT efficiency. Immunofluorescence staining of blastocysts in each group (SCNT group and Nr5a2 overexpression groups; 100, 200, and 500 ng/μl). DAPI (blue) stains nuclei, SOX2 (green) marks the inner cell mass, and CDX2 (red) labels the trophectoderm. Scale bar = 100 µm.
January 27, 2026 at 2:05 PM
plosbiology.org
#Interferons protect against #ViralInfection, but can hinder tissue repair - how? @ellenfoxman.bsky.social &co show that high IFN levels suppress #BronchialCell migration & proliferation during tissue repair via JAK-driven LATS1 activation, independent of STAT1 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k1pyKA
Top: Type III interferon alters the nuclear localization of the transcriptional co-regulator YAP during wound healing of human bronchial epithelial cells. Micrographs show localization or YAP (red) relative to the cell nucleus (blue) in cells adjacent to a scratch in the monolayer (dark area, right of images). In untreated cultures, YAP is present in most nuclei (purple nuclei, left panel) whereas in the presence of Type III interferon, the percentage of cells with nuclear YAP is greatly reduced (blue nuclei, right panel). Image credit: Krupakar Subramaniam. Bottom: Model. Type III and Type I IFN receptor signaling activate LATS1 to curtail tissue repair during acute viral infection. Left-hand panel: During acute viral infection, high concentrations of Type III and/or Type I IFN receptor signaling trigger JAK-dependent, STAT1-independent phosphorylation of LATS1, leading to phosphorylation and degradation of YAP and reduced tissue repair activities mediated by YAP target genes. In rapidly proliferating cell types, active LATS1/2 also blocks repair in part via a p53-dependent mechanism. Right-hand panel: During resolution of viral infection, lower concentrations of Type III and/or Type I IFN may continue to activate STAT1-mediated antiviral defenses but no longer activate LATS1/2, allowing epithelial repair to resume.
January 27, 2026 at 2:00 PM
plosbiology.org
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) enables generation of an #embryo from a somatic cell, but #epigenetic barriers limit its efficiency. This study shows that Nr5a2 overexpression enhances #SCNT embryo development by improving genome activation & recruiting P300 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4bl8htJ
Appropriate expression of exogenous Nr5a2 enhances SCNT efficiency. Immunofluorescence staining of blastocysts in each group (SCNT group and Nr5a2 overexpression groups; 100, 200, and 500 ng/μl). DAPI (blue) stains nuclei, SOX2 (green) marks the inner cell mass, and CDX2 (red) labels the trophectoderm. Scale bar = 100 µm.
January 27, 2026 at 9:05 AM
plosbiology.org
Mitophagy is critical for cellular health & associated with multiple diseases. @baehreckelab.bsky.social &co show that the OMM protein Mtch regulates #mitophagy during #Drosophila intestinal development, by modulating the insertion of mitophagy receptor BNIP3 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/45uyBhg
Left panel: Immunofluorescent microscopy showing that Mtch mutant intestine cells (blue nuclei that lack red dye) fail to clear mitochondria marker protein ATP5A (green). Right panel: Transmission electron microscopy image of a mitochondrion engulfed by an autophagosome of a Drosophila intestine enterocyte.
January 27, 2026 at 9:01 AM
plosbiology.org
Ferns alternate between asexual #sporophyte & sexual free-living #gametophyte. This study uncovers the mechanism of male-to- #hermaphrodite conversion in the #fern #Ceratopteris, revealing a novel role for #auxin biosynthesis during #meristem formation @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k5EcAU
Auxin signaling dynamics during Ceratopteris male development in response to antheridiogen. The six panels contain confocal time-lapse images showing auxin signaling dynamics in Ceratopteris male gametophytes expressing the DR5v2::ntdTomato transgenic reporter, grown on conditioned fern medium. A male gametophyte was live-imaged every day from 1 to 6 days after germination (DAG). The panels show projection views of tdTomato signals (Fire LUT). The white arrowhead (top left panel) indicates the initial DR5 signal in the early developing prothallus, while yellow arrowheads (top row) indicate DR5 signals in developing rhizoids. Cyan arrowheads and white dashed circles highlight DR5 signaling dynamics during antheridium initiation and maturation. Color bars represent the relative intensity of DR5 signals in Fire LUT images, with low intensity shown in black, intermediate intensity in blue to red, and high intensity in yellow to white. The color scale applies to the entire prothallus but excludes the spore coat. Scale bars: 50 µm.
January 27, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Reposted by PLOS Biology
upama.bsky.social
What's more fun than writing this paper is the brilliant minds of @plosbiology.org @roliroberts.bsky.social coming up with ways to deal with BlueSky's censorship.
Men with surfboards, could this paper be anymore aussie? @ceb-uwa.bsky.social @monashbiol.bsky.social @biologyanu.bsky.social
plosbiology.org PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 5d
Why is the human #penis unusually large compared to other primates? @upama.bsky.social @mikejennions.bsky.social &co show that #genital size is a cue for male-male assessment in humans, so #PenisSize likely evolved due to both female choice & male-male rivalry @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/45tjF33
Examples of the computer-generated, male figures used in this study. The left-hand figure has the smallest values for penis size, height, and body shape (shoulder-to-hip ratio), the middle figure has average values for each trait, and the right-hand figure has the largest values for each trait. Editor's note: Genital area has been censored using surfboards from Pixabay user OpenClipart-Vectors, for sensitive eyes.
January 26, 2026 at 10:55 PM
plosbiology.org
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) enables generation of an #embryo from a somatic cell, but #epigenetic barriers limit its efficiency. This study shows that Nr5a2 overexpression enhances #SCNT embryo development by improving genome activation & recruiting P300 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4bl8htJ
Appropriate expression of exogenous Nr5a2 enhances SCNT efficiency. Immunofluorescence staining of blastocysts in each group (SCNT group and Nr5a2 overexpression groups; 100, 200, and 500 ng/μl). DAPI (blue) stains nuclei, SOX2 (green) marks the inner cell mass, and CDX2 (red) labels the trophectoderm. Scale bar = 100 µm.
January 26, 2026 at 5:58 PM
plosbiology.org
Mitophagy is critical for cellular health & associated with multiple diseases. @baehreckelab.bsky.social &co show that the OMM protein Mtch regulates #mitophagy during #Drosophila intestinal development, by modulating the insertion of mitophagy receptor BNIP3 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/45uyBhg
Left panel: Immunofluorescent microscopy showing that Mtch mutant intestine cells (blue nuclei that lack red dye) fail to clear mitochondria marker protein ATP5A (green). Right panel: Transmission electron microscopy image of a mitochondrion engulfed by an autophagosome of a Drosophila intestine enterocyte.
January 26, 2026 at 5:30 PM
plosbiology.org
Ferns alternate between asexual #sporophyte & sexual free-living #gametophyte. This study uncovers the mechanism of male-to- #hermaphrodite conversion in the #fern #Ceratopteris, revealing a novel role for #auxin biosynthesis during #meristem formation @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4k5EcAU
Auxin signaling dynamics during Ceratopteris male development in response to antheridiogen. The six panels contain confocal time-lapse images showing auxin signaling dynamics in Ceratopteris male gametophytes expressing the DR5v2::ntdTomato transgenic reporter, grown on conditioned fern medium. A male gametophyte was live-imaged every day from 1 to 6 days after germination (DAG). The panels show projection views of tdTomato signals (Fire LUT). The white arrowhead (top left panel) indicates the initial DR5 signal in the early developing prothallus, while yellow arrowheads (top row) indicate DR5 signals in developing rhizoids. Cyan arrowheads and white dashed circles highlight DR5 signaling dynamics during antheridium initiation and maturation. Color bars represent the relative intensity of DR5 signals in Fire LUT images, with low intensity shown in black, intermediate intensity in blue to red, and high intensity in yellow to white. The color scale applies to the entire prothallus but excludes the spore coat. Scale bars: 50 µm.
January 26, 2026 at 5:25 PM
plosbiology.org
Mitophagy is critical for cellular health & associated with multiple diseases. @baehreckelab.bsky.social &co show that the OMM protein Mtch regulates #mitophagy during #Drosophila intestinal development, by modulating the insertion of mitophagy receptor BNIP3 @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/45uyBhg
Left panel: Immunofluorescent microscopy showing that Mtch mutant intestine cells (blue nuclei that lack red dye) fail to clear mitochondria marker protein ATP5A (green). Right panel: Transmission electron microscopy image of a mitochondrion engulfed by an autophagosome of a Drosophila intestine enterocyte.
January 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM